• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Seam Seal the stiffeners? Rust?

FuryIII

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Ohio
I live in North East Ohio...term Rust Belt applies. Got the HD stiffeners installed, full set. Perimeter is stitched, rosettes filled.
I used Weld Thru on the Stiffeners and some on the cleaned to bare metal frame rails. I sanded the primer off the areas to weld on the frame rails, didn't like practice welds.
2 coats of Etch primer on the Stiffies after install then 3 coats of Rustoleum Black.

Now, with all the holes in the frame rails is it worth seam sealing around the perimeter then hitting it with undercoating? Or...leave the gaps and use some kind of rust preventer...like Eastwood's Internal frame coating? Or use a creep oil occasionally to keep the in between as rust free as possible?
 
if i remember correctly...

i did a coat of etch primer to keep things from rusting while i worked after i did my stiffeners. then i went around the stitch welds with seam sealer. then brushed on a couple coats of master coat (similar to chassis saver). then rattle canned black. aside from where ive bashed rocks, the frame rails still look amazing 2 years later. the master coat has worked well. once its scratched off, yea... you will get rust. but the master coat doesnt let it propagate and spread under the paint.
 
Did you guys go all the way around with the seam sealer or only the top and sides. I don't wanna trap water between the rail and stiffener.
 
Water will find a way in but like a lopster in a trap water just cant find a way out. So over time it just makes one.
 
I used auto body seam sealer on top and sides not the bottom.
Then I put on 2 coats of chassis saver then 3m under coating.
 
Did you strip the entire frame, or just where you were planning on welding? I'm doing this soon and interested. Don't mean to hijack. If I were seam sealing, I'd do the entire perimeter..
 
I tried not to remove much more paint than necessary.
I chose not the seal the bottom because there are several holes in the uni frame rails and I didn't want water to get trapped in between.
 
Water will find a way in but like a lopster in a trap water just cant find a way out. So over time it just makes one.
:rolleyes:
Just finished plating all three sides of my frame rails and I keep coming back to this.

I put a couple coats of paint, and some 3M undercoat on everything.
I think I'll limit my seam sealing to the top edges in the wheel wells and possibly in the engine compartment if at all.
I did however drill holes where the factory drain holes are.
 

sure! need to put my stiffeners on and have heard just weld them with everything right where it is. Not 100% comfortable with that idea, but it would be a lot easier
 
I removed the clips and tied the lines to the drive shaft/Trans mount. I tightened the string to pull the lines as far towards the center of the undercarriage as was comfortably possible.

It worked fine with no damage...


...or fires. :D
 
I didn't do anything to move the lines while welding on the HD Offroad stiffeners (front and center sections).

I suppose if it makes you feel safer it would not hurt to move them. Unless of course they are a rusty mess and moving them will be the straw that breaks the camels back. Everyone has a different risk threshold.
 
I didn't do anything to move the lines while welding on the HD Offroad stiffeners (front and center sections).

I suppose if it makes you feel safer it would not hurt to move them. Unless of course they are a rusty mess and moving them will be the straw that breaks the camels back. Everyone has a different risk threshold.

HA HA....been there....done that......and it weren't pretty
 
I tried not to remove much more paint than necessary.
I chose not the seal the bottom because there are several holes in the uni frame rails and I didn't want water to get trapped in between.

I stripped them clean, two coats of weld thru primer then cleaned up the areas to be welded.
 
I didn't do anything to move the lines while welding...

I suppose if it makes you feel safer it would not hurt to move them.

It should be noted that in my case I removed my control arm brackets, and plated the inside of the frame. I had no choice but to move the lines out of the way. Had I gone with prefab units the lines could/would have been left alone.
 
Back
Top