Frame repair and fender alignment

[Gavinr7211]

Hey all. I’m in the process of repairing my Jeep tj and lifting it up 3-4”. I had to start by repairing the lower control arm mounts frame side, and patching some thin spots as well. I removed the front axle and suspension to get easy access to everything and made the welds and repairs. However when going to reinstall the fenders I found that the front of the jeep appears to have dropped. Today I tried cutting some relief cuts into the frame to see if I could bend the frame up a little bit, but had a heck of a time getting deep enough with everything pretty much put back on. I could also probably shim the front grill but I’m not sure the best way to do that while also making everything look right. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I can provide more info if needed. Pictures have been attached with different views of what has been done and what I am dealing with. This is so frustrating that I’m on the edge of dropping the project.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Did your repairs involve cutting away sections of the frame, and then welding in patch panels?

 

[Gavinr7211]

Did your repairs involve cutting away sections of the frame, and then welding in patch panels?

Yes. I only cut away one side at a time to try and keep the geometry of the square tube. Probably should of had support in the front to keep the distortion down but this is my first time doing a project of this caliber so live and learn I suppose

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Yes. I only cut away one side at a time to try and keep the geometry of the square tube. Probably should of had support in the front to keep the distortion down but this is my first time doing a project of this caliber so live and learn I suppose

Kudos for taking on the project - that's certainly not an easy task. Most likely the combination of not properly supporting and bracing the frame during the repair, coupled with throwing too much heat at it by not adequately spreading out the welds and causing warping, resulted in the misalignment. That's a tough one to fix.

First thing I would do is to assess how bad it is. If you have access to the service manuals here on the site, I believe that there is a measured drawing of the frame somewhere, including elevations from a reference point (generally the floor) for points along the frame. That would help you identify where the warping occurred. I don't know exactly where I've seen that diagram, but others here have posted it, and hopefully someone can point you to it.

Correcting it yourself - that's a tough one. It would likely require cutting the frame around your repairs, realigning to spec, and then welding and fish plating the frame back together. That would be one hell of a project.

The best way may be to take it to a shop with a frame rack and have them check and realign the frame. But, that's an expensive process. And depending how bad it is, it may not be correctable this way - but I'm not sure.

Other than that, I'm fresh out of ideas. But, there are a bunch of folks here on the site much more knowledgeable than I that can hopefully offer some better guidance. Good luck.

 

[macleanflood]

@johnny Jeep posted this a few topics down...

-Mac

 

[Gavinr7211]

@johnny Jeep posted this a few topics down...

View attachment 644127

-Mac

Thanks! I will try to get some half decent measurements tomorrow. Assuming the frame IS sagged down, not entirely sure how I’d fix it but I might just keep persevering!

 

[macleanflood]

Chain two points down and use the biggest hydraulic jack to encourage it back straight.

Lasers help tons. I got a green cross line on Amazon for $50 and it's fantastic.

-Mac

 

[NashvilleTJ]

@johnny Jeep posted this a few topics down...

View attachment 644127

-Mac

That's it, Mac. You da man.

 

[Rickyd]

 

[Gavinr7211]

Chain two points down and use the biggest hydraulic jack to encourage it back straight.

Lasers help tons. I got a green cross line on Amazon for $50 and it's fantastic.

-Mac

That just might work. I have a chain hoist I can use, and a 2 post lift I could probably chain it to. Maybe I’ll get some pull with that.

 

[chili_pepper]

@johnny Jeep posted this a few topics down...

View attachment 644127

-Mac

View attachment 644148

Just an FYI, this dimensional information and more is available in the body and frame sections of the service manuals. For anyone new, you can grab PDF copies of these in the resources section here...

STICKY Thread 'Jeep Wrangler TJ Factory Service Manuals (FSM) & Technical Documentation'

Apr 9, 2017

This post is for TJ documentation like Factory Service Manuals Etc..
A while back I was able to find the FSM for my 2006 TJ. I decided to look at the same website I have used to download FMS to see if I can find others. I hit the jackpot so I am sharing :beer-toast1:

Please if there are any issues or they are inaccurate let me know.

Thanks @UpperMI for the additional 2002 manuals

• JeepNWilly
• fsm maintenance manual owners manual pdf service manual shop manual
• Replies: 269
• Forum: TJ Resources

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[Gavinr7211]

An update after messing with the frame today. Chained the frame to the lift and jacked up the front of the frame with a 4 ton hydraulic jack as much as I felt comfortable. The holes started to align and after seeing the relief cuts open at the bottom I felt good welding it back up. Leaving it rigged up I tried to keep it as cool as possible while welding to prevent further distortion. I let it completely cool before letting off the jack, and while it did not completely get me to where I wanted to be, I will feel a lot more comfortable shimming it up the little bit it still has to go. Tried getting sag measurements as best I could, but with a concrete floor and no jig, there's only so close I can realistically measure. Overall as frustrating as this project is I am hopeful that the end product will turn out decent.