Side Sill Repair???????

[Viperchad]

Hello all. Wanted to know if any of you have had any luck repairing side sills. I have both sides on my '94 bubbling and peeling. I was told this was a reaction with the aluminum and moisture and that it was actually the aluminum breaking down. There are no holes on either side...just paint bubbling. I was thinking about welding an aluminum patch then having them sanded down and repainted. What are you thoughts? Any suggestions in the Columbus Ohio area for painting???

Thanks,


Chad

 

[94RT10Ohio]

I had the same thing, when I sanded them down I had two small pin holes. Repainted them, they looked GREAT! But... After running the car twice, yes twice, I have a couple bubbles, not sure if they are heat realted but I am pissed. Bubbles are no where near any other metal, must be heat realted?? I have painted many cars and never had this happen before. I am just going to leave it for a year, let them get worse then take them back off and have a custom shop paint them and give me a warranty

 

[RedEnuf93]

Search for Dansauto, Dan is a Viperowner and located in Gillett, PA. He did my -93 sills. They had about 20 holes EACH!! He was able to weld them, blast them clean and paint.
Mine are 2 years old now and NO bubbling so far. I was quite impressed.

 

[95Viper]

after properly repaired (like mentioned above), don't put the old rivits back in, don't put original insulation in.

Use newer Viper insulation that is faced on both sides and glue with very high temp silicone. They won't move in the cramped area they are in once installed.

 

[tarfungo]

Does anyone know EXACTLY what causes the bubbling on Gen I sills? I have heard that it is anodization (Is that a word?) between the aluminum sill and the rivets, water, heat and combinations of all three? is it all three?

If one gets the sills fixed up and repainted, how do you fasten the topside of the sills if don’t rivet or otherwise fasten down the sill? Something must hold the tops side down, right? Are you suggesting that new insulation and silicone alone will do the job?

 

[99 R/T 10]

You can email Dan at [email protected]

 

[FrankBarba]

Try Gary's Custom Paint in Johnstown, PA. Short ride for you.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

The dissimilar metals (aluminum and steel) cause galvanic corrosion. The Dodge fix was to issue galvanized (therefore sacrificial) sheet metal screws to attach the side sills. Electically isolating the sill from the frame or floor would stop this; either by sufficient paint thickness, thin nylon washers, make sure the edges of the screws don't touch unpainted aluminum, etc.

In time, my sheet metal screw holes in the body floor have gotten larger (car is a little low) I eventually went to the plastic butterfly insert that spreads when you tighten the screw (like some drywall screws.) The side sills don't get hot enough to melt them. On the top row, I used POR-15 on the lip, which provides a thicker and tougher surface to keep the aluminum and steel apart.

Warranty replaced sills in '99 on my '94, drive 11 months/yr in upstate NY, 73,000 miles on the car now, some scrapes, but no corrosion.

 

[FLX109]

after properly repaired (like mentioned above), don't put the old rivits back in, don't put original insulation in.

Use newer Viper insulation that is faced on both sides and glue with very high temp silicone. They won't move in the cramped area they are in once installed.

Where do you buy the new insulation and silicone? how much?

 

[Simms]

Roe Racing has insulation.

 

[dansauto]

If the cats are off, I would just delete the insulation entirly. The rivits are ok as long as thy are sealed correcly. If they are corroided at the rivits I just weld the end pc right on and grind the weld down. I also suggest stainless screws when you reattach.

 

[95Viper]

The problem is NOT caused by dis-similiar metals since the rivits and the sills are aluminum. It is caused by moisture building up (mostly due to car driven in rain) under insulation and taking days and days to dry out and corrosion starts. The heat only makes things worse.

The rivits are another problem and make it worse. The rivits go through the insulation and heat shield and are directly exposed to exhaust. They heat up at a MUCH faster rate when Viper is started than the sill, since the sill is protected by heat shield and insulation. This creates movement at the rivit hole in the sill allowing corrosion to easily form around the hole with the issues mentioned above. It isn't the total cause, just makes it worse. If you are properly repainting the sills don't put them back in.

Also, after properly stripping and repairing sills and repainting, ensure you paint the inside with VHT1500. Glue on new insulation, replace cats with high flow.

Your sills are held on with screws, if the holes are not ruined flatten them out, touch up with POR15 and qtip, use new galvinized screws Tom says, use high temp low strength threadlock and don't overtighten. It only takes a small socket and two fingers to tighten and is so easy to overtighten and strip screw.

 

[FLX109]

Roe Racing has insulation.

I think they only have the type that raps around the mufflers

 

[Simms]

Roe Racing has insulation.

I think they only have the type that raps around the mufflers

Hmm, ya I think you are right. Forgot about that.