My refabricated stepsides/rocker panels/steps..QX4

[Qxxx4]

Hey guys, spring is here and im back. I spent the winter finishing college, moving to a new city, and getting a new job. I work 50+ hour weeks now and my computer at work does NOT have an internet connection like I had at RIM so thats why I'm not on 24/7 like I was before. But I have my blackberry and am peeping in here often everyday so I've been no stranger!

ANYWAYS, I said Id post pics of my sexy refabricated step, heres the story, tips, and pics

Took my drivers side step off in november because 1 foot of the support bar was completely missing and this thing was going to fall off before winters end. The bolts were extremely rusted on, we had to use a torch to get some of them off and still had a rough time...use lots of penetration oil!!!

MATERIALS

we found two metal suppliers, one had the exact size we needed at $45 for one 6 foot bar. The other was deeper into Toronto and had 20 feet of 0.75 inches x 1.5 inches for $40. Dad bought a small arc welder for $170 thats it for materials aside from a small wire brush to clean off the rusty brackets, and a metal grinder/cutter powertool

DISSASSEMBLY

Once you unbolt the step from the vehicle, the entire plastic shell can be removed, dont attempt to weld anything unless this is removed, unless you want to pay nissan $1400 for a new OEM pair. Not really anything hard here I did it myself in 20 minutes, the only tricky part is where it bolts up in the front to the fender, but even that is pretty simple.

REBUILD

My dads a construction guy and has never welded in his life, but one weekend I was out of town and he had the rusted out step in the garage and decided to try his luck. The important part is that you do one bracket at a time, comparing each position, it has to be spot on especially the large brackets that bolt onto the vehicles supports. Side-by-side each bracket was cut off, cleaned and welded to the new bar. This is actually a great practise project to teach yourself how to arc weld because this will be under the vehicle so you cant see the mess youve made. Just make sure you can stand on the damn thing before you take off on the highway.

As long as everything is perfectly aligned, you can reinstall the plastic moulding and bolt it right back on...thats it!

I was stunned when I got home and the step was DONE, I wanted to help but my dad was really bored and wow was he ever proud and so was I he did a great job, i can stand on the damn things.

Other than that, we added some rocker guard ashphault in a can spray under the wheelwells, rear axle/diff and we added some black paint to the underside of the step to protect it a little. The passenger side is still OK but we will refab it next year.

Ive done a lot this week! Changed the oil, Got the new step on, put my 20's back on, painted under most of the vehicle, changed rear diff fluid, new air filter, cleaned my throttle body, mechanic put in a new lower ball joint and alignment was done, its all ready for spring! just gonna clean the interior because its actually pretty dirty for once. Anyways, im done typing i wrote too much!

heres the pics if you guys can make out wtf it is, i forgot to take pics before we put them on I didnt think theyd bolt on right away. All pics taken on my BB storm in a gloomy lit garage so bear with me.

BTW In my opinion.....much better WITH the stepsides! (and the 20's help the look too)



You all know about the fenders rust spot under the wheel arch, but check this one out under the step.......watch out guys! im going to replace the whole fender eventually.WHAT A DISASTERHeres what your dealing with when you remove the plastic moulding. have a broom ready btw, i swept up about 2lbs of rust chips. this is what the bar looks likeHeres some ON VEHICLE pics, its hard to make out what they are, but it gives you an idea of how they look.as you can see, perfect fit!

thanks for checking it out guys!


Modified by Qxxx4 at 8:12 AM 3/28/2010

[JonathanPrem]

Good work Qxx4.

How long did it take you and what happen to the side mirror

[Qxxx4]

About 6 hours after reinforcing the welds afterwards. I was putting silicone under the mirror. There's a leak in there and it can rust so I was covering the leak. a lot of qx4s have visible bubbling coming out of the mirrors and rust forming.

[GRNMACHINE]

Very nice, thanks for the pics and the write up. It looks like the plastic covers up the steel. Fabricating the steps (where they are seen) is going to be beyond my ability.

Again, Great looking Q, love those wheels/tires. Really wish I went with 20's instead of 17's again.

[GRNMACHINE]

Relooked at the step bars after removing them. They are too far gone. They were donated to the disposal company.

[buckeye3d]

Nice work! I still like the QX4 better without the running boards.

[fueler]

im with buckeye... good job but that one pic you have without the board and the broken mirror... looks bad a**!

[exvin]

Nice work! I am thinking of ordering some of my nerf bars in for the pathy as it will cost the same amount to refurb

YO - We should organize another T.O meet soon (I am gone May long weekend so that wont do)