[thakoolaidkid]

So I decided to finally start emo'ing (cutting) the XJ to get rid of the rust while it was still warm out. First up, the lower rear quarter panels. I've been reading about different techniques and ways to clean/cut these areas. Most people do the cut and fold, but as you can see my XJ is too far gone for that, right side:



Left side:



Looks like the PO never washed off any of the salt that the DOT drops like crazy in the winters.

Plan-
-Take off red trim on rear lower quarters to get a cutting area that isn't completely rust.
-Remove bumper caps to get space to work, also to fix dented bumper.
-Go after rust with an angle grinder.

Today was my first time using an angle grinder, I've never done it before and my only experience was researching articles and videos online, so this is a noob guide to grinding. I gotta say though angle grinding is fun as hell.

Tools-



-4" Wel-Bilt Angle Grinder
-2 4" Dewalt Metal Cutting Wheels
-Metal shears
-Tape measure
-Safety glasses*
-Safety face shield*
-Earmuffs*
-Leather working gloves*
-Mask*
-Knee pad
-Sharpie
-Blue painters tape
-Tarp, all the rust and metal falls on it for easy cleanup
-Garden house, in case something catches fire

*See all the stuff in bold? Don't pick up a metal grinder without it! For every link I found on grinder techniques I found three with pictures of peoples grinder injuries. That safety gear costs less than $30 at Home Depot, idk about you guys but my face is worth $30 to me.

Also, I wore jeans, steel toe boots, long sleeve shirt, and a hat backwards for full coverage, cause when you start cutting metal those sparks are flying everywhere.

/PSA

Removing Rear Lower Quarter (RLQ) Trim-

Step one was taking off the trim. I read about the fishing line flossing technique to remove the rear lower quarter trim. But I have no interest in putting the trim back, so I peeled up a corner with my knife and just cut all the tape. Both sides done in about 10 seconds. Here it is after being de-trimmed:




Removing Bumper Caps-





(Not lopsided, just held the camera weird.)

Allow me to show you the tools you will not need to remove the bumper caps:



Various sockets, wrenches, pliers, PB Blaster, etc. I sprayed the two bottom bolts that connect the caps to the bumpers with PB Blaster and waited. It melted off rust but not enough apparently. No matter what I did these damn bolts wouldn't move. After a few minutes of struggling one bolt snapped in half. Then it hit me, cheap plastic bumpers will break before a steel bumper. So I put my hand underneath the bumper cap and tore it off.

Note: I did this because I am not planning on reusing my caps, if you are then you need to PB Blast everyday for a week. I could only see the two bolts underneath but there is in fact a third bolt you can only reach by being under the Jeep fully. There is also a plastic clip holding it in place around where it L's.

No end caps:

[thakoolaidkid]

Adding more now, just writing it up.

[thakoolaidkid]

So with the end caps removed I had more space to work on the real project. I decided to start on the driver side. I took the blue painters tape and marked off a small area I wanted to cut to get the feel of it. Again, I have never used an angle grinder before so I wanted to start small and then go bigger so I wouldn't screw up.





Final Prep-

I put on all my safety gear and sat in front of the work area. Right before I fired up the grinder I looked down and saw an unprotected area I didn't like. So I grabbed one of the recently removed end caps and just like that I had a protective cup:



Made me feel a lot better, haha.

Let us pause for Technique:

Said it before, saying it again, this was my first time with a grinder. So I wasn't sure how it would act. I turned it on (off the metal!) and then held it firmly, placed it against the metal, and it danced along shooting sparks and I turned it off to inspect. Basically, I had just taken the paint off in a line. I realized that I need to set the wheel in one place and wait for it to cut through the metal. I barely applied any pressure, the wheel grabs the metal itself. Once through in one spot I was able to easily and slowly move along in a line and get a clean cut.

Warning: grinders cut through metal like butter, it's easy to not stay on point and let it cut through, but if you hit anything it will kick back so always keep a firm grip, no matter how easy it's going.

Also, I started with a small working area and then went bigger as I got the hang of it and could get a better look at the damage. Start small because its easier to cut away than to put it back.

First piece off:



And here it is with the rusted outer panel removed:



You can see the inside is completely rusted as well so I knew I had to cut it out as well. I looked up inside the recess to make sure there were no wires or insulation I would hit and then made some Sharpie marks and started cutting the inside panel. I left the back area because it is slightly thicker metal that appears to be folded over. I am unsure if it helps structural integrity (see questions at end of post):



Does anyone know what the hell this plug was for? At one point this panel was a sealed compartment, but that's a really high point for drainage.



So I cut through as much as I could with the 4" grinder. I need to get a smaller one to clean up a little more. As rough as that metal looks a lot of it is just surface. I will take a wire wheel to it soon to clean up more. Not pretty but it's a start.

[thakoolaidkid]

Passenger side:

This side was not as bad, but I can't give the XJ an uneven cut. I was feeling confident in my skills and taped off the area to match the final cut I had on the driver side:



I cut the top and sides off and folded the metal back. Looks like a mouse liked the inside of this panel at one point:



Here it is folded down with all the debris clear:



As you can see in the pic above this panel is in much better condition. Also note that there are ripples in this metal, something that can cause the grinder to kick back, again firm grip is needed.

Before starting I laid on my back and looked again for wires or insulation, and this is what I found on the passenger side right above my cut:



A huge pack of insulation. So be sure to be on the lookout for things like that and angle your cuts to keep the sparks away from it.

I used the metal shears to disconnect the exterior panel from the interior. And made a smaller area cut on the interior panel to get out the rusted spot. I then went back and measured the driver side interior panel and marked it on this passenger side, as you can see I need to cut more:



Here is how I left the passenger side for the night:



Pretty sweet window to my rear leafs and rusty gas tank, eh? My cuts look rugged but with rusty metal you can't control how it will break off on you.

It looks like the wheel wells are starting to rust where they met with the real lower quarter:





So it looks like I will be removing my fender flares and cutting off the lower wheel well.

Next steps-

I will use a grinding wheel and smooth out some of these cuts. I will then also use a wire wheel to take off much of the surface rust. I have Rustoleum Rust Reformer I will lay on top of the bare metal to give it a base. And then cover with Rustoleum black paint.

This is my temporary solution until I can get to a Mig welding class in a few weeks/months. I am looking to seal these areas up before the first snowfall.

Questions I need help with:

1) Will cutting the bottom 4"-5" inches of the wheel well off damage structural integrity?



2) Will cutting this area off and just having a clean cut across damage structural integrity?



Same area, different view:



I do not want to replace these panels, I would like to have raised the RLQ up about 4" or 5" to accomodate bigger tires in the future, plus I think I would like the look of higher back end. Basically I just want to trim up the wheel well and back of the panel by a few inches then weld a flat plate across.

Please let me know if you have answers to any of my questions, or ideas how to approach the next steps. Also, please feel free to ask anything about this writeup. I honestly wasn't planning on doing a write-up but I had so many pics I figured I might as well.

PS: Just wait for my rocker panel writeup in the coming months, here's a preview of what they are now (old post): http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f260/...lease-1021618/

Time for a beer!

[1996BlackXJ]

I may have missed it, but are you planning on replacing the quarter panel or patching it up into some sort of fold method?

From what I see and what I've poked around on my XJ in terms of the rear quarters I would just make sure you're not cutting any seams that would be hard to weld back together. Other than that, hack away but make sure you put it back together solid.

[thakoolaidkid]

Originally Posted by 1996BlackXJ

I may have missed it, but are you planning on replacing the quarter panel or patching it up into some sort of fold method?

From what I see and what I've poked around on my XJ in terms of the rear quarters I would just make sure you're not cutting any seams that would be hard to weld back together. Other than that, hack away but make sure you put it back together solid.

Yep, I've been looking into MIG welding classes around me and hopefully should be going in a few weeks. I will then weld a flat plate to my cuts, therefore raising my rear LQ up about 4" or 5". The only caveat to this is I don't know if I can cut that rear section, any ideas?

If you look at the area where I cut, I stopped before I hit the seams on the outer panels. We must've read the same threads, haha.

I am not too happy about leaving such wide open access to the XJ, there is insulation, wiring, basically an animal can get into any part. But I really don't drive it much at the moment anyway so I thought it was a good time to start cutting now.

[jeepkid03]

looks good man! What part of CT you from? We will hafta meet up and go mall crawling. since theres nothing legal in CT.

[thakoolaidkid]

Originally Posted by jeepkid03

looks good man! What part of CT you from? We will hafta meet up and go mall crawling. since theres nothing legal in CT.

Thanks, man. I'm down in Shelton, and yeah CT sucks for wheeling. Probably for the best so I can fix and not wheel. I might be going up to the Jeep Rally in Somers, CT on 10/3 if I can get her fixed by then.

[ReconMill]

I would leave what little you have left and fold it up, including the ends. There is enough material there to rivet a new panel on just in case welding doesnt work out.

[koolaid5]

usually most guys have a plan on how they are going to patch something up beFORE cutting it up .... hahahahahaha

[thakoolaidkid]

Originally Posted by ReconMill

I would leave what little you have left and fold it up, including the ends. There is enough material there to rivet a new panel on just in case welding doesnt work out.

Hmmm, I guess I could fold and rivet for the time being and then weld something after I take a course. You suggest folding up the ends so I assume they are ok to take off down the road, right?

Originally Posted by koolaid5

usually most guys have a plan on how they are going to patch something up beFORE cutting it up .... hahahahahaha

Haha, motivation and free time don't hit at the same time too often so I had to hit it. Taking a MIG welding class in a few weeks, scheduling it tomorrow. After that comes the build thread.

[koolaid5]

just rivet it or use sheet metal screws and call it a day.

[ReconMill]

Originally Posted by thakoolaidkid

Hmmm, I guess I could fold and rivet for the time being and then weld something after I take a course. You suggest folding up the ends so I assume they are ok to take off down the road, right?



Haha, motivation and free time don't hit at the same time too often so I had to hit it. Taking a MIG welding class in a few weeks, scheduling it tomorrow. After that comes the build thread.

Fold em up and forget about them... even if you do weld it eventually. Wont hurt to leave them on.

[thakoolaidkid]

Originally Posted by koolaid5

just rivet it or use sheet metal screws and call it a day.

I think I will for the time being, thanks. I need to learn MIG welding though, this XJ is going to need a lot of new exterior parts.

[thakoolaidkid]

Originally Posted by ReconMill

Fold em up and forget about them... even if you do weld it eventually. Wont hurt to leave them on.

True. I'll be wire wheeling tomorrow, and hopefully spraying down new paint. Then hopefully I can fold and maybe screw in a new panel to protect from rain.