Frame rust cleanup (I hope)

[gottifour]

Good morning all!!

So after a good amount of research I decided to attack the rusting frame on my newly acquired 02 TJ. I'll add to the fact that I am FAAAAAARRRRRR from a mechanic or body man and learn everything from forums and YouTube. I'm really enjoying the experience so far between this and the 73 DJ-5. With that said, even if I owned a lift and all of the proper tools I'm not sure I could do this for a career because a lot of it is a pain in the ASS! Kudos to all of you professionals out there!

I know this may start a debate and or people telling me what I did wrong and I'm fine with the second part.

I decided on these supplies.

My plan was to clean as much as possible with wire wheels, brushes and this glorious needle scaler tool. I say that because that thing worked like a beast.... for about ten minutes until the internal plastic threads all striped off. For $35 that makes sense so if there is a proper branded one out there I will be buying it eventually. I had to hold it together for a majority of the job which sucked but the thing is AWESOME so I had to!

Here are some before closeups.

Some after shots..

And some final shots after 2 coats of the rust reformer and two coats of the Cosmoline. Previous to all this I power washed the inside of the frame, blew it out the best I could and let it sit overnight to dry. I them used the Fluid Film with the attachment to spray the insides. Not 100% sure of the quality of this part because it was hard to see the inside with the scope. I could have done a better job on some of the external areas with the scaling tools but I either missed them or gave up. It's kind of why I didn't go the Por-15 route because I've read preparation is the most important part and It's a tough job. #amateur

I will follow up after the winter to see how it holds up but feel free to tell me what I should have done differently. I always appreciative of comments good or bad since that's how I learn.

Thanks for reading this long post!

 

[TJTimmy]

Good morning all!!

So after a good amount of research I decided to attack the rusting frame on my newly acquired 02 TJ. I'll add to the fact that I am FAAAAAARRRRRR from a mechanic or body man and learn everything from forums and YouTube. I'm really enjoying the experience so far between this and the 73 DJ-5. With that said, even if I owned a lift and all of the proper tools I'm not sure I could do this for a career because a lot of it is a pain in the ASS! Kudos to all of you professionals out there!

I know this may start a debate and or people telling me what I did wrong and I'm fine with the second part.

I decided on these supplies.
View attachment 111430
View attachment 111431
View attachment 111432

My plan was to clean as much as possible with wire wheels, brushes and this glorious needle scaler tool. I say that because that thing worked like a beast.... for about ten minutes until the internal plastic threads all striped off. For $35 that makes sense so if there is a proper branded one out there I will be buying it eventually. I had to hold it together for a majority of the job which sucked but the thing is AWESOME so I had to!

Here are some before closeups.
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Some after shots..

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And some final shots after 2 coats of the rust reformer and two coats of the Cosmoline. Previous to all this I power washed the inside of the frame, blew it out the best I could and let it sit overnight to dry. I them used the Fluid Film with the attachment to spray the insides. Not 100% sure of the quality of this part because it was hard to see the inside with the scope. I could have done a better job on some of the external areas with the scaling tools but I either missed them or gave up. It's kind of why I didn't go the Por-15 route because I've read preparation is the most important part and It's a tough job. #amateur

I will follow up after the winter to see how it holds up but feel free to tell me what I should have done differently. I always appreciative of comments good or bad since that's how I learn.

Thanks for reading this long post!

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[Westtown Willy]

I have a question, in your after photos your transfer case skid is still attached, did you leave it in place for the duration of the job or was it removed to get at the underside of the frame rails? Other than that it’s hard to say, the frame is obviously in pretty rough condition, looks like some advanced rot in the before pictures… did you bang on the frame with a hammer? I have a feeling it might go through a few spots.

 

[Leinhit]

You will find some will believe the frame is horrible or not so bad depending on where they live and what they are experienced with..

That is not bad at all.. but from living in MI.

I used Eastwood's products.. cleaned it up with a descaler, then rust converting rubberized underspray, and then used their internal frame treatment.

Mine was to the point I cut the frame out near the rear axle and welded in replacement pieces.

You should look at drilling drain holes in the frame near the rear axle.. to fix a manufacturer oversight, lots of you tube vids to show u where.

A hammer hit test will help locate problem areas.

The results look good,. But Repost at end of winter to see how it held up.

I prefer the east wood rust converting spray over Rust-Oleum. ( Either in a rubberized understand or not) I found the Rust-Oleum didn't hold up very long.

Some of us have no choice but to put up with rust.. it sucks. I'd rather have a blown engine then rust to deal with.

 

[gottifour]

I hit it with a hammer in some of the worst spots and felt ok, didn't go through at least.

I did drop the skid plate one side at a time with a jack and stands supporting it, cleaned that all up and painted/cosmolimed it as well. That was probably the worst area since like you guys mentioned, the frame doesn't have drain holes. I did drill 4 holes total, one at each end near the axel mounting spots.

I did look at the Eastwood stuff and almost got that instead. Should be interesting to see how it plays out.

I'm on mobile so this is the best way to respond. Would have added the comments otherwise.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

It seems to me the point you're at right now ain't too bad. My frame wasn't nearly as bad as yours where visible but I did have a surprising amount of rust between the skid plate and frame. Like you, I cleaned that all up and painted but I went with Fluid Film, not cosmoline last fall. I also put six 1/2 flat washers between the skid plate and frame, one over each bolt. They caused no driveline vibration issues but stopped the salty crap from getting stuck in there and when I checked it out a month or so ago everything looked fine.

 

[gottifour]

It seems to me the point you're at right now ain't too bad. My frame wasn't nearly as bad as yours where visible but I did have a surprising amount of rust between the skid plate and frame. Like you, I cleaned that all up and painted but I went with Fluid Film, not cosmoline last fall. I also put six 1/2 flat washers between the skid plate and frame, one over each bolt. They caused no driveline vibration issues but stopped the salty crap from getting stuck in there and when I checked it out a month or so ago everything looked fine.

I think I'll try that washer trick! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Goatman]

The cosmoline should last a lot longer than the fluid film. That is what I've been told. And the test spot I did behind the driver rear inner fender seems to bear that out. The less you can get salt road spray up under the Jeep the better off you are. Looks like you did a pretty good job. Keep up with it each year and it should last.

 

[bromel]

Looks like you did a great job. I'm surprised you got that skid plate off easily; many times the welded nutserts break in the process and the bolts spin. Probably means that your frame is in better shape than the early pictures suggested. At the very least you bought yourself some time before Safe T Caps are necessary.

 

[gottifour]

The cosmoline should last a lot longer than the fluid film. That is what I've been told. And the test spot I did behind the driver rear inner fender seems to bear that out. The less you can get salt road spray up under the Jeep the better off you are. Looks like you did a pretty good job. Keep up with it each year and it should last.

Thanks! Time will tell!

 

[gottifour]

Looks like you did a great job. I'm surprised you got that skid plate off easily; many times the welded nutserts break in the process and the bolts spin. Probably means that your frame is in better shape than the early pictures suggested. At the very least you bought yourself some time before Safe T Caps are necessary.

Thanks!

I did have to cut one of the bolts off but the other 5 were fine, even the 4 trans mount bolts came off ok. The weld did not break when I cut the one bolt off but I will need to tap it or clamp it or something I guess.

Still not a mechanic

Thought about a tap and die kit or a small c-clamp which seems shady though.

 

[bromel]

You need one of these:

https://www.shop.blackmagicbrakes.c...utsert-for-87-02-Jeep-YJ-and-TJ-01-NSK-01.htm

 

[gottifour]

You need one of these:

https://www.shop.blackmagicbrakes.c...utsert-for-87-02-Jeep-YJ-and-TJ-01-NSK-01.htm

Thanks for the link! Looks like I'll need to take it to my friends to weld it for me.

 

[bromel]

You don't need a welder; they insert into the frame, you turn the screw while holding a nut and a shank expands and grips to the bottom of the frame. But I misread your initial post; it looks like the original nutsert is still there, but the bolt is broken. You have to get that broken bolt out obviously, and if the nutsert is still functional and welded, presumably you can reuse it. If it breaks off, then you can use the above it.

 

[gottifour]

You don't need a welder; they insert into the frame, you turn the screw while holding a nut and a shank expands and grips to the bottom of the frame. But I misread your initial post; it looks like the original nutsert is still there, but the bolt is broken. You have to get that broken bolt out obviously, and if the nutsert is still functional and welded, presumably you can reuse it. If it breaks off, then you can use the above it.

The bolt was just spinning in the nutsert so I assumed it was stripped but I should probably see if one of the other ones will screw in, doubtful. I could probably cut the welds off the old nutcert to get it out.

 

[llarocca]

So new to the forum and researching ideas for the same issues, first ill say im going back and forth about the frame on my newly acquired 1999 TJ and whether or not to "fix" it up (the frame is in about the same condition as yours Gottifour) or do a frame swap? I would love to see some opinions on this. My frame is NOT rotted all the way through yet. I will say that I dont mind spending some money on it, just don't know which way to go yet (frame swap, frame section replacement, descale and ride it out etc, etc, etc). Gottifour and others what are your thoughts? I can post some pictures later this evening as well. By the way gottifour- looks good, hope it holds up for a while for you.

 

[gottifour]

So new to the forum and researching ideas for the same issues, first ill say im going back and forth about the frame on my newly acquired 1999 TJ and whether or not to "fix" it up (the frame is in about the same condition as yours Gottifour) or do a frame swap? I would love to see some opinions on this. My frame is NOT rotted all the way through yet. I will say that I dont mind spending some money on it, just don't know which way to go yet (frame swap, frame section replacement, descale and ride it out etc, etc, etc). Gottifour and others what are your thoughts? I can post some pictures later this evening as well. By the way gottifour- looks good, hope it holds up for a while for you.

I'm not sure of the best route to be honest because I'm learning as I go pretty much. I figured I'd scrape everything off and see how it played out. I just bought it and figured I'd do what I could to make it last for a little while at least.

Wanted a newer Jeep but wasn't in the cards...

Good luck with yours! Looking forward to the pics!

 

[llarocca]

I'm not sure of the best route to be honest because I'm learning as I go pretty much. I figured I'd scrape everything off and see how it played out. I just bought it and figured I'd do what I could to make it last for a little while at least.

Wanted a newer Jeep but wasn't in the cards...

Good luck with yours! Looking forward to the pics!

Here are some pics of mine. I acquired this jeep, didnt cost me anything. There is a longer , family related story behind that but when it's done it wont look like it does now.......

 

[gottifour]

Looking good! Should be a fun project!

 

[Cornbread]

Here are some pics of mine. I acquired this jeep, didnt cost me anything. There is a longer , family related story behind that but when it's done it wont look like it does now.......

Looks like a great project, looks to be a solid frame that can still be saved! Take your time and put in 110% effort into sanding that rust. It will be well worth it.