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Frame stiffener install pointers

Joepoppa1

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Garland, Tx
I am going to be buying some T&T frame stiffeners here soon, and was wondering if there are any pointers that some of the guys out there that have installed them, may have. Do you have to shore up the chassis to try and get this thing straight, or do you just let it sit naturally on the wheels on the flat ground? I know I have to take it to bare metal to weld it, do you reccomend using some weld thru primer or just grind where I am going to weld? Do you reccomend drilling some extra holes for extra roset welds? Any advice that y'all have would be appreciated.
 
Just drill some 1/2 holes every 6 to 8 inches, top side and bottom, leave the jeep on level ground, and clean the frame rails really well. The underbody coating burns really well. Make your welds good, take your time, and just stitch things up by welding in different areas, don't concentrate the heat all in one place. If you are using the tnt stiffners, just drop your crossmember, and put the stiffners in then bolt the crossmember back up and weld away. Give your self some time, I did mine over two days. after your don clean and paint. and use self tapers to reattach the ebrake cable box. Micah...
 
is it proven you need the holes to weld it up?

i still am not convinced..

THX for the self tapper thing.. one of the things i was concerned about
 
I just finished installing mine from hd, I did mine on the hoist, not sure if this was good or bad? The install went very well, we used a floorjack, and some peices of 2x4 to get them tight to the chassis rails, and c clamps to suck them tight and welded them in. I think the rossettes really help strengthen things. Now I have something really solid to mount my super rails to.
 
I am going to be buying some T&T frame stiffeners here soon, and was wondering if there are any pointers that some of the guys out there that have installed them, may have. Do you have to shore up the chassis to try and get this thing straight, or do you just let it sit naturally on the wheels on the flat ground? I know I have to take it to bare metal to weld it, do you reccomend using some weld thru primer or just grind where I am going to weld? Do you reccomend drilling some extra holes for extra roset welds? Any advice that y'all have would be appreciated.

Here's my write-up:
http://www.bsfab.net/?p=16

I DON'T recommend using the same "weld-through" primer I used!

HTH,
Billy
 
If I was going to bolt them on, I would use these: http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/Product.aspx?id=2539

I think the other style would be a waste of time if it were only bolted on. (JMHO)

Billy
Even that style bolted on wouldn't do jack sh*t.

I'm running TNT's, perimeter welded and rosette welded, with the T&J (Currie) stiffeners over the tops of them, bolted to the LCA mount, welded just above, bolted to the leaf spring box, and welded in 6 points along the frame.


Coming from someone who started with the TNT's. I wouldn't even install them if you aren't going to drill plug weld holes. IMO even with the perimeter welding and the plug welding, they STILL weren't stiff enough for me. I still had creaks and cracks in my dash when I'd drive it.

After that I installed the TMR front frame plates, and the T&J (Currie) stiffeners and can tell a WORLD of difference!
 
Here's how I installed my TNT's with the help of Cal & Willy51!

l_a3e454c7b7694130b3306a150bb91910.jpg


l_4e056b7387ee4ca08218c31b4b1cca76.jpg


l_ff227a2480834aa4afa2033f8ded254a.jpg
 
Even that style bolted on wouldn't do jack sh*t.

I'm running TNT's, perimeter welded and rosette welded, with the T&J (Currie) stiffeners over the tops of them, bolted to the LCA mount, welded just above, bolted to the leaf spring box, and welded in 6 points along the frame.


Coming from someone who started with the TNT's. I wouldn't even install them if you aren't going to drill plug weld holes. IMO even with the perimeter welding and the plug welding, they STILL weren't stiff enough for me. I still had creaks and cracks in my dash when I'd drive it.

After that I installed the TMR front frame plates, and the T&J (Currie) stiffeners and can tell a WORLD of difference!


"Even that style bolted on wouldn't do jack sh*t."

that, my friend was one of the very first stiffener designs produced, it was designed for the JeepSpeed circut inwhich some high speed 'give' was expected through desert terrain, they also tied the front suspension & rear suspension together, almost as a subframe, but lightly unengineered as such using round tube. It's been on the market long before long arms or drop brackets and still has it's place, lets not rag on your grand-daddy, todays stiffeners have just as many flaws which would in comparison be like putting a koozy on a beer can not to mention the fact that the cherokee could never be sold on a used car lot again, most installs end up looking like a poor attempt at a unibody repair at best.........
 
"Even that style bolted on wouldn't do jack sh*t."

that, my friend was one of the very first stiffener designs produced, it was designed for the JeepSpeed circut inwhich some high speed 'give' was expected through desert terrain, they also tied the front suspension & rear suspension together, almost as a subframe, but lightly unengineered as such using round tube. It's been on the market long before long arms or drop brackets and still has it's place, lets not rag on your grand-daddy, todays stiffeners have just as many flaws which would in comparison be like putting a koozy on a beer can not to mention the fact that the cherokee could never be sold on a used car lot again, most installs end up looking like a poor attempt at a unibody repair at best.........
No no no I'm not ragging on them AT ALL. Matter of factly, those tubular style "Sub frame connectors" made some of the most notable improvement on my Jeep. I AM in fact running them after all. For what it's worth, I used to argue the same thing to people when I had my camaro. People would BOLT on subframe connectors, thinking they were doing a world of good. When in fact, in the long run, you would notice no difference whatsoever as the bolt holes would widen and oval. Your best bet is to weld them on period.

All I was saying was that bolted on, in only two locations (which is how many places they bolt) would do very little if anything at all for strenthening the subframe. I noticed however more of a difference with the currie/t&j style than I did with the TNT's. That could have been because I had both installed at that point though.

They need to in my humble opinion, be welded at multiple points along the frame to make the most difference... like I did here and also like what is recommended.

IMG_0630.jpg



You can see my full write up here:

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=975388&highlight=stiffening


You can also see the write up on TNT stiffeners here:
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=973085&highlight=stiffeners

And TMR frame plates here:
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=975310&highlight=stiffening
 
All I was saying was that bolted on, in only two locations (which is how many places they bolt) would do very little if anything at all for strenthening the subframe.
I said "with nutserts" as in 8-16 of the things on each rail locking it in place. Proper application would hold it as strong as rosettes, which interestingly Bob @ TNT said were unnecessary
 
I said "with nutserts" as in 8-16 of the things on each rail locking it in place. Proper application would hold it as strong as rosettes, which interestingly Bob @ TNT said were unnecessary

Unless you have a air powered nutsert gun (expensive btw) I wouldn't even think about using them. The hand tool guns won't compress the sert between the sheetmetal enough for it to do any good.

A plug weld is much better way to ensure load transfer through the unibody to the stiffener.
 
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