Welp, that's not good

Blackthorne

New Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
22
Location
Maine
I knew I had one problem area with rust, but I hadn’t really gone and looked. Thankfully the rest of the frame looks pretty decent, but...can anyone let me know just how bad this is? I know it’s the frame, but I do have a body shop that does rust repair in my area. Am I effed?

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I've certainly seen worse. If the rest of the frame is solid, it is worth repairing IMHO. If you are handy with a grinder and a welder, you can drop the gas tank, cut out the cancer, and weld a piece in its place. Maybe get plugged in with a local jeep club (if you haven't already) supply the materials and food/beverages, and they can do it for you much cheaper than an autobody shop.

My .02.
 
That's easily fixable, but are you sure the rest of the frame is OK? Usually if it gets that bad in back, the frame under the skid plate and where it curves over the rear wheels is also compromised.
 
I can feel the love from this board already 😂

I’m going to have my buddy take another look. It was garaged most of its life before me, but Maine winters suck. I believe the previous owner (at least one) fluid filmed it, not sure how many times. I’m planning on getting it to pass inspection, then make a roadmap for taking care of the frame going forward. I know that can be the Achilles heel of the Wrangler.
 
I can feel the love from this board already 😂

I’m going to have my buddy take another look. It was garaged most of its life before me, but Maine winters suck. I believe the previous owner (at least one) fluid filmed it, not sure how many times. I’m planning on getting it to pass inspection, then make a roadmap for taking care of the frame going forward. I know that can be the Achilles heel of the Wrangler.
Just clean the hell out of the frame and spray fluid film everywhere Brian Posehn. I do two coats a year, that stuff really lasts a long time.
 
Ah, the Mopar trailer hitch. Yes, I believe the one I installed back in '98 also contributed significantly to the demise of my original frame.

If the rest of the frame is still good (and I don't have a good feeling about that at all), then make sure you put in some drain holes in front of the rear control arm mounts and behind the front mounts in the side rails, between 4.5" and 5" away from the mounts, about 5/8" or so in diameter. Also, once a week, put a hose inside the frame at the rear in the larger hole on each side and run a lot of water through.

Finally, if you can persuade the Mopar hitch to come back off, it might be a good idea to do so and see how bad the rest of the cross-member is. My hitch would not come back off in the normal fashion. I admit to a complete loss of patience and a 12 lb sledgehammer rampage for stress relief and anger management. The hitch stood up to the beating quite well at first.

If you replace the entire rear cross-member, and you need a hitch, I would go with a bumper that has a hitch integrated.