Is this frame rust fixable?

[JDS123]

My brother lives in Seattle. I'd have him pick it up for me and hold onto it for a while until he moves back south, I'm just not too sure when he's coming back. $100 is DIRT cheap tho

I'd start looking sooner rather than later. Daveys charges $2000 - $2500 for his frames, which is a bit steep. Most sell for somewhere around $1200 and I got mine for $1000 from a guy near Chattanooga. They are damn near impossible to find and go within hours of being posted. If a good deal comes up near you, I would jump on it.

So now that that's been decided upon, what does that mean for me now.... don't drive it?

You can drive it. I just wouldn't drive very fast with a hole in my frame. Definitely want to get this fixed ASAP. That being said, I've seen people driving around with much worse frames than that. If you need to run a few miles down the highway, I would feel somewhat safe doing so.

 

[2006TJ1]

I'd start looking sooner rather than later. Daveys charges $2000 - $2500 for his frames, which is a bit steep. Most sell for somewhere around $1200 and I got mine for $1000 from a guy near Chattanooga. They are damn near impossible to find and go within hours of being posted. If a good deal comes up near you, I would jump on it.



You can drive it. I just wouldn't drive very fast with a hole in my frame. Definitely want to get this fixed ASAP. That being said, I've seen people driving around with much worse frames than that. If you need to run a few miles down the highway, I would feel somewhat safe doing so.

At least I'm in an area that's dry and salt free. So that's at least a positive.
Do you think it can last until December? I obviously don't want to risk my safety at all... But, I'm just not sure i could get it done until then

 

[JDS123]

At least I'm in an area that's dry and salt free. So that's at least a positive.
Do you think it can last until December? I obviously don't want to risk my safety at all... But, I'm just not sure i could get it done until then

Mine has been worse for longer. Just don't go on any long trips and you'll most likely be fine. That being said I haven't seen the frame in person so I can't say for sure. Just be sure to check on the control arm mounts often. If you see any sort of breakage near there, stop driving it. If the control arm mount rips off while you're driving, you're in a world of trouble.

 

[2006TJ1]

Mine has been worse for longer. Just don't go on any long trips and you'll most likely be fine. That being said I haven't seen the frame in person so I can't say for sure. Just be sure to check on the control arm mounts often. If you see any sort of breakage near there, stop driving it. If the control arm mount rips off while you're driving, you're in a world of trouble.

No breakage whatsoever. I guess I'll keep a super close eye and hope to get it done some time in December...
Ugh. This isn't where I wanted the mod fund to go

 

[Chris]

So now that that's been decided upon, what does that mean for me now.... don't drive it?

Well, you could drive it, but if you hit a big pot hole or something, that could be scary. If it's a second vehicle (not your daily), then I would consider parking it and driving your daily until you get it fixed.

 

[Nicholas]

@Nicholas what's the best way to clean it out? pressure washer into the holes then pull the chunks out w magnet?

I took a small chain and hooked it up to something long I can use to stick it though the opposite end of the frame rail and tussled it back in forth in different movements and directions along the inside walls n kept doing that and would spray out from the front to the back of the rail any junk in there with all that loose stuff until I found myself not being able to grab whatever little stuff was left at the back corner holes, haha I cut my hands up like a dumbass but I guess u could do that, that was a lot of writing just want u to get it done. I did mine and pulled so much stuff out I got scared and I sorta measured the thickness of the metal after and it seemed equal and fine and when I sprayed it all with fluid film I felt so much better about it


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[2006TJ1]

Well, you could drive it, but if you hit a big pot hole or something, that could be scary. If it's a second vehicle (not your daily), then I would consider parking it and driving your daily until you get it fixed.

It's my daily, but we just got a second tj (this one has a spotless frame) so I can drive that one for a while. Haven't gotten insurance on it yet though, so I'll have to get by until then.

 

[Nicholas]

It's my daily, but we just got a second tj (this one has a spotless frame) so I can drive that one for a while. Haven't gotten insurance on it yet though, so I'll have to get by until then.

Yeah no, it’s really not all that bad to do that, a pot holes not gonna tear your frame in two with that kind of rust


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[JEEPCJTJ]

Based on what is shown I tend to agree with this. jodomcfrodo

Yeah no, it’s really not all that bad to do that, a pot holes not gonna tear your frame in two with that kind of rust

Based on what is shown I tend to agree with this. Even a hole or two wouldn't stop me from driving it until I saw cracks forming like jodomcfrodo's picture shows. Just so everyone knows, I would check for those cracks every time I drove it.

 

[Mike_H]

I went thru the same debate when we found our TJ frame was toast; I found a place online that sells galvanized TJ frames, and man did I want one, but they were $5K. We opted for the SafeTCaps, at about $1000 total for both sides (because I did all the work myself, and it was a real ball buster!) That was 2 years and lots of on/off road miles ago, and I inspect the frame regularly and seems to be holding up fine so far. BUT - I keep an eye out on CL for frames and one day I'll likely snatch one up just to have on hand in case our frame ever fails. Hope it doesn't happen, but nice to be ready if it does.

Where did you find that? Care to share a link?

 

[JDS123]

Where did you find that? Care to share a link?

I've seen one in person. They look look fairly stout. I would definitely want to paint mine black. The one I saw was just bare metal silver (it is galvanized so it won't rust without paint I'm assuming)

https://www.throttledownkustoms.com...eep-frame-1997-2002.html?ref=category:1331234

 

[Mike_H]

I've seen one in person. They look look fairly stout. I would definitely want to paint mine black. The one I saw was just bare metal silver (it is galvanized so it won't rust without paint I'm assuming)

https://www.throttledownkustoms.com...eep-frame-1997-2002.html?ref=category:1331234

They only go to 02...

 

[Markymech]

I've seen one in person. They look look fairly stout. I would definitely want to paint mine black. The one I saw was just bare metal silver (it is galvanized so it won't rust without paint I'm assuming)

https://www.throttledownkustoms.com...eep-frame-1997-2002.html?ref=category:1331234

Yep, that's the place, and the price has dropped, too!

 

[Joseph]

I drove my Jeep for 4 months with a crack near the trans skidplate, the bolt closest to the front of the vehicle. I actually had nearly no metal holding that bolt in (rotted away), and a crack going from the bottom halfway up the frame. This was all covered in bondo when I bought it from a used car dealer "as is no warranty". It also made a 600 mile round trip to and from Vermont. At 80mph most of the ride.
I've since had the frame repair done and it's held up well. Even got into an accident on that side and no cracking was seen (aside from my LCA mount on the axle!). The guy used his own c-channel he designed and cut himself, all together came out to $475. Inside of frame painted and outside as well. Will be going to him again soon to have the whole frame and components painted inside and out with Por15 and then fluid film coated for $400. He said the rest of the Jeep looks pretty good aside from that one spot I had. Might've had a ton of water sitting in there cause it seemed to have been a secondary vehicle for both of the two previous owners.

 

[Claude]

That is a fairly large discussion. My Jeep goes in for a frame swap in 3 weeks, so I've done a ton of research on all the options. While some say that safety-caps are a long term solution, my view is that they are a bandaid (and most big Jeep shops I've talked to seem to agree). If you want to get 2 more years out of a Jeep, then go for the safety-caps. If you want to keep it forever, do a full frame swap.

Again, this is only my opinion. There are plenty of people who have safety-caps and they're doing just fine. I plan to outline everything in a huge frame rust thread that I'm going to post when my frame swap is done.

 

[Claude]

Safe T Cap is good for Way more than 2 years. You will cut out the rust, treat the rest with rustproofing and after welding have a stable frame for many many years. Certainly more than 2 as my 2001 can testify to.

 

[JDS123]

Safe T Cap is good for Way more than 2 years. You will cut out the rust, treat the rest with rustproofing and after welding have a stable frame for many many years. Certainly more than 2 as my 2001 can testify to.

Still doesn’t mean they are the best way to fix frame rust. If you care about your Jeep and plan to keep it for a serious amount of time, safety caps aren’t the best option. If you plan to keep the Jeep for a few years and then sell it, safety caps are fine. I’ve heard a too many negative stories about safety caps to install them on my Jeep.

They’re good for some uses, but they are not the perfect solution they are made out to be.

 

[TJ2]

Frame swap is the way to go if you plan to keep your rig for good.

 

[Claude]

Still doesn’t mean no

Still doesn’t mean they are the best way to fix frame rust. If you care about your Jeep and plan to keep it for a serious amount of time, safety caps aren’t the best option. If you plan to keep the Jeep for a few years and then sell it, safety caps are fine. I’ve heard a too many negative stories about safety caps to install them on my Jeep.

They’re good for some uses, but they are not the perfect solution they are made out to be.

they are the best way to fix frame rust. If you care about your Jeep and plan to keep it for a serious amount of time, safety caps aren’t the best option. If you plan to keep the Jeep for a few years and then sell it, safety caps are fine. I’ve heard a too many negative stories about safety caps to install them on my Jeep.

They’re good for some uses, but they are not the perfect solution they are made out to be.

We can disagree. 10 long salty years in Michigan shows Safe T Cap or equivalent is a great answer. Besides, who has the time or room for a swap? No one keeps their Jeep forever.
Good luck.

 

[Wade]

That's the plan, if its worth my time to fix... I've read the write up from @Wade and he did an extremely thorough job so I will follow that.

Tag me when you post your results. I’d like to read about what all you do and your thoughts on improving or adjusting what I did.

Good luck!