Bent front frame.... Whats Next!! Need advice

Ok, so after discovering patch panels underneath I figured my new XJ was leaking. Thanks to all the guys who helped me on that. Last night I was digging around pulling the seats and rolling the carpet back... sure enough both floor pans are shot and will need replacements. :doh:

So as I move to the front I was laying under the jeep trying to get a good look at the cracked exhaust thas causing it to run horribly. As I roll out I look up and....

Booger Welds and cruched frame rails!!!:soapbox:

well... the drivers side isnt too bad, but the pass side has definately taken a hit and when the bumper was pushed back it crinkled the frame rail. its not bad.... well it is... but its not affecting anything far back enough to interefere with the suspension.

the frame was shoddily repaired backyard style and somebody tried to do some mig welding on it that looks awful. The last 6-8" of the pass side is creased pretty good causing the front bumper to be pulled in under the grill noticeably now that I look at it on this side. It runs back to over top of where the sway bar bolts to the frame. So from the sway bar frame mounting points out it will need some real help!

Does anyone have any suggestions? Surely this is a common problem on XJs that take a mild front hit.... where else is the bumper going to go! I would like to save it if I can, but at this point with the floor pans shot, bent frame, cracked exhaust it might be time to scrap this project!

Thanks guys....

Before you say it.... YES ive seen the trucks episode and I dont have unlimited funds for piecing a 16yr old junk pile together! Im not paying a frame shop $1000 dollars to do it either. I'd like to do it myself at home..... thats the best way anyways!! ($$) Built not bought!

I say do it yourself. If you have a welder and a sawzall + angle grinder and the skill to use them, you can probably do it.

Depending on how much you paid for it, I'd turn that one into a project rig and get another one for road driving... or vice versa, if you think it'll stand up to daily driving just fine but won't handle what you want to do with it for trail riding.

I picked this up cheap... like $500 cheap. I knew it was running like crap and that was about the only serious issues I thought it had. Upon getting it home, I've discovered the shot floor pans and crinkled frame horn.

Does anyone make a frame repair panel for the front frame rails? I can cut and weld pretty well and Im not new to doing my own work.... just new to XJ's. This looks like its very easy to happen to an xj with a front bump.... surely this must be a commonly repaired problem..

Thanks

I say head to the junkyard with a sawzall and cut as much as you need plus six inches, then weld it on with some plates/frame stiffeners across the junction (butt welding a frame seems a really poor plan...) - there are some engineering drawings of what the frame's dimensions should be floating around here somewhere, I think they're in paint&bodywork. That should help you get it perfectly straight, or as close as possible.

My front end damage in my accident was quite limited - I hit a guardrail at about 15-20mph after my brake line blew out. The front corner of the inner fender was crumpled pretty badly and the very end of the frame rail was folded but other than that it was fine. A ballpeen hammer and a small hand sledge fixed the issues up well enough that the new body panels fit almost perfectly.

Thats the problem... the local PNP only allows hand tools. If I could find one, I'd cut it out and try to swap it on to mine. Maybe I should dissassemble the front a little do some headting and pulling....

Maybe I should just junk it.... thats prolly a better Idea!

wow that's kinda retarded. Any other pick-n-pulls around? Mine allows anything except open flame/torches.

anyone else done this? Write ups? Repair panels? Anybody parting a Xj wanna help me out? lol !!

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1006592 <- info you'll want that I referred to further up. Good luck.

How good is the rest of the Jeep? Do you feel its worth saving considering the damage you're seeing?

I'd see what the yard would give me for it and look at what I could get for parting it out... then maybe use those funds to buy one with fewer issues.

If the floors are rotted out, and the front is wrecked, and you won't lose your arse on it, why not use it as a donor and get a better shell? It sounds like you'll have more in floor pans and frame stiffeners than you paid for the Jeep.

That's a pretty good point... get one from the same model year range (yours is a 93 right? So get another 91-93, but check for rust and damage more carefully now that you know what to look for!) so almost all of the parts will transfer over. Or get a newer one so you don't have to worry about much of the same issues - if you go for a different model year, try for an early 99 as they're pretty much universally agreed to be the best year for the XJ.

If you want to be a stinker, in most states you can't sell a vehicle with 'frame' damage unless it's disclosed. How bad do you want the $500 back?

As far as tools in the JY, most pull your own yards will allow battery powered cordless tools. I have Crapsman 19.2 tools, including the reciprocating saw. I cut whole chunks of car apart when I was re-doing my '92. All ya gotta do is ask, then maybe whine a little.

anybody got a junker they can sell me the front 8-10" of pass side frame rail?

heyhar - yeah, same. My standard "junkyard bag" has my 19.2v craftsman sawzall, a half dozen 9" metal blades for it, english/metric 12pt sockets, my torx set, a 5/16 ratcheting box wrench, a 3/8 ratchet, a 1/2 breaker bar, a phillips screwdriver, and a boxcutter. The only things I can think of that I might add are a 36" wrecking bar and maybe a boltcutter or pair of vise grips. I use an old duffel bag because, well, have you ever tried carrying an axle with a toolbox in one hand?

EDIT: dodgethis - post a want to buy type listing in the SEC classifieds forum if you're allowed to, or check there to see if anyone near you is parting out a rig. Also I'd pull the fender off, or at least the fender liner, and also the header panel and see how bad the inner fender damage is - that way you can pick that up at the same time.

I found a local 97 part out.... Im gonna grab the floor pans. Will the frame rail be the same at the end where the bumper bolts on?

I *think* so. Also, taking floor pans out of another vehicle sounds like a really poor idea to me. I'd rather use something new and not covered with paint and glue, personally - and I think the seat mounting rails changed at some point but I'm not sure.

I have a solid 88 shell that I've been trying to give away cause i don't have the time or space for a trail rig. But i think you might be a little too far away

Read this - http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=924769

I got a front frame rail cut from the junkyard for $150. All I did was point and they did the work.

How about some front frame rail stiffeners. http://www.hdoffroadengineering.com/collections/frontpage/products/xj-front-frame-stiffeners Just plate it and forget it.


www.raybuck.com makes really nice floor pans.

I got this little set at Advance a few years ago. It's a Gearwrench brand, and we use it to remove doors, and other hard to get to stuff. And, it fits in your pocket- one less thing to carry.