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Frame rot, Central Illinois

5K views 32 replies 17 participants last post by  blkrvrbart 
#1 ·
Well, first of all hello from balmy central Illinois. I just re-Jeeped last week. Had a '92 YJ, got rid of it for a more practical vehicle, drove that a couple years and couldn't take it any more, and bought a '99 TJ. Nice Jeep, but the frame's pretty rough. Any work will be done in Bart's Barn (my shed), but I'm looking for parts. Maybe even a new to me frame. Any thoughts before it warms up here in May? Thanks for all the insight to this inherent problem, BTW. I've read lots of posts, and realize this one ain't the only one.
 

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#4 ·
Well, you will NEVER be able keep rust from happening. You can slow it down, remove it, or cover it up but that's it. Some places like Ziebart can apply stuff over what you already have to slow it down. I like POR-15. It's tough stuff but isn't always fun to work with. POR-15 Rust Preventive Coating

What you have is just surface scale. Now would be a good time to clean the frame the best you can and apply POR-15 or similar product.
 
#5 ·
Yeah, either I need glasses or I'm not seeing "frame rot" or anything out of the ordinary. For a TJ in IL, that actually looks pretty decent.

If you can't flake chunks of metal off or poke holes through the metal with a screwdriver then it's not rot and you can do some work to help prevent or slow down the onset of "cancer," such as with the previously mentioned POR-15.
 
#9 ·
Yeah, the pics really make it look better than it is. The first pic of the trailing arm doesn't really show the rot, but I could stick my finger through it, and the second pic shows a rust line down the middle of the center section. That's actually a crack rusted through the bottom of the rail. Still weighing what I want to do about it. Really liking the idea of building a frame but that's tons of work. Just going to drive it for the meantime. I'll try to take more pics this week.
 
#12 ·
Talked to a buddy of mine. He's a tinner, and at their shop he can bend up to 10 gauge (.1345" thick). Anybody know the thickness of material of the Autorust parts? If 10 gauge is thick enough, thinkin for the price of steel and some extra elbow grease, we're in good shape. Any thoughts on the thickness, whether that's thick as it should be?
 
#15 ·
So, due to the tornado damage we endured here around Washington, IL in November 2013, I had to rebuild our front garage wall among other things. Now that the repairs have been made, and all of the cold weather gone, I found sandwiched inside the old discarded garage header a 1/4" x 12" x 18'6" plate. Huh. Looks like enough material to bend and repair the TJ frame. Will wonders never cease.
 

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#16 ·
Still considering the autorustec safety caps. Somebody want to talk me down off that cliff? After looking at the width changes and bends, fabbing the patch pieces will get cobbly. Looking at buying a frame and swapping it out over the summer as another option. Who's been through this? Give us your thoughts.
 
#18 ·
I'll mirror what the guy above said too. By the time you put money and time into the safe t caps your better off just doing a frame swap, you'll end up with a much better repair and if you do your due diligence and put some drainage in the new frame and keep it cleaned out it should last for a long, long time.

I'm in the process of a frame swap right now. I'm just a weekend mechanic and it's been pretty straight forward. I took the time/opportunity to replace virtually evertying else underneath so that's taken some time but if you're just swapping everything from one frame to the next it shouldn't take you too long to do.

As far as chasis paint, I went with Mastercoat. Do some research on it on some of the hot rods and restoration forums, it's good stuff. As soon as I fix my body mounts and blast the underside of my tub I'll be painting the tub with it as well.

Good luck!
 
#21 ·
Hi folks - I have same issue and have been looking for a good TJ frame to swap on my '97, 6 cyl manual. Am curious where people have had luck finding them and about how much is a good price? I saw some out of Florida at about $2,500, which seemed a bit high. A lot of the others I've come across are bent up from wrecks or equally rusty. Thanks!
 
#25 ·
I just had to have some plates welded in, and new nutserts for the skid plate installed. If I can keep it together till I retire, the game plan will be to pick up another TJ in Texas, and swap over all the goodies I've got now.

Currently in Chicagoland...where road salt seems to be a renewable resource...
 
#29 ·
Drove from Chicago to near Jonesboro and back on a Sunday. Dragged a small folding trailer down with me to bring the frame home on. Worst part was stopping every 180 miles to fill up.
 
#32 ·
Lots of driving, that's for sure! Sand blasted inside and out, washed, 3 coats of Eastwood's(one with frame upside down), 2 coats of por-15 base coat, 2 coats of por-15 semi-gloss top coat.
 
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