TJ frame swap

Pfancy

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2022
Messages
5
Location
Louisville, Kentucky
I am new to internet forums so I may need some grace and pointing in the right direction. Forgive my lack of tech savvy illiteracy.

I have an '02 Wrangler X w/ approx 115,000 miles on it. It's a great Jeep, the only thing wrong with it is the frame is beyond repair. The trailing arm finally rotted off so it's not safe to drive. I'm trying to find a frame and not sure if it's better buying a new frame for $4,500 (who do you recommend buying new from?) or trying to find a used frame (is a salvaged title a bad idea if the frame is clean and where would I get that)? Leaning toward a new frame so I won't have to do this again in 10 years. The problem I run in to there is how much it'll cost me to swap it since I'm not the money clad Elon Musk. I'm not mechanically sound enough to do it myself so I'll have to pay someone to do it. At that point I'll just pay a professional that premium to know it was done right. I need to find a place that will do that and any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I bought this jeep (in 2017) with the intentions of keeping it forever so the money invested I believe is worth it to enjoy it. If some day I get tired of it (doubtful) then I'd be able to sell a Jeep that was done right and good for another generation of Jeep joy.

I'm in Louisville, KY hoping to keep within reasonable distance for the swap.
 
Have you considered selling it and buying a new one without the rust problem? How are the body, torque boxes, and body mounts?

Unless this is a special Jeep to you, I don't think you will come ahead financially doing it the way you are thinking.
 
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Just find a used frame and swap it out..I wouldn't spend the coin on a brand new frame
 
I am new to internet forums so I may need some grace and pointing in the right direction. Forgive my lack of tech savvy illiteracy.

I have an '02 Wrangler X w/ approx 115,000 miles on it. It's a great Jeep, the only thing wrong with it is the frame is beyond repair. The trailing arm finally rotted off so it's not safe to drive. I'm trying to find a frame and not sure if it's better buying a new frame for $4,500 (who do you recommend buying new from?) or trying to find a used frame (is a salvaged title a bad idea if the frame is clean and where would I get that)? Leaning toward a new frame so I won't have to do this again in 10 years. The problem I run in to there is how much it'll cost me to swap it since I'm not the money clad Elon Musk. I'm not mechanically sound enough to do it myself so I'll have to pay someone to do it. At that point I'll just pay a professional that premium to know it was done right. I need to find a place that will do that and any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I bought this jeep (in 2017) with the intentions of keeping it forever so the money invested I believe is worth it to enjoy it. If some day I get tired of it (doubtful) then I'd be able to sell a Jeep that was done right and good for another generation of Jeep joy.

I'm in Louisville, KY hoping to keep within reasonable distance for the swap.

Get on https://www.car-part.com/ and search your area for a 97 to 02 frame.
 
Have you considered selling it and buying a new one without the rust problem? How are the body, torque boxes, and body mounts?

Unless this is a special Jeep to you, I don't think you will come ahead financially doing it the way you are thinking.

Everything is good except the frame. It's a great jeep. Also rather spend the money on this jeep instead of selling for a loss than spending $25k. I don't ever intend on selling it. It's my toy and joyride.
 
Just find a used frame and swap it out..I wouldn't spend the coin on a brand new frame

They've been hard to find and If the difference were $2-3k, for something I'll have for another 15+ years seems worth it. Am I crazy for thinking that? I bought it to never sell it. Almost like fixing up a house the way you like it. I don't want to buy someone else's headache.
 
Thank you for that site. I'm going to get lost on there one of these days. Only good frames that aren't the whole jeep are $2500 and 2000 miles away. I think now if I bought a salvaged Jeep it'll cost more to ship and disassemble.

If I were you, I'd be driving to Colorado...Of course...Gas is 5 bucks + a gallon. You're probably about 3.5 hours from Baseline 4x4 in northern Indiana. He always seems to have some decent frames...for about 2 grand. That will most likely be where I go when its time to do my frame.
 
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Everything is good except the frame. It's a great jeep. Also rather spend the money on this jeep instead of selling for a loss than spending $25k. I don't ever intend on selling it. It's my toy and joyride.
go to Colorado with a trailer ,take a vacation while your there, and come back with a good frame ! win win !