Identifying internal frame rust with endoscope

Quick update, after pulling the rear bumper & really getting the scope in there I’ve determined that the rear section of the TJ frame is the stupidest part of the design even beating out the no drain hole area at the rear lower control arm mount. Crud & objects float in when crossing water, flow to the back of the frame & get trapped in the functional equivalent of a strainer formed by the frame & the rear crossmember. I pulled a large chunk of what looks to be part of a rubber isolator out of there & found a bunch of dried chunks of mud & stones which I couldn’t get out so I built a pummeler I’ve seen on various forums, got on in there & turned everything to dust then blew it out with alternating air, vacuuming & flowing water. Also drilled out the two lower crossmember holes so they’ll actually let larger debris flow out with the water.

Good news is after checking the entire length of frame it all looks good, it’s all prepped & ready for the re-Eastwooding now.

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So if the inside of the frame is showing rust, how do you clean it up? I'm thinking of getting this endoscope so I can see what my frame looks like. And I had what may be an incredibly stupid idea, but after a treatment, could you foam the inside of the frame? Maybe to help keep debris out?
 
Artemis said:
So if the inside of the frame is showing rust, how do you clean it up? I'm thinking of getting this endoscope so I can see what my frame looks like. And I had what may be an incredibly stupid idea, but after a treatment, could you foam the inside of the frame? Maybe to help keep debris out?
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while foam might keep the debris out I'm pretty sure it would keep the water/moisture in which would be even worse. Best to keep the rails as open as possibly to allow them to drain & air out after they get wet or submerged.

As for cleaning the rust up, I guess it depends on how much you have & what kind. If it's a thin layer on the surface, meaning it hasn't begun scaling & flaking, you can just paint over it with Eastwood according to the company. If you've got heavy rust & a bunch of chunks & flakes in there you'd want to get rid of that first before painting & the drill tool I made would be perfect for bashing it to dust & getting down to smoother metal underneath, then painting it... In fact the posts I've seen this tool in were more for that purpose
 
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Artemis said:
So if the inside of the frame is showing rust, how do you clean it up? I'm thinking of getting this endoscope so I can see what my frame looks like. And I had what may be an incredibly stupid idea, but after a treatment, could you foam the inside of the frame? Maybe to help keep debris out?
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Foam is the worst thing you can do. I had that rusty inside frame and painfully / patiently wire brush it loose to where I soaked it with boiled linseed oil there after. Took me a year and a half to knock off those scaled rusts using westtown willy's methods.
 
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Yeah after I wrote it I thought about it also keeping moisture inside the frame ;) but, wow, a year and a half to get the rust out? That's some dedication. But I am truly curious what mine looks like now.
 
Artemis said:
Yeah after I wrote it I thought about it also keeping moisture inside the frame ;) but, wow, a year and a half to get the rust out? That's some dedication. But I am truly curious what mine looks like now.
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I did it in my spare time on weekends. With two kids to raise and a wife, it started when I removed the skid plates - the nut inside the frame broke loose why I discovered the rust scales in there, took down gas tank at one weekend, then removed the bumpers, moved onto the coil springs on a dedicated lift from a friend, I changed some bump stops while was on it, and then removed the shocks when I had a chance. I took all the time when I had the chance. Wire brushed the inside for 6 times and flushed it with air compressor.
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I want to get one of those endoscopes.

I used a pressure washer 1/4" drain line clog remover attachment to clean out mine prior to the eastman treatment. I know adding additional water to the equation may not be the best solution but did it in the summer so it would evaportate quickly. That high pressure bit did great at knocking off loose debris and rusty bits. A few days later went through with multiple cans of eastman green internal coating.

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Tip: tape better than me, I have green paint drips all over my frame . Also, don't get any on the Jeep's paint job, a minor panic attack will ensue followed by frantic clay bar treatments.

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Chris said:
Ahh, I've never used it. I thought it was similar to Fluid Film in that it was a greasy like substance that just came off over time.
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Chris, I am a bit disappointed with the fluid film. Two days after my application I drove it through rainy highway. Lot's of the thin layers are gone. I know it for I sprayed-mist it with water and the water stuck to the surface. Water should flow-drip down if the FF is still there. What do you think?
 
putting this scope on the xmas list, I did poke around with a flashlight and my finger and glad to not see or feel any rust. Especially since my rig spent 3 years in OH and the balance in Pittsburgh. I do think the fact that it was a half door jeep meant it was garaged and weekend warrior.
 
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TJ2 said:
Chris, I am a bit disappointed with the fluid film. Two days after my application I drove it through rainy highway. Lot's of the thin layers are gone. I know it for I sprayed-mist it with water and the water stuck to the surface. Water should flow-drip down if the FF is still there. What do you think?
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Are you applying it 3-4 times a year very liberally?
 
TJ2 said:
This is my first time applying FF. But that is the plan, at least twice a year.
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Yeah, you have to apply it about evert 2-3 months very liberally if you want it to stay on and do it's magic. I don't think there's anything out there (including straight linseed oil) that won't need to be re-applied every so often.
 
TJ2 said:
I did it in my spare time on weekends. With two kids to raise and a wife, it started when I removed the skid plates - the nut inside the frame broke loose why I discovered the rust scales in there, took down gas tank at one weekend, then removed the bumpers, moved onto the coil springs on a dedicated lift from a friend, I changed some bump stops while was on it, and then removed the shocks when I had a chance. I took all the time when I had the chance. Wire brushed the inside for 6 times and flushed it with air compressor.
View attachment 61845
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Jesus I got chest pains seeing that picture, glad you got all that outa there

IPerkWVU said:
I want to get one of those endoscopes.

I used a pressure washer 1/4" drain line clog remover attachment to clean out mine prior to the eastman treatment. I know adding additional water to the equation may not be the best solution but did it in the summer so it would evaportate quickly. That high pressure bit did great at knocking off loose debris and rusty bits. A few days later went through with multiple cans of eastman green internal coating.

View attachment 61840

Tip: tape better than me, I have green paint drips all over my frame . Also, don't get any on the Jeep's paint job, a minor panic attack will ensue followed by frantic clay bar treatments.

View attachment 61841
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I like the idea of the green so you can see where it is & where you missed, I went with black which is harder to see

Chris said:
Yeah, you have to apply it about evert 2-3 months very liberally if you want it to stay on and do it's magic. I don't think there's anything out there (including straight linseed oil) that won't need to be re-applied every so often.
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if you're daily driving it & in a rainy part of the country that makes sense. I re-did mine in September & still had last year's application on though. The stuff is pretty amazing, it picks up just enough crud to form a lanolin crud barrier between water & the metal.

Funny thing, last year when I put it on it stunk me out of the garage. This year it wasn't nearly as repulsive, the smell of success, was actually kinda nice :campeon2:
 
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Westtown Willy said:
if you're daily driving it & in a rainy part of the country that makes sense. I re-did mine in September & still had last year's application on though. The stuff is pretty amazing, it picks up just enough crud to form a lanolin crud barrier between water & the metal.

Funny thing, last year when I put it on it stunk me out of the garage. This year it wasn't nearly as repulsive, the smell of success, was actually kinda nice :campeon2:
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Yeah, that's true. Here in the PNW it rains non-stop during the Fall and Winter months, so it has to be re-applied more often.

It does work very nicely though, I agree. I make a habit of pressure washing all of it off first if I plan on doing something very involved (maintenance) under the vehicle, then I reapply it afterwards.
 
SOMD-JeepFan said:
Did you make the frame pummeler yourself? I may have to take a ride to PA. I guess it's time for me to order my endoscope. Thanks for the write-up.
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I did, by using a recipe I found on the 'other' wrangler forum :Laie_22mini:

Though I may have to take credit for naming it the pummeler, couldn't think of anything else that described it as well
 
Eastwood finally arrived yesterday, it was back ordered for two weeks. Started out this morning by cranking up the kerosene heater in the garage to warm things up.

One thing that sucks about this product is that the extension hose is coiled up & just doesn't want to straighten out so when you put it in the frame it just curls up & the broadcasting tip hits one of the surfaces of the frame & can really impede good coverage. I clipped about an 8 inch section of a hanger & taped it to the end of the hose so I could get better control of the tip while in the frame, worked really well given that the tip really does spray 180 degrees so it's good to have the tip suspended dead center inside the frame. First I went in the newly widened rear cross member holes & drenched those sections as I really hit them hard with the pummeler, not sure there was any Eastwood left from my original coating last year. Other than that I just gave short blasts to all the other openings that I had damaged with the pressure washer. Emptied one whole can going over the entire frame so far, I'll let it dry then head back out with the camera & inspect my work to see if I missed any spots, then unload the 2nd can in & call this a done deal. Haven't driven it in weeks so I'm anxious to get it put back together & out the door, thinking a possible Black Friday wheeling day if the weather cooperates & I can find some volunteers.

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I like the coat hanger idea. When I did mine, I slipped a piece of clear tube/fuel line over the Eastwood nozzle. It gave some control, but probably not as good as your method.
 
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