JeepBuilder
TDR MEMBER
2001 24 valve dual rear wheel quad cab. I bought the truck from a friends nephew in Seattle about a month ago. I knew the drivers side bed metal had cracked and you could push the whole bed side back and forth with a single finger. So I stuffed a piece of rubber between the tailgate and bed side and tightened it with a ratchet strap till I could fix it. Well 2 weeks ago I drove to town to get out and find my tail light bucket hanging there with broken mounts and scratching the heck out of the paint swinging back and forth. My long dirt road on the last leg to get home had completely trashed even more metal. Time for some repairs. I have been restoring older fullsize jeeps and the 70 I am almost done with prepped me for this super thin metal repair. I replaced most of the Jeep panels and filled dozens of rust holes with new hand made panels. I have a TIG welder that if I am careful and don't consume to much coffee, I have successfully fused two razor blades together once. I probably could not do it again if I tried. I have read that these trucks have had body bed failures. Especially with campers tied to the bed. This truck had a camper in it two owners ago, but he used frame tie downs and air bags. Still under there.
The upper tail light bucket cracks. This crack went all the way up to the far end of the stake pocket.
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The lower bucket hole. This crack went all the way down under towards the support rearward of the mud flap
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The support and body fender droop. Broken spot welds.
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Everything was cracked. The hat channels under the bed. The rear mount. Here is the core support in the tailgate door frame. The previous owner had someone weld it and it was way out of position. You can see their old weld on the side there way above the gap.
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After slowly putting it all back and light tacks with cooling air. Here it all is all welded back together. It took 5 days. The upper light bucket opening.
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The lower opening and down under the whole panel.
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The top.
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Since the previous welder welded it up with a 1/4 inch gap inside the core support for the tailgate frame. I made a stainless steel patch and using Structural panel adhesive tied the whole fractured area together. That SS piece goes inside and you would see it looking through the tail light bucket hole down low at the bed floor area. The mount on the right is the rear bed mount under the bed. It was broken in half and all spot welds were broken. I made this new piece and using the same panel adhesive filled the round tube around the nut to secure the nut in place. I did not want to weld it in and change the metal properties and strength of the nut. Two light tacks and a moat of adhesive. That is way stronger than a weld would be. I made sure the 3M panel adhesive was stress rated and structural. Stronger than the standard panel adhesive I have used in the past.
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Had to fill and patch huge holes here. Also added missing core support metal in several places.
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The whole deal.
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I went and saw it today at the body shop. It is getting a fresh coat and several small dents fixed on the entire drivers side and the tailgate. I took them a new rear bumper and all related parts that I could find that needed replacing.
I am really looking forward to getting it back. The bed wall is as solid as ever now. I hope it all holds up to our roads.
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More...
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I should have it by the end of next week. Almost everything is fixed on the truck now. I wondered if I would be able to fix this. Or try and find a replacement bed. I think it worked..
The upper tail light bucket cracks. This crack went all the way up to the far end of the stake pocket.

The lower bucket hole. This crack went all the way down under towards the support rearward of the mud flap

The support and body fender droop. Broken spot welds.

Everything was cracked. The hat channels under the bed. The rear mount. Here is the core support in the tailgate door frame. The previous owner had someone weld it and it was way out of position. You can see their old weld on the side there way above the gap.

After slowly putting it all back and light tacks with cooling air. Here it all is all welded back together. It took 5 days. The upper light bucket opening.

The lower opening and down under the whole panel.

The top.

Since the previous welder welded it up with a 1/4 inch gap inside the core support for the tailgate frame. I made a stainless steel patch and using Structural panel adhesive tied the whole fractured area together. That SS piece goes inside and you would see it looking through the tail light bucket hole down low at the bed floor area. The mount on the right is the rear bed mount under the bed. It was broken in half and all spot welds were broken. I made this new piece and using the same panel adhesive filled the round tube around the nut to secure the nut in place. I did not want to weld it in and change the metal properties and strength of the nut. Two light tacks and a moat of adhesive. That is way stronger than a weld would be. I made sure the 3M panel adhesive was stress rated and structural. Stronger than the standard panel adhesive I have used in the past.

Had to fill and patch huge holes here. Also added missing core support metal in several places.

The whole deal.

I went and saw it today at the body shop. It is getting a fresh coat and several small dents fixed on the entire drivers side and the tailgate. I took them a new rear bumper and all related parts that I could find that needed replacing.
I am really looking forward to getting it back. The bed wall is as solid as ever now. I hope it all holds up to our roads.

More...

I should have it by the end of next week. Almost everything is fixed on the truck now. I wondered if I would be able to fix this. Or try and find a replacement bed. I think it worked..

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