I have the passenger area completed, I then proceeded to the cargo area, and I was kinda shocked at how bad It actually is. By looking at it would you buy the whole new pan or just patch with sheet metal?

 

My 96 looks almost exactly the same. Originally I was going to order the who cargo area pan from c2c, but after I started grinding off the paint and seeing lots of good metal still there, I just went with patching it.

Don't know if it will really save me any money, since the whole floor pan isn't that expensive, but it made it much more manageable time-wise. Its still my DD until the snow is gone, so being able to do a section here, and a section there, as time permits, made the difference for me.

You don't want to lay a new pan over the old, because it will just trap moisture between them and rot out again but much faster. So to avoid having it tied up for a few days, cutting out the whole old pan, prepping, etc... I am just doing it piece by piece.

 

It's not my DD anymore, and I wouldn't lay the pan over the old. I'd cut it all out.

 

Doing the whole pan would probably be cheaper in the long run, and once you had everything cut out and prepped, it would be a lot easier to install. If I had the time to keep it off the road, that's how I would attack it.

 

The pan I'm looking at is the one on quadratec.. because that one is longer and proceeds under the seats. Under the back seat in that compartment is rotted out too. That pans almost 300 though!

 

That one is quite a bit bigger than the one I was looking at from c2c. At least it looked like it had free shipping on it. At $300 you might save a few bucks with just patching it, but maybe not. Getting the patches to sit right, especially under the seat, where the floor has some goofy angles, might be a real pain in the booty. I would think it would depend on how your fabrication skills are.

My fabrication skills stink, but with enough motivation and a BFH, I'm making things fit. Even at $300, if I could park it long enough, I'd still go with the whole pan.

 

Yeah! I'm 18, with a Ford ranger that just broke a leaf spring on me, with a job but no money.... this is my first project that I've welded. I've never welded before this. The two rear passenger pans were old shelving, so a grinder and hammer were used to make em fit. I welded them at a 90deg on that front face below the rear seat, so I kinda screwed myself out of taking that front face out to make things easier under that seat.

 

Any oother opinion?

 

It looks like most of the pan is still solid. Its a Jeep. Just patch it the best you can with some sheet metal to maintain structural integrity in the areas that you cut out. I wouldn't spend $300 for a new pan but its your money.

 

You've only showed us pics from the inside, what about the outside?

I'd replace the whole pan just for that reason. Also make sure to look under the seam sealer: Stuff works well until water gets under it, then it becomes a major point of rot.

 

Seam Sealer pulled off,