Internal frame rust with pictures

[JC123]

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.

 

[jwrangler187]

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

 

[Chris]

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.

 

[jeepndogs]

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.

 

[2006TJ1]

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.

 

[Chris]

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!

 

[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

 

[Chris]

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!

 

[JC123]

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.

 

[Mike_H]

I have a borescope...but I'm afraid to stick it into the frame. If I do, I'll have a body off restoration thread in no time!

 

[SOMD-JeepFan]

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.

 

[SOMD-JeepFan]

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.

 

[Equilibrium31]

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.

 

[2006TJ1]

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.

 

[SOMD-JeepFan]

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.

 

[JC123]

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.

 

[SOMD-JeepFan]

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".

 

[Adms01TJ]

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

 

[CharlesHS]

For those that have used Eastwood Internal Frame Coating to encapsulate the inside of the frame; how many 14 oz cans (covers 10 sqft) to generously coat the entire frame ?

 

[Andy-WhiteTJ]

I agree with @SSTJ Water will always find a way in the smallest of cracks. Better to get it out and have it dry out. When I replaced my frame in my Jeep in 2010, before I did anything, I turned the new frame over and drilled 5/8" holes in 4 locations at the bottom. I can clean out my frame at anytime and flush everything out. I don't drive mine in the winter. It's a fun toy for the other three seasons.

We did the same to my son's Jeep when he got his. The frame was very clean but he wanted to keep it for as long as he could. It is his daily driver. Every fall, we spray it down with Fluid Film. The frame still looks new inside after 5 years of daily driving.

My daughters Jeep had issues with the frame. The tub and everything else was immaculate. I brought it to Safe-T-Cap in RI and they cut out all the old cancer and replaced both side frame rails including the rear control arm mounts. They put on an undercoat. There are two holes on each side to let water out. I drilled two more and put a rust inhibitor inside the frame rails. When that flashed off and dried, I sprayed Fluid Film on it as well. We do it every fall.

Remember, when the weld on new pieces to a frame, the inside paint on the area where the old frame was gets burned off. The new metal does not have a coating so is bare. If moisture does get in there, it will rust quickly. Having holes to drain the water also allows you to put a wand up there and coat these areas.

BTW, @Adms01TJ, you're not far from me. I live between Wappingers Falls and Poughkeepsie.

​