Home body work...How do you repair a side sill?

[phiebert]

A couple weeks ago I had my exhaust changed and I'm pretty sure they cracked the side sill right where the exhaust exits. I noticed the crack just a few days after the work and I should have done something about it then 'cause now there is a chunk out of it completely. The piece missing is about an inch and a half long and half an inch wide and is pretty deep. Does anyone know of a good filler that can be used on it and what color of flat black paint would match the flat paint on that part of the sill? Is there a filler that can take the heat well? I really don't feel like buying a new side sill right now but the piece missing is ugly and I have a show and shine to go to soon so I need to do something.

 

[Rich Detert]

The biggest problem is going to be that the side sills are made out of stamped aluminum (I think technically they're hydroformed aluminum).

The missing piece could be welded in (after being made from scratch), the hard part there is finding someone willing to weld aluminum sheetmetal. Any surface imperfections can be smoothed out using "Metal To Metal" which is an aluminum reinfirced body filler.

The next choice would be to repair it with fiberglass (making sure to have it lapped on both sides of the aluminum to make it stay in place. The fiberglass should be able to withstand the heat, just make sure it doesn't have direct contact with the exhaust.

As far as the paint, any decent low gloss (satin) black paint should work fine (primer any bare metal, technically you should use Zinc Chromate primer). Just repaint the entire black area on the side sill rather the trying to blend and match it.

Good Luck!

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[Jack B]

Just a suggestion - form and solder a piece 14-16 gauge sheet aluminum for the raw repair. For the finish work there are several fillers available from marine stores that are very effective on aluminum. They are quite often used to repair out-drives on boats.

 

[phiebert]

Bump...Help...I still need some advice!