• 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.

89 xj quarter panel distorting

bcmaxx

NAXJA Forum User
I have an 89 4dr and a while ago I noticed some distortion in the sheetmetal surrounding the fuel door, I have since added some high density plastic to the sides of the jeep
poly3.jpg
for some protection, now I noticed the 1/4 inch plastic has begun to crack near the fuel door. Any one know what may be causing this? flex?? Should I be running unibody stiffeners? Thanks!
 
Are you the origional owner?? Has the vehicle been wrecked before?? How is the rear tire carrier attached on the other side?? Do all the doors and the rear hatch shut well??

Do the tires rub on the rear fender flares when stuffed?? Look for rub marks on the bottom of the rear flares. This is what I suspect the most.

These are some of the questions that I would ask myself before thinking that my body panels are mysteriously bending

I see at least one small dent in the rear bumper. I know it's not big, but it could be a part of the problem.
 
just concerned about the drivers quarter, the spare tire carrier is rippling the quarter on the passenger side, no accidents no damage everything seems to open and close good. and no rubbing (in the back anyways). I'm thinking body flex, there must be some give back there. maybe a little more on mine, it seens offroad a lot.
 
The older unibodies (pre '93) suffer from stress cracking the most. Seems that the first time they're flexed after a lift it starts, and gets worse with time and frequency of being taken off road.

My very first XJ, an '84 had a 4.5" lift and was kinda rusty. I bought it already lifted and trail abused, then I abused it for a year. The doors and hatch wouldn't open when any of the 4 tires were flexed up, literally twisting the unibody just enough to bind everything.

My current '93 has minor cracking from the hard core 'wheeling it's seen too, but not nearly as bad. It has some pretty good distortion of the rear quarters at the corners below the rear side window and just above the rear fender lip.

Your '89 will likely show stress cracks in these areas: The black vent in the driver/passenger door sills, "A" pillar where it connects to the roof just under the drip rail, "B" pillar door post where it connects to the roof, and "C" pillar at the corners where it connects to the roof from the end of the drip rail diagonal down into the pinch seam covered by the hatch seal rubber.

If you've flexed it alot, you may see some cracks in the cowl under the front fenders below the "A" pilars and above the upper door hinges. My '93 is badly cracked there and I attribute that to having a cage and having done some pretty severe nose-up winch pulls. The cage is keeping 2/3rds of the unibody stiff, but from the cowl forward, the unibody wants to flex since the rest wont.

Another thing to try is find a ditch somewhere and slowly drop into it while keeping your arm/hand out the driver's window. Rest your elbow on the rubber window trim and put the end of your fingers along the top edge of the door frame so that the tips are touching both the top of the door and the bottom of the drip rail...... you'll feel the door move - the gap getting tighter or wider as it flexes.

Your XJ, with age and off road useage becomes more limber :D.
 
So its pretty normal then, I did have some problems with cracking near the back end on the drip rail causing waterleaks, is there anything to help with this flex or would adding some unibody stiffeners just cause problems in a different area? thanks for the info!
 
I'm not sure but it seems if you add stiffners now it would only hold it in its "distorted" state. I would think putting it on a frame machine to ensure proper alignment and then add the stiffners would be the only way of correcting this.
 
Back
Top