How to clean your Jeep Wrangler TJ frame
- Thread starter Wade
- Start date
I'm currently in the process of doing this. I blasted out the internals, washed it, dried it and now am going over the insides with a boroscope to see what I missed.
Followed his instructions but used my own diy drain hog that worked great.
Question about the need for drain holes. I'm trying to figure out if this is something that should just be done, or if it depends on how you use your Jeep. If the frame never gets submerged, but just gets whatever might splash from wet/slushy roads, is it still an issue? I have a stock TJ, that so far has not been through any deep water. Frame has no external signs of rust that I can see either.
Thanks.
Thanks.
I defer to the experts on this one. IMHO, it depends on your situation. Mine was starting to rust because the PO had it up north for 15 years. Given that there are stock holes throughout the frame already, I didn't feel a few more would affect the integrity of the frame considering rusting through would be much worse. One thing I did that helped immensely was I bought a boroscope on Amazon to inspect the inside of my frame to assess the damage. Well worth the $40 that I spent (and it's fun to use).
Note that I learned the hard way and bought a cheaper one and had to buy another because the camera wouldn't focus beyond an inch of the lens. Also worked well with my phone.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0785H3XR7/?tag=wranglerorg-20
I bought several 27" long tube brushes with flexible wire loop shaft from McMaster Carr ranging from 7/8" to 1 1/4" diameter. I was able to get them in through the various holes in frame and go in both directions to break up any loose scale and then blew/vacuumed out. I used 5 cans of Eastwood's green internal rust proofing. Here is the page (2765) from McMaster Carr for the brushes.
| 7/8" | 3" | 0.007" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 27" | Steel | 7353T16 | 6.36 | 5.39 |
| 7/8" | 3" | 0.007" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 27" | Stainless Steel | 7353T26 | 7.33 | 6.29 |
| 7/8" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T514 | 2.67 | 2.29 |
| 7/8" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T817 | 4.30 | 3.69 |
| 1" | 3" | 0.007" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 27" | Steel | 7353T17 | 6.36 | 5.39 |
| 1" | 3" | 0.007" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 27" | Stainless Steel | 7353T27 | 7.37 | 6.31 |
| 1" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T516 | 2.76 | 2.37 |
| 1" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T819 | 4.53 | 3.89 |
| 1 1/16" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T128 | 3.19 | 2.68 |
| 1 1/16" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T111 | 3.62 | 3.05 |
| 1 1/8" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T129 | 3.24 | 2.73 |
| 1 1/8" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T112 | 3.65 | 3.07 |
| 1 3/16" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T131 | 3.27 | 2.75 |
| 1 3/16" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T113 | 3.68 | 3.09 |
| 1 1/4" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T132 | 3.30 | 2.77 |
| 1 1/4" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 27" | Steel | 7353T18 | 6.58 | 5.57 |
| 1 1/4" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T114 | 3.70 | 3.11 |
| 1 1/4" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 27" | Stainless Steel | 7353T28 | 8.00 | 6.86 |
| 1 5/16" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T133 | 3.32 | 2.80 |
| 1 5/16" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T115 | 3.73 | 3.14 |
| 1 3/8" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T134 | 3.35 | 2.82 |
| 1 3/8" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T116 | 3.76 | 3.16 |
| 1 7/16" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T135 | 3.38 | 2.84 |
| 1 7/16" | 3" | 0.008" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T117 | 3.78 | 3.18 |
| 1 1/2" | 3" | 0.010" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T136 | 3.43 | 2.89 |
| 1 1/2" | 3" | 0.010" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 27" | Steel | 7353T19 | 7.24 | 6.20 |
| 1 1/2" | 3" | 0.010" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T118 | 3.84 | 3.23 |
| 1 1/2" | 3" | 0.010" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 27" | Stainless Steel | 7353T29 | 8.23 | 7.06 |
| 1 9/16" | 3" | 0.010" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T137 | 3.46 | 2.91 |
| 1 9/16" | 3" | 0.010" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T119 | 3.86 | 3.25 |
| 1 5/8" | 3" | 0.010" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T138 | 3.49 | 2.93 |
| 1 5/8" | 3" | 0.010" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Stainless Steel | 10" | Stainless Steel | 7353T121 | 3.92 | 3.30 |
| 1 11/16" | 3" | 0.010" | Flexible | 1 | 2 | Galvanized Steel | 10" | Steel | 7353T139 | 3.54 | 2.98 |
| 1 11/16" | 3" |
BTW, I am not done with the frame internal cavities. I broke all of the skid plate bolts loose, one at a time, and removed them. The tops of all had a good even coat of the internal coating. I then wire brushed the threads and re-installed with a generous coating of Never Seize and penetrating oil. That should keep them from rust welding in the nut serts. I will be getting the semi flexible bore scope to inspect inside of frame rails. Have already broke loose rear bumper bolts and will do same for front bumper.
This is on my do do list and I have a question, why bother with the degreaser?
The inside of my frame is like the Mojave , dry with lots of sand, nothing greasy or oily. When I drilled the drain holes sand was pouring out like an ancient booby trap in an Indiana Jones movie. Lol
The inside of my frame is like the Mojave , dry with lots of sand, nothing greasy or oily. When I drilled the drain holes sand was pouring out like an ancient booby trap in an Indiana Jones movie. Lol
It's my understanding that painting is 90% prep. As it relates to oil or any other contaminant... if you paint over it, the paint will not adhere and eventually fail. As a result, that spot will be subject to the elements thus nullifying the reason you painted in the first place.
While you may not see or just merely assume that there was no grease or oil on the inside of your frame, I would spend the 20 bucks at Walmart and pick up some purple power and degrease that frame for reassurance.
As Brian mentioned prep. is very important. If you are going to all of the trouble to rust proof your frame internals you may as well use a degreaser. It just gives a reasonable assurance that you have done everything possible to ensure good paint adhesion.
OP
Best of luck! Take the extra time to made a video or some photos so that others can see this with the older of the two frames. (They have some different openings.)
OP
In answer to one of the above questions (and any other regarding degreasing) we are not talking about sludge-like axle grease. Paint has a hard time adhering even to fingerprint oils. You degrease the metal to make the paint or primer not start coming loose on you after a few years. (Or days - some of you guys have GREASY fingers, HAHAHA!!!)
Anything metal that I paint or prime or lacquer gets washed off with a proper degreaser. This is especially important for a brass musical instrument as the lacquer HATES finger oils and residue from the buffer, which uses a rouge compound based on wax, grease, or other things that each maker uses to bind the red powder into bricks. A tuba might look like a freaking mirror after four hours buffing the snot out of it, but until you degrease it the surface is completely covered in an invisible grease.
The proper chemical for such a job (ahem, before OSHA) was trichloroethane, known by the innocuous name of "Solvent 111", which happens to be the active ingredient in most brake cleaners, but you can't degrease with one of them unless you do some checking first. Some of them have an oily product in them.
I just use mineral spirits or naphtha, which is easy to find and not too spendy. And OSHA can get bent trying to regulate whether I use it in my driveway or not. I already can't get Solvent 111 any more unless I do it illegally. (Hmm…)
Anyway, this is why you degrease, and an example of what you can use. The stronger chemicals work better on brass; the off-the-shelf products I mentioned will work good on mild steel.
Good luck, guys! Post pics of your process and outline what you altered in my instructions. Every bit of information is a help. These frames are slowly disappearing and we need to keep current on things that can be done to extend their lives.
Anything metal that I paint or prime or lacquer gets washed off with a proper degreaser. This is especially important for a brass musical instrument as the lacquer HATES finger oils and residue from the buffer, which uses a rouge compound based on wax, grease, or other things that each maker uses to bind the red powder into bricks. A tuba might look like a freaking mirror after four hours buffing the snot out of it, but until you degrease it the surface is completely covered in an invisible grease.
The proper chemical for such a job (ahem, before OSHA) was trichloroethane, known by the innocuous name of "Solvent 111", which happens to be the active ingredient in most brake cleaners, but you can't degrease with one of them unless you do some checking first. Some of them have an oily product in them.
I just use mineral spirits or naphtha, which is easy to find and not too spendy. And OSHA can get bent trying to regulate whether I use it in my driveway or not. I already can't get Solvent 111 any more unless I do it illegally. (Hmm…)
Anyway, this is why you degrease, and an example of what you can use. The stronger chemicals work better on brass; the off-the-shelf products I mentioned will work good on mild steel.
Good luck, guys! Post pics of your process and outline what you altered in my instructions. Every bit of information is a help. These frames are slowly disappearing and we need to keep current on things that can be done to extend their lives.
finally had time to get the fittings to get the clog hog up and running. my pressure washer is just a little electric one with 2000psi but it removed a ton of dirt and scale. didnt have time to do the full clean but it was cool seeing all the muck come out and i think i know how i want to attack it now. think im gonna drill a single hole in each side just in front of the rear tires. i think between that hole and the one at the rear of the frame i can jack the front up and let all of the junk drain to those holes. will try to get the frame drilled, cleaned, degreased, and rinsed on monday and tuesday so it can sit till sunday to dry out before i try the internal coating
I finished this project up over the weekend. I did not have to drill any holes in the frame as I was able to run the clog hog from the drain holes by the rear bumper all the way to the front of the frame. The clog hog did a great job of removing scale and dirt. I had to fish some of the larger pieces out by hand. With all the funk that came out I couldnt imagine notspraying degreaser in the frame to help adhesion. I think taping the tube for the coating to a wire coat hanger would be worth the time to help with snaking it through the holes and when I re-coat in a couple years I will try this method. Took almost 4 cans to get 2 coats, have 3/4 of a can left. Worthwhile project in my opinion. Thanks to the OP for this
Thanks for the nice write-up OP. I got the clog hog and cleaned out the frame really well, then used some blowers and I was able to rig up a vacuum cleaner and got all the debris out. I also got a boroscope and checked out the progress. It took me 4 cans of the Eastman coating to get full coverage of the inside frame rail. I also got their exterior frame paint and did the front and rear since I had the bumpers off. Planning to wire brush off the surface rust and redo the entire frame as time permits. Thanks again.
OP
I wonder if I could get something like this in the larger holes on the side....
Twinkle Star Gutter Cleaner Attachment for Pressure Washer, Coupled with 1/4" Brass Quick Coupler x 1/4" Plug, 4000 PSI (Gutter Wand) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074M89KRT/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Twinkle Star Gutter Cleaner Attachment for Pressure Washer, Coupled with 1/4" Brass Quick Coupler x 1/4" Plug, 4000 PSI (Gutter Wand) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074M89KRT/?tag=wranglerorg-20
OP
Maybe, but it is not flexible, so it would be severely limited in what it could do. Also, the two arms look to be way too long to get inside the frame from the side holes. The U shape would need to be only like 2" long on one side to make the turn, and it looks like there is no jet head, so that is additional length that has to make it around the turn. The beauty of the Clog Hog is not that it is a flexible hose, but that it has the jet head that both cleans the frame rail and propels it down the length for you, and it still has a jet that is aimed forward. It is very effective at what it does.
I know that the Clog Hog *does* cost like a hundred bucks, but it did the job perfectly on the first try, and I have used it four times since for frame maintenance on my TJ and several times on my JK, though this is not really a problem for the JK jeeps.
I have also unblocked my drains about five times, too. Better to get something good that will last and have multiple uses then to spend under ten bucks on something that does not look like it would really do much of anything; that's just ten bucks gone, IMHO.
Whatever you do, please share with us the results, and try to include some photos.
Best of luck!
I know that the Clog Hog *does* cost like a hundred bucks, but it did the job perfectly on the first try, and I have used it four times since for frame maintenance on my TJ and several times on my JK, though this is not really a problem for the JK jeeps.
I have also unblocked my drains about five times, too. Better to get something good that will last and have multiple uses then to spend under ten bucks on something that does not look like it would really do much of anything; that's just ten bucks gone, IMHO.
Whatever you do, please share with us the results, and try to include some photos.
Best of luck!
Last edited:
I actually ended up attaching a small piece of chain onto braided steel rope and then put that in my drill and spun the chain around in the frame and it broke up everything into fine dust. Then I just blew it out with my air compressor and grease gun hose and that worked perfect. Got her all coated with Eastwood last month!