Frame repair

[Carl McFly]

Working on my rig today and found some rot Pretty sure it can be patched but I'm looking for advice

[ZAEDOCK]

Carl, after you post a pic, I could probably make up a couple of patch panels. If you wanted to stop by an hour or so before the last run (maybe an hour and a half ), I could zap 'em in.

I'm pretty good at frame repair

[ZAEDOCK]

Damn. Just thought - driver's side means fuel lines. That could pose a problem.

We'll see when you post the pics.

[Carl McFly]

Thanks Joe but this is more work than I thought, more than a simple patch. I'm going to have a shop look at it. But thanks again!

[del_TJ]

Just a thought - There's a website that sells a weld-in patch for that section of the frame including the bottom of the rail.

Look for the "Rear Shackle Mount Section 1997-2003 Wrangler TJ & 1987-95 Wrangler YJ"

http://autorust.com/
http://autorust.com/Jeep_Cat_16pg_10.5.10.pdf

[Frank]

Just did it to my wifes cousins Toy (swear) . Used 1/4" plate 24" long all 4 sides. Trimmed of the extra as it involved curves in the frame. Wasnt that bad but we did take off the bed. FjR68

[dvm]

Ahh... frame repair... I have been looking into that quite a bit this summer with my "goal" to keep my heap for another 6 years at least. "Make your own" reinforcements seems to be the best way to go, for TJs anyway.

Here are 2 photos of what I had done for "Phase 1".
Not sure how well you can see it. This is the passenger side rear. Plating is welded in sections from the body mount in front of the rear wheel to just over the coil spring.



Here is a photo of the driver side, same area.



There was alot of grinding involved. All the scaling was ground off in the rear, back to the bumper. My mechanic, who did all the work, said just banging the frame with a 2 pound hammer knocked off scaling pieces. It was amazing the chunks I got out from the inside of the frame (through the access holes). I would recommend, for anyone planning a POR-15 type project, don't just use a steel wheel brush in a drill.... use a real grinder and do alot of grinding and knocking the scaling off first.

Phase 1 was the outside rear. Phase 2 will be the underneath part of the frame, same plating approach. There will be more phases, but the front and mid frame are in pretty good shape for now. Phase 3 will most likely be reinforcing the body along the body mount channel.

I've also adoped the corrosion inhibitor usage approach (should have years ago). Inside the frame, outside the frame, most every thing underneath (smokes like crazy when you go to weld, so beware). Even used it on the floor under the carpet. Here are some of the products, I'm experimenting with:



CorrosionX never dries, so its better for places like inside the frame. Fluid Film is pretty good over all. I'm also trying "Corrosion Block" which is not in the picture.

Time will tell.

[Carl McFly]

Dave - wow that's some nice work! And those products - great info. Definitely doing the prevention thing from now on. My plan is to have a solid and clean frame (inside and out) by the Spring

Frank - I've been reading up on frame repair and I hear that there's a preferred wire size when you MIG a frame. You ever hear that? One site said 023 isn't good but didn't say what should be used. What do you think is better for frame work, flux core or solid? Or maybe it doesn't matter

[ZAEDOCK]

Frank - I've been reading up on frame repair and I hear that there's a preferred wire size when you MIG a frame. You ever hear that? One site said 023 isn't good but didn't say what should be used. What do you think is better for frame work, flux core or solid? Or maybe it doesn't matter

.035 works great. I use flux core as I have no garage and it welds better in the wind (and sometimes rain ).

[johnsxj]

All the welding I've done on my Heep has been with .030 or .035 flux core wire (size I've used all depended on what I could find when I ran out).

[Frank]

What they said Carl. The only reason I could think of that wouldnt include .023 would be there isnt enough material or penetration to do you any good. When we did the cousins truck we stick welded with DC current, (thats positive ground) so there is less danger of damage to the charging system and all the penetration you could want,and it really helps in vertical and overhead welding. Are all TJ's having this issue. I thought after the YJ they got their chit together ? FjR68