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Hi all I've been doing some research and have come to the conclusion I should outsource the frame rail repair I need. Back story: I was handed down a 96 Jeep XJ, my mom’s first new car, from my parents. It sat for a while and has incurred some rust damage as a result. The jeep has been maintained to the T mechanically and runs better than most cars. That’s why I’m considering these repairs possibly worth it. The driver’s side frame rail specifically at the cross member is the main cause of concern. It appears that road salt significantly accelerated the decay process there. I gave the passenger’s side rail a close look over, giving it good taps with a ball point hammer and everything is solid there. I intend on replacing the floorplans so the floor pan can be cut out allowing for access to the inside of the rail if that can make the job easier/ cheaper. Either way I wanted to clean out the inside of the rails and seal them to prevent further rusting. What are your professional opinions on a cost estimate for the repairs and where do I start to even look for a professional to do this job? Could a mobile welder be employed in this scenario so I could do all the prep and finishing work?I live in Chicago on the NW side if anyone is familiar with the area and can recommend someone or someplace. Link with images:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharingLast edited by plk; 01-22-2020 at 11:48 PM.
Reply:I'm in Canada and obviously know nothing about your locale, but another option to consider might be a frame swap from a parts vehicle from someplace like Nevada. Lots of work, but it will bring you back to stock, and depending on charges, might not cost a lot more. If you are seeing issues in some areas, chances are others are soon to follow. Cheap fly by nighters will leave you with a bigger mess than you started with.250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC StickF-225 amp Forney AC Stick230 amp Sears AC StickLincoln 180C MIGVictor Medalist 350 O/ACut 50 PlasmaLes
Reply:
Originally Posted by whtbaron
I'm in Canada and obviously know nothing about your locale, but another option to consider might be a frame swap from a parts vehicle from someplace like Nevada. Lots of work, but it will bring you back to stock, and depending on charges, might not cost a lot more. If you are seeing issues in some areas, chances are others are soon to follow. Cheap fly by nighters will leave you with a bigger mess than you started with.
Reply:just to let you know, there is no frame rail on a xj jeep (cherokee). it is a unibody body construction, whole jeep is the so-called frame. just a little (minimal) thicker than the sheet metal. if you have a gas mig welder and not just a wire feed welder, you can weld it yourself with a little guidance. might go to a body shop and ask them or one of their guys will show you how to weld and some practice. offer to pay them. worth a shot. might save a lot!lincoln 125spmonkey wards 250 ac/dcmiller 211 w/spool gunahp 200 sx tiglotos ltp5000dof course duramax diesel
Reply:
Originally Posted by duramax-rob
just to let you know, there is no frame rail on a xj jeep (cherokee). it is a unibody body construction, whole jeep is the so-called frame. just a little (minimal) thicker than the sheet metal. if you have a gas mig welder and not just a wire feed welder, you can weld it yourself with a little guidance. might go to a body shop and ask them or one of their guys will show you how to weld and some practice. offer to pay them. worth a shot. might save a lot!
Reply:My first Jeep was 1946 CJ2A I still have it. The only perfect frame I've ever seen. Since, I have owned 20? All Jeep frames rust in the same place behind the seat. There are thousands of welders willing to repair one. Few can be talked into doing a second frame repair. You can buy new frames, but most repairs fail. The frame is rusty throughout. One point failed, but finding steel to weld to is tough. Southern frames are less rusty, I'd look for one. If you have 30" on each side rusted out now, next year it'll be 40". You will never catch it.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:My younger son explained all the Jeep letter designations, YJ, TJ XJ, JK. The only one I remember is JK it stands for Just Kidding. I can recite MB, M38, M38A1, CJ2A,3A, 3B, CJ4, 5, 6 CJ7, I feel like there was a YJ. Nobody admits it ever existed.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:
Originally Posted by Willie B
My younger son explained all the Jeep letter designations, YJ, TJ XJ, JK. The only one I remember is JK it stands for Just Kidding. I can recite MB, M38, M38A1, CJ2A,3A, 3B, CJ4, 5, 6 CJ7, I feel like there was a YJ. Nobody admits it ever existed.
Reply:
Originally Posted by duramax-rob
just to let you know, there is no frame rail on a xj jeep (cherokee). it is a unibody body construction, whole jeep is the so-called frame. just a little (minimal) thicker than the sheet metal. if you have a gas mig welder and not just a wire feed welder, you can weld it yourself with a little guidance. might go to a body shop and ask them or one of their guys will show you how to weld and some practice. offer to pay them. worth a shot. might save a lot!
Reply:The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a range of mid-size SUVs produced by the American manufacturer Jeep. While some other SUVs were manufactured with body-on-frame construction, the Jeep Grand Cherokee has always used a unibody chassis.en.wikipedia.org wiki Jeep_Grand_CherokeeJeep Grand Cherokee - Wikipediahttps://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...Zzcj22RFQLb2C_
Reply:
Originally Posted by plk
Thanks for the advice! I’m considering the body shop idea for the unibody rail section. There’s a few places by me that I could make a quick run to and get a quote. Why do you recommend mig specifically though? As opposed to stick or shielding gas?
Reply:Quadra tec has what you need. There are others. You still need a weldor to make it right.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:
Originally Posted by plk
Thanks for the advice! I’m considering the body shop idea for the unibody rail section. There’s a few places by me that I could make a quick run to and get a quote. Why do you recommend mig specifically though? As opposed to stick or shielding gas?
Reply:
Originally Posted by Willie B
TIG would be tough under the vehicle, though some are able. TIG, while contorting your body to painful places still requires more concentration than most people could muster. Stick is a process only an extreme expert could weld metal that thin out of position. MIG (metal with inert gas) is the only process appropriate. ALL your metal has to be clean. No paint, undercoating, or rust within an inch of where it gets welded.
Reply:Never repaired a unibody Cherokee, I bought only one. My older son has always been obsessed with Wranglers. We fix them without much fuss. (I'm from the CJ era). Zack's 2000 Cherokee was southern He obsessed about oil pressure, sold it. Three years later I met the girl who bought it. She was worried about a rocker panel bubbling a bit of rust. Unibody repair isn't ever easy. You can buy the parts needed, but you have to weld while being burned. If you have skill, and can ignore pain, fix your XJ.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:
Originally Posted by Willie B
Never repaired a unibody Cherokee, I bought only one. My older son has always been obsessed with Wranglers. We fix them without much fuss. (I'm from the CJ era). Zack's 2000 Cherokee was southern He obsessed about oil pressure, sold it. Three years later I met the girl who bought it. She was worried about a rocker panel bubbling a bit of rust. Unibody repair isn't ever easy. You can buy the parts needed, but you have to weld while being burned. If you have skill, and can ignore pain, fix your XJ.
Reply:Many years ago my then fiancee was in college 120 miles away. I was building our house single handed, and working full time. There wasn't much free time. She would come home each weekend, I'd spend too much time fixing her car each weekend. She had a 1974 Audi 100 LS it was 1980. She would have at least one new complaint each weekend. I was fed up with this 6-7 year old clunker! One weekend she came home saying "The seat sits funny". I refused to even look. Saturday morning I went to the lumber yard, used one of their trucks. The owner followed me home with Nancy in the passenger seat to help unload. He got out of her car saying "The seat sits funny." I had no patience to investigate, I had work to do.Sunday night she got in to go back to school, her seat went through the floor.11 hours later she had a new floor, and went off to college. In those days I welded unibody with an acetylene torch. I do NOT miss that car.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:LOL... reminds me of the 78 Malibu I had from the east coast when the kids were small. One day I could smell something burning and the carpet underlay/sound deadener was touching the muffler. When the back frame rails came unglued and let the back bumper move around it went down the road permanently... I never missed it either...250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC StickF-225 amp Forney AC Stick230 amp Sears AC StickLincoln 180C MIGVictor Medalist 350 O/ACut 50 PlasmaLes |
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发表于 2021-9-1 23:18:22