Suddenly a rusty frame is not an issue. Love the LJ version.
I'm just surprised there is no triangulation at the firewall.
I'm just surprised there is no triangulation at the firewall.
Wide Open Design's TJ and LJ Tube Chassis
- Thread starter Fouledplugs
- Start date
-
- Tags
- build shops wide open design wod
hardtopper
Member
I am now.
It doesn't have the style points of a tubular frame, but still a good option.
If you go through all the effort of swapping frames and your new one rusts out again, you deserve to deal with any fire you find. It is extremely easy to stop a TJ frame from rusting out no matter how much salt you drive in. The issue with TJ frames is that owners simply don’t know they need to take care of them. Swapping a tube frame in isn’t the answer to rust problems on TJ’s. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to drop a WOD frame under my TJ some day though
hardtopper
Member
If you go through all the effort of swapping frames and your new one rusts out again, you deserve to deal with any fire you find. It is extremely easy to stop a TJ frame from rusting out no matter how much salt you drive in. The issue with TJ frames is that owners simply don’t know they need to take care of them. Swapping a tube frame in isn’t the answer to rust problems on TJ’s. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to drop a WOD frame under my TJ some day though
That's new to me. I was under the impression it's not a matter of if but when, if you live in a rust state. What are the maintenance steps one takes that are extremely easy? I wouldn't consider hosing down the underside of a vehicle after every drive to fit that description, so you must have something else in mind? I'm not being sarcastic, I honestly have no idea.
I wanted to start a thread on this at some point, but I guess I'll put this here. Hopefully this doesn't derail the thread too much and is helpful to a few people. This is stuff I learned while planning my frame swap.
Needlessly long explanation start:
Rust is always able to be stopped. There is a ton of misinformation on the internet about TJ frames and how to stop rust. People who follow that advice often find they have rust at the end of the winter and therefore the "it is impossible to stop" comes out. You can definitely stop rust on a TJ frame.
My advice is only going to work well if you have a pristine frame from the start, which is often not the case. If you don't have a pristine frame to begin with, your job gets a lot harder since you need to completely rid the inside of a boxed frame of rust, then start from scratch. Simply covering rust with POR15 isn't the ticket, and I never get why people use that stuff. If you have eradicated all the rust you can from your frame, your job becomes applying and maintaining a coating.
The first part to understand about frame rust is what role coatings are really playing. A coating is designed to protect the steel for short - medium periods of time. This is why that road sign near your house starts out as rust free when it is first installed and stays that ways for years. The coating is holding up. When the coating breaks down, rust starts and grows at an exponential rate. A lot of people believe you can just chuck some eastwood or fluid film in the frame and check back in the spring. You can't. It won't hold up to 6 months of salt water pooling inside the center section of the frame. That salt water will find every nook and cranny you missed with the coating and start the rust process.
Factory frames are 100% coated internally and externally. I believe they were dipped in the coating before they were put under the Jeep. If you have a pristine frame, keeping this coating in tact is your #1 goal. Put a good secondary coating like eastwood over the factory if you want. But most importantly, don't let salt and water sit on the inside of your boxed frame. This will deteriorate the coating and start rust. Drill drain holes. Wash the frame 1-2 times a week on the way back from work, internally and externally. Don't let salt and garbage sit on your frame and justify it with some coating you bought at Lowes. Remember, coatings are not a forever solution, they are meant to protect the frame in the short term, so you can't rely on them to block out a full winter of salt and water.
At the end of the day, the drain holes are the most important part of keeping an internal coating in good shape. Letting water and salt sit in your frame is a recipe for disaster. After drilling drain holes, wash your frame when you can, but don't obsess over it unless you live in a salt mine.
So, all this to say that if you gave me a brand new TJ today this is what I would do:
1) Drill drain holes
2) Put a secondary coating over the factory one
3) Use the plugs you can find online to stop junk from getting in the frame
4) Remove the frame plugs and wash the frame 1-2 times a week
5) Clean the frame and reapply my coating one time during the winter
Needlessly long explanation over. Hopefully this helps some people.
Last edited:
Jeanfi007
Member
Hello Jodomcfrodo,
Thank you for these explanations.
Can you explain where drill drain holes?
Where can I find the plugs from getting in the frame?
that's it ?
https://www.quadratec.com/p/crown-a...gler-tj-unlimited-and-cherokee-xj-comanche-mj
Thank you in advance for your answers
Thank you for these explanations.
Can you explain where drill drain holes?
Where can I find the plugs from getting in the frame?
that's it ?
https://www.quadratec.com/p/crown-a...gler-tj-unlimited-and-cherokee-xj-comanche-mj
Thank you in advance for your answers
hardtopper
Member
Excellent effort, @jodomcfrodo, and probably deserving of its own thread. While drilling into the frame isn't all that difficult, it's not exactly for the timid, either. It should also be stressed, if doing so, you're exposing previously un-coated metal, so attention should be given to coating the area around the drain holes.
OP
Tigger09
TJ Enthusiast
OP
MallCrawlOnTons
TJ Enthusiast
Tigger09
TJ Enthusiast
No idea. A new frame at 3k sounds like a good deal, 4k is a little steep for me. Especially since the TJ frames are 1000-2000 more than any other frame they sell. At 4k I'll see ifni can find a used one somewhere or think about safetcaps.
OP
I was following you when you mentioned the ultimate adventure. He’s been on them consecutively since at-least 2013 or so. I was assuming.
MallCrawlOnTons
TJ Enthusiast
hardtopper
Member
Right on queue, here's a perfect example of a good frame swap candidate:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/931468173902031/
(I hope it's okay to post that link.) Kudos to the seller for posting such detailed pics and description of the cancer, although he's probably going to have to drop the price another grand to get anyone inquiring. Someone wanting to tackle the work themselves could have a better-than-new, low mileage TJ for $7-8k.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/931468173902031/
(I hope it's okay to post that link.) Kudos to the seller for posting such detailed pics and description of the cancer, although he's probably going to have to drop the price another grand to get anyone inquiring. Someone wanting to tackle the work themselves could have a better-than-new, low mileage TJ for $7-8k.
B00mb00m
The Church of Cutting Brakes of Atlas-Front Digs
Supporting Member
Ride of the Month Winner
Seeing all the buggies couple weekends ago got me into reading about buggy chassis, but also seeing how unstreet-worthy the buggies I saw were, Goat Built vs WOD look like pretty awesome options. Get a TJ title / body and you can run a buggy on the street. Noticing that both Goat Built and WOD have trailing arm designs but you almost never see it on LJ's. Also none of the buggies I saw had trailing arms. Why do we see these two buggy designers utilizing this option?
https://goatbuilt.com/product/tj-lj-buggy-chassis-kit/#chassis-configuration
https://goatbuilt.com/product/tj-lj-buggy-chassis-kit/#chassis-configuration
OP
One of their TJ builds at full bump. The only thing it’s missing is some Savvy LED taillights.
