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frame stiffening/plating

F

Frédéric CM

NAXJA Forum User
Location
France
I'm going to put long arms on my XJ (probably Clayton's) but i'ld like to beef up the unibody before.

I've already searched the forum and found two kits that do the job for me :
- HD offroad
- T&J stage II (like seen here)

What is your opinion on both ? What you guys runs with your long arms ?
I like the fact that T&J one brace the rear leaf mount.
 
i'm a fan of ruffstuff in the middle, t and j or hd offroad up front (its just a plate cut to shape with holes in it for plug welds) with the bottom plated (especially around the steering box and trackbar) and 3x3 angle out back. with either beefed up crossmembers or aftermarket bumpers.

which is what i run.

anything over 1/8" thick is overkill imo. but ruffstuff has more surface area to weld to and extends to the floors and up the front and back rails which is nice.

and just welding a sheet of 1/8" or 3/16" to the front rails doesnt do much IMO. it isnt much more work to plate the bottom of the rail, and it strengthens the front end a great deal.

3x3 out back, because its super cheap and the rearend doesnt see nearly as much stress as the rest of the jeep. fits pretty nicely once trimmed up.
 
Never heard or seen anyone plate the bottom of the front before, got any pics? Does it go all the way from the front following the curve to the lca bracket?
 
lyleorszulak807 said:
Never heard or seen anyone plate the bottom of the front before, got any pics? Does it go all the way from the front following the curve to the lca bracket?
Click to expand...


My yellow XJ was plated on the outside and the bottom, and on the inside about 1/2 way back to the firewall. The panhard bar mount twists a lot so that area takes a beating. I had cracks (inside and out) at the point where the frame starts to get wider, a little ways behind the panhard bar mount.
 
I already got the tnt frame rail stiffeners, plus the t and j tube stiffeners. It helped alot!

Now just need to work on the front end, thinking about ordering the tmr or hd offroading plates then bracing on the bottom especially by the trackbar mount on the frame side. Im using the RE trackbar with the frame side double shear box, but the bolts that mount under the bracket to the frame seem to get loose after wheeling hard. I want to weld the bracket in place but have to plate around/under it first.

Goatman, what thickness did you use to plate on the inside? anything over 1/8th would be a little difficult to bend without heating it up. Got any pics? Want to get some ideas on what others are doing. Ordered the t and j cage too, but wont be here for another month or so. I guess they had a back order. :(
 
My MJ isn't done and isn't being built for jeepspeed stuff (maybe SOME go-fast stuff) but here is what I did. All 1/8" over the rails.

IMAG0079.jpg


IMAG0080.jpg


9f835f1c.jpg


IMAG0005.jpg


IMAG0147.jpg


IMAG0150.jpg


IMAG0152.jpg


Threw a few stitches on the motor mounts as well to tie them back to the plates.
 
No need to use anything more than 1/8". If you're going to do it right, tie into the front crossmember as well. Mine eventually cracked on both sides where it ties into the frame, even though I had a very stout front bumper and mounting plates.
 
Thanks for the reply
what would be the better stiffening for long arms ? i can see the benefits of plating the frame, but t&j stiffeners seems to add more rigidity to the frame isn't ?
 
There is no extra requirement for frame stiffening for long arms, in fact if anything there is less because of less binding in the arms. The stress comes from the springs that carry the load, and the panhard bar and steering, which have nothing to do with the arms.
 
FunkRider said:
I wonder what sort of effect plating the front unirails have on the front crumple zones when in a head on collision?
Click to expand...

My guess is it won't crumple
 
When my last jeep rolled and totaled, the driver side motor mount was crumpled up on the "frame" inside the engine bay. Bad enough to where it bent the crustys heavy duty motor mount. Plan on plating for sure now, so next time I can flip her over and keep going..lol
 
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