Fixing body damage...

[06 H3]

Ok, You all probably think I have gone off the deep end now but what the hell. I hate bringing bigger jobs to a shop if I can do it. My brother ****ed his jeep up on the sluice box and hit his rear quarter panel. The plan is to put the quarter panel armor on with a metal tube fender so it acts as another slider. You can just use it to push your body away from rocks, only problem is how damn expensive they are. So I contacted a local wheeler and tim. Tim recommends Poison spyder guards and the local guy says higher ground 4x4 in sylmar can make him custom ones, they are similar in design to the ORE fenders but use thicker metal and more surface area to spread the impact. So we need to pull the dents out or he may be able to work around the dent as it is form fitting against the body. Instead of paying a body shop to pull it and paint for probably 1-2k I pull it myself and then go to a body shop and have it painted which would greatly reduce the cost or even get some body color match paint and paint it myself to avoid rust then put the quarter panel armor and fender on top of it. I was thinking of picking up this tool.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorguard-JLM1500-Magna-Spot-1500/dp/B00124QB4M/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

or http://www.amazon.com/Autoshot-4550-Starter-Plus-Welder/dp/B002FZJ806

with the stud lever

http://www.amazon.com/Steck-Autobod...TF8&qid=1357229941&sr=1-1&keywords=stud+lever

Then I have these tools for the future.

Heres a video of the stud lever and a stud welder in action

[video=youtube;MsC7vrgXj_0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsC7vrgXj_0[/video]

Here is his damage

and here is the tube fenders he built.

its the black JK
http://www.jk-forum.com/jk-trails-tales-71/rowher-flat-trail-12-11-11-a-208723/

Think pulling it out in this area will be a problem?

 

[atvspeed4]

Ive tried pulling dents like that with spot welded studs and it never comes out right. The video makes it look so simple but when you have a crease like that the metal actually deforms partially by stretching and when you pull it back you are fighting high spots and crease lines. That being said if you are going to cover it up with armor plate just pull it close as possible throw some paint on it and cover with the armor.

 

[06 H3]

That's the plan...idk why so many people wrote good things on this product if its not perfect

 

[3Hummers]

I agree with atv. Can you hammer it our from inside the wheel well or the rear cargo area of the Jeep? Do the best you can with, paint it and cover it with the armor.

 

[06 H3]

The main reason for avoiding a body shop is that it will be covered by armor. I can hammer out part of it by the taillight housing by taking out the taillight, the other part I cant get to. theres metal below it and you cant to it from inside the cab either. That may have to be stud welded. I am going to call Jim soon and see if he needs it to be fixed when he makes em.

 

[ArtHummer]

You got the right tools for the job, but sorry to say, that only will not fix the damage that is on the Jeep. This tool is great for pulling out small to a medium size dents on the straight area. With this tool you might be able to straighten maybe up to 40-50% of the damage. The biggest problem that I see is the seam between the quarter penal and the rear corner piece (where the light is). The problem is that when metal bends like that, it stretches and it will be impossible to fully straighten it out. When you will pull it out it buckle in other places. If you will take to a bodyshop they will suggest replacing the q-panel and maybe fixing the rear corner piece to bring it to a factory looking finish.
But it all depends on how well of a job you want to do. Another option, of course, would be to pull it to what best possible and then slap a bunch of body filler to bring it to a good finish. But I would not advice to do that especially when you wheal it. The body filler will pop out on the first bump.
If you can live with q-panel being a bit chewed up what i can advice you to do is, first remove all the interior from the area where you will work on. Take piece of wooden block (2x2 maybe good for it) and place it right next to the seam on the rear panel where the dent sticks out the most and slightly hammer it out little by little. Do not place it on the seam itself, you will buckle it even more and you can bend the seam on the side making things worst. Do not hit to hard also, stay light on the metal to keep it from stretching even further in other direction. Do not hit the q-panel in the center (away from the seam) you will make it dent and stretch other way. For the finishing work I would suggest you to get a light body hammer.
Then, when you will return the seam to somewhat original position, you can use the stud welder tool to get the dent in q-panel and rear piece. I would start with pulling that large dent in q-panel where the paint got chipped off. Don't forget to remove your car battery before using the stud welder, it can burn the electronics, and remove everything from the interior side that can be ignited(covers, wires). Don't stay to long on the welder trigger, one second is enough to get a good weld. More than that will burn the panel threw. Also, after welding, let the panel to fully cool down, warm metal will stretch even more and you don't want to do that. I would weld sever studs in the line and use the "multi stud puller" tool and slide hammer to get it out. The move to the smaller dents.

With the slide hummer you will be able to get most of the dents out to a ruff condition. Then you can use some steel dollies and body hammer to putt some finishing touches. Just hold a dolly on one side of the dent and use a body hummer to flatten it out. Here is the good set of dollies and hammers :link:

Just remember one thing, the key thing in the body work is patience, if you go to fast you will stretch the metal even more, go slower for better result.

 

[Hunner]

Those work in certain areas, very well. The old school slide hammers that just screw in will work too but there is a skill level learning curve. A BFH body hammer works in some areas also. When all else fails in blind areas with double layers you can use an air shear and then weld in a piece. That of course requires finish work unless like you are doing like you are and covering it up but want a solid area behind it. I have seen the reinforced fender corners and we put some on a Cherokee that crunched the rear quarter panel. It required screws to install so we needed flat areas to contact the new piece but stopped after that and a coat or two of primer on the old work.

 

[06 H3]

Ok we met with Jim, really cool guy! He needs my brother to buy a rock skin (cheaper then buying a skin with tube fender) then he will modify it strengthen it and add a tube fender so nick can bash into rocks without damage. He will be fixing the damage too!

 

[Green 1]

The corner is the issue the rest is easy.

 

[06 H3]

Im bumping this...My brother never fixed this **** yet. This morning when we walked out going to school hes told me its time to take care of this ****. So with that said, searching on the jeep forums we cant decide which armor to go with.

These are the few hes looking at. What are your thoughts?

http://shop.poisonspyder.com/Jeep-JK-4-Door-Rear-Crusher-Corners-p/18-04-020.htm

http://www.rebeloffroad.com/OR-FAB-Gecko-Skin-JK-Wrangler-2-4-Door-Rear-Corner-p/84330.htm

http://www.offroadevolution.com/store/proddetail.php?prod=EVO-Rear-RockSkin-Corners

The offroad evo one, the things I personally like is the price, what I dont like is the drilling for the LED lights and those LEDs burn out quick. 3/16th.

The Poison spyder ones, are very pricey and 1/8in steel.

OR fab: price is in the middle, comes with the nutsert tool. its 10 gauge which is a tad thicker then 1/8in steel IIRC. they also have a slider bar, kind of like a rock slider but for your rear quarter panel. The thing I dont like is the long tail light but it can be ordered raw and I cut out a taillight hole for another light.

Offroad evo has the thickest metal and the cheapest price but something doesnt sit right with me when I talk to them. They are quick to get me off the phone...

 

[06 H3]

well heres an update. Finally got around to it. He went with OR fab corners with the slider bar so it pushes the body away from the rock.

I am doing 99% of the install and he is watching or not watching for that matter as it involves drilling into the body installing nutserts careful alignment of the armor and cutting off oem taillight harnesses. Its nerve racking for him to do that...lol

Most of the body damage is covered, where the gecko is on the amor has an intent so I will attempt to pull that out some more.





After seeing how that side will be much more difficult I went to the other side and fitted it up and drilled the holes.



Installed some nutserts and starting to line everything up





It is all done minus the gas surround/filler neck thing. It requires an OEM one and his was aftermarket so it will have to sit open until he gets one. I will get pics of that tomorrow but it looks awesome! Tomorrow is starting the other side. I really want to build a set for the 3

 

[06 H3]

Off to work...will finish the other side later

And waiting on the fuel door... aftermarket won't work (what he has)

 

[BW_Hummer H3]

Your right we need something like that for the H3's. Considering H3's and JK's have similar rear fenders I bet it is possible.

 

[alrock]

Looks like the Safari Straps have held up well

 

[06 H3]

Very well! They are quite dirty...so you know they have been used. I've been told they clean up easy too...just haven't done that yet lol

It wouldn't be hard to make...got the other side done. No more dent, done for a fraction of the cost and much better off for future run ins with a rock

 

[3Hummers]

What a great brother. Nice job Chris.

 

[06 H3]

Thanks Dave, I'm sure Matt would do the same for you

Ill get pics up later.

 

[3Hummers]

He would, Mike and/or Matt either one would. Great to have brothers.