Rocker panels

hacker_720

New member
Can I buy new rocker panels for my 185? Are they available from Toyota, any know how much? Or should I just get a body shop to make new ones:

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bloodMoney

Active member
I bought a parts car for this very reason. I think that they're something like 400 bux for the outer panels. The quarters are $9xx/each.

~bloodMoney
 

hacker_720

New member
K, thanks, I will keep that in mind. I don't really have a place to put a parts car, and it's not something that can be taken off at a junkyard... oh well.
 

RedCelicaTRD

Moderator
You are either looking at the wrong part or their pricing is screwed up. Retail is $935 for the quarter. Dealer cost is $124 on the rocker panel, so I assume they have some bad pricing in the computer.
 

DudeMan

New member
I'm in the same boat as you man.

I've already got a body shop lined up, I just gotta grab the rocker assemblies from 1sttoyotsparts and find another daily driver. The real moment of truth will be when my current rockers are torn off and everything underneath is sand blasted.

Let me know how this goes for you and what specific parts you order and stuff, would be a big help.

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Sorry to threadjack, its just nice to know at least one other person is battling rust on a large scale. :shoots:
 

smog7

Moderator
my car is starting to look like that, just not nearly as bad^

nasty cancer.

so is this a design flaw from the factory? why so many rusty rocker panels?
 

deecee

New member
lack of care, salt on roads, crash damage not repaired properly etc.
could be anything really.

my 1990 GT4A has hardly any rust on it and that is a 19 year old car and def isn't in such poor condition as those other celicas.
 

hacker_720

New member
It's ok dudeman.
I probably wont be doing it any time soon, I have been working on this car for like 4 years, so there is no rush. Keep me posted if you end up doing it fist, I wonder is just the rockerpanel "covers" is all I need, and maybe just weld up the inside as the shop sees fit to do.

The car was like this when I bought it, it has already been repaired by the PO at least once, just not properly.
 

DudeMan

New member
hacker_720":28gmpcjb said:
It's ok dudeman.
I probably wont be doing it any time soon, I have been working on this car for like 4 years, so there is no rush. Keep me posted if you end up doing it fist, I wonder is just the rockerpanel "covers" is all I need, and maybe just weld up the inside as the shop sees fit to do.

The car was like this when I bought it, it has already been repaired by the PO at least once, just not properly.

To properly fix the rust around the rockers you have to sandblast after the old ones come off. Mine are so rotten I want the inner and outer panel and yada yada.

But I have the same question. Exactly what parts are needed when replacing rocker panel?
 

DudeMan

New member
DeeCee":2o05ajoi said:
lack of care, salt on roads, crash damage not repaired properly etc.
could be anything really.

my 1990 GT4A has hardly any rust on it and that is a 19 year old car and def isn't in such poor condition as those other celicas.

I've heard from quite a few people that Japanese imports like Honda and Toyota use slightly thinner metal on their panels, causing them to rust easier. :shrug:
 

deecee

New member
before 90's there was a big issue with japanese cars having multiple paint issues. Paint coming up and peeling due to paint or just normal atmospheric abrashion. It was still an issue on the st18x celicas and cars of that era, particularly with toyota and honda.

The old story I heard was that the weight was attributed to early 90's cars being the first to use a double metal skin which has been refined over time. I can't find evidence of that, but that is what I have heard.

Overall, if a car has been driven in more aggressive conditions, then it will show signs of wear and tear especially if it has not been maintained properly.

I can show you photos of the rust (or lack of) on my car and its a 1990 GT4A, so the first of the widebodies. As long as it has been in NZ, its been garaged. I dont' know the service history in Japan, but it is pretty much a very clean car.

Hackers sills are some of the worst I've seen on a car. Personally, I would probably junk a car like that because I couldn't be bothered fixing up that big of a job. Then again, st185s are a dime a dozen here in NZ and st205s are readily available (but always hard to find one that is in good nick of course).

Its all relative at the end of the day. Fix the problem or don't fix the problem. Just keep moving forward....
 

bloodMoney

Active member
I'm not quite sure about the rust towards the front of the rockers, but The reason why the rust eats out the rocker post-door is a design flaw on toyota's part. If you look, there is a rubber drain tube for the sunroof behind that plastic piece just the before the rear tire. If this somehow gets pushed up into the body or pulled out for that matter, this will cause the sunroof to drain directly to that part of the rocker.

I discovered this little tube after mine got so bad, that the plastic piece fell of as there is no more metal to anchor to.

Now that I think about it, in response to the OP, the rust that occurred at the front of the rocker is probably due to the water that is always at that spot after it rains... I think that I'll look into the door seals to see if that could be the culprit.

~bloodMoney
 

DudeMan

New member
bloodMoney":14l6eoml said:
I'm not quite sure about the rust towards the front of the rockers, but The reason why the rust eats out the rocker post-door is a design flaw on toyota's part. If you look, there is a rubber drain tube for the sunroof behind that plastic piece just the before the rear tire. If this somehow gets pushed up into the body or pulled out for that matter, this will cause the sunroof to drain directly to that part of the rocker.

I discovered this little tube after mine got so bad, that the plastic piece fell of as there is no more metal to anchor to.

Now that I think about it, in response to the OP, the rust that occurred at the front of the rocker is probably due to the water that is always at that spot after it rains... I think that I'll look into the door seals to see if that could be the culprit.

~bloodMoney

I completely forgot to mention that. You can actually see the drain tube hanging out on my car.

To add to this top notch design, Toyota sticks a plastic panel cover thing right over that exact spot! This just holds even more moisture in.

When I finally do fix my rockers I will definitely do something with that drain hose so its facing the ground, not this inside of my panel. I would highly suggest anyone fixing their rocker panels do this. As bloodmoney said, its a design flaw from factory.
 

DudeMan

New member
Just for reference, the outer rocker panels and outer quarter panels are the only body panels available from Toyota for that area.

Anyone planning to replace they're rockers must fabricate an inside panel for bracing if its too far gone.

Also, the chassis must remain straight and level during the whole process so the frame doesn't 'tweak' as they say and warp.
 
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