Internal frame rust with pictures

JC123

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 13, 2018
Messages
172
Location
Arlington, Virginia
inspected the inside of the frame today with endoscopic camera that Santa delivered. The frame is fairly clean where it rises at the wheels but has some scaling rust in the flat sections between the control arms. as suggested by others I'll add drain holes, try to clean it out and coat with Eastwood's in the spring. The frame seems solid so I hope I'm catching it early enough.

IMG_8159.JPGIMG_8155.JPGIMG_8154.JPGIMG_8157.JPG
 
Most of them rust in the flat section. Not uncommon at all. You can try the eastwood stuff. I dont know how well it works
 
Yes, those sections are common for rusting. You could easily cut those sections out of the frame and add SafeTCaps in their place: https://www.autorust.com/product-category/jeep/jeep-tj/

That's the proper way to do it, and what I would do if I was in your situation. This is of course assuming you plan on keeping it a long time.

Truth be told, you could probably drive it like that the rest of your life (as long as you sprayed some rust treatment in there to slow it down) and it would be fine. However, if you're like me, you like the peace of mind of knowing that your frame isn't rotting from rust on the inside.
 
The Eastwood stiff works well, I would suggest after the Eastwood frame coating follow it up with 3-M cavity wax. It’s recommended by just about every OEM manufacturer to be used in Collision repairs to restore the factory corrosion protection. When we complete structural repairs or even say a quarter panel replacement we don’t have much access to the inside/backside of the panel. The factory dips the entire body in a Ecoat bath for corrosion protection, we can’t exactly do that in collision repair,the cavity wax is the next best thing. I spray a can in each rail of my Lj every spring. And will be applying it to the inside and backside of all the body panels once the repaint is complete.
 
Although Safe-T-Cap is an option, like @Chris posted, Pocono Metal Craft makes essentially the same parts at a MUCH better price point. I actually have their full center frame sections and rear control arm mounts sitting in my garage waiting to be installed. They appear to be even thicker than the stock frame & the welds are top notch.

@EJD recommended them to me.
 
Although Safe-T-Cap is an option, like @Chris posted, Pocono Metal Craft makes essentially the same parts at a MUCH better price point. I actually have their full center frame sections and rear control arm mounts sitting in my garage waiting to be installed. They appear to be even thicker than the stock frame & the welds are top notch.

@EJD recommended them to me.

Very cool! I hadn't heard of those guys before. Their prices are way better!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2006TJ1
Very cool! I hadn't heard of those guys before. Their prices are way better!
I was checking out on the Safe T Cap website, and I was really having trouble spending $900 something on a bunch of (albeit well fabbed) sheet metal. I'm glad I found PMC because everything they sell is essentially half of the price and buying from them supports a small, local shop :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: RussTJ
I was checking out on the Safe T Cap website, and I was really having trouble spending $900 something on a bunch of (albeit well fabbed) sheet metal. I'm glad I found PMC because everything they sell is essentially half of the price and buying from them supports a small, local shop :)

Definitely, I'm going to have to make note of these guys so I can recommend them in place of the Safe-T-Caps from now on. I like their price point much better!
 
I think I’ll start with Eastwood and the 3-M wax (thanks for that tip, I hadn’t heard of that product before) and escalate to the frame repair if needed in the future.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jeepndogs
I think I’ll start with Eastwood and the 3-M wax (thanks for that tip, I hadn’t heard of that product before) and escalate to the frame repair if needed in the future.

Let me know if you are interested in getting together sometime and we can knock out both Jeeps. I need to clean the inside of my frame first before it's ready.
 
Although Safe-T-Cap is an option, like @Chris posted, Pocono Metal Craft makes essentially the same parts at a MUCH better price point. I actually have their full center frame sections and rear control arm mounts sitting in my garage waiting to be installed. They appear to be even thicker than the stock frame & the welds are top notch.

@EJD recommended them to me.

I never heard of PMC. I may have to check them out the next time I am visiting family in the Pocono region.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2006TJ1
Definitely going to bookmark this thread. I didn't get an endoscope from Santa this year, but it's definitely on my short list to buy and I imagine that I'll find something similar.
 
I never heard of PMC. I may have to check them out the next time I am visiting family in the Pocono region.
They have some pictures of the shop online. It looks like a normal, local shop, but I guess they have some serious fabrication space. They have a picture of their inventory of frame pieces and its huge. Very impressive.
 
They have some pictures of the shop online. It looks like a normal, local shop, but I guess they have some serious fabrication space. They have a picture of their inventory of frame pieces and its huge. Very impressive.

Once I get to cleaning my frame, I will figure out if I need to replace any parts of it. The website was blocked, so I will have to check their site out when I get home.
 
Let me know if you are interested in getting together sometime and we can knock out both Jeeps. I need to clean the inside of my frame first before it's ready.

That’d be great. My plan is to wait until the spring when the temperature rises so I can drill a couple more drain holes in the frame and paint the raw steel before cleaning and using Eastwood. I’ll check in with you then and if you haven’t done yours we can knock them both out.
 
That’d be great. My plan is to wait until the spring when the temperature rises so I can drill a couple more drain holes in the frame and paint the raw steel before cleaning and using Eastwood. I’ll check in with you then and if you haven’t done yours we can knock them both out.


I have a list of things that I want to address on my Jeep, but I am waiting for warmer weather since my garage is packed with "stuff".
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mikester86
The Eastwood stiff works well, I would suggest after the Eastwood frame coating follow it up with 3-M cavity wax. It’s recommended by just about every OEM manufacturer to be used in Collision repairs to restore the factory corrosion protection. When we complete structural repairs or even say a quarter panel replacement we don’t have much access to the inside/backside of the panel. The factory dips the entire body in a Ecoat bath for corrosion protection, we can’t exactly do that in collision repair,the cavity wax is the next best thing. I spray a can in each rail of my Lj every spring. And will be applying it to the inside and backside of all the body panels once the repaint is complete.

Thanks for this tip. Is it really necessary in addition to the Eastwood internal frame coating, or do you use it instead of the Eastwood? I plan on using the Eastwood product soon on the inside of my frame, so am curious.
 
I have a question- there’s a local welding metal fabrication company that has a good reputation and has done many Jeep TJ frame repairs.
He does not use the safe t cap method he fabricates his own frame out of 1/4” steel and cuts out basically the entire frame from the top. He has no holes in the replacement sections. His logic is if there’s no holes there’s no where for the water to get in and rust from the inside out. These pics are prior to the undercoat that he applies. On my frame he will need to replace the spring perches and mounts in the rear and I want him to center the perches so the springs no longer bend. The price is 3K and that includes replacing the springs and shocks as well as the paint.
Any advice would be appreciated

6C0A8B61-EC77-4964-A1C7-DF6E06D298FA.jpeg


76030224-F0FB-4997-956B-5619F2642102.jpeg


F8F1C89D-00E0-41CA-8D31-E25332DD6A68.jpeg


F4468B4C-766E-47AE-A4D9-007C5B520049.jpeg


466C97F5-1D81-4C7A-9895-62F8C2E28301.jpeg


B52EAB49-6AA6-49EC-A566-476063AF33E4.jpeg


ED3EDD54-03F0-4992-B302-2FFDA9A12CA0.jpeg


8AFB1803-1CFD-4A9D-9F5E-BF27CC439281.jpeg


8309683B-596E-45E1-9969-DF6801A5C86F.jpeg
 
Interesting. I for one do not like the idea of sealing anything up to where it cannot be inspected. From my experience (mostly boats, mind you), water will always find a way in, and when it does, you want it to find its way out, or at least be able to notice it and then force it out. I would prefer to know that water has a way in and out, than to hope that water hasn't snuck in with no way out.

So, regardless of whether you go with this guy, I'd still put in some drain holes, and I'd still treat the inside of the frame (sounds like he's doing that for you), and I'd still flush it out a few times per year, and I'd still check on it with a scope from time to time.