Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

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candymancan
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Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

Omg... man.. im tackling the rusted frame now.... Wowooo look how bad it two bolts on the shock mount came undone easily no rust... but the 3rd 1 1.2 inch bolt was so rusted it had no threads left.

I i was able to grab the shock mount and push and pull and twist it until the thin metal broke off.. look at this lol.

All thanks to a basolutetly terrible design where dirt gets stuck in the frame and shock mount.

See pics of the dirt in the shock mount. I live ina town house..no loft or garage... so im not sure how ima fix the engine mount side... I need to cut this open and see what i have to work with.. I might have to get the chunkcy stuff off and just weld a plate inside for the engine mount side.. until i get into a single family house and can remove the engine or something i dunno yet.

Suggestions the engine mount side

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1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

Topic author
candymancan
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Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

Here is the peice im going to use...yes its rusty too.. but its all i could get from a jeep i cut it iff.. as you can see this spot is very common to rust at.. i bet you guys have it too you just dont know yet.

Im going to grind it clean of rust and paint it.. yes it got thinner in the middle but its still nearly 1/8th thick..and its the perfect size for what i need... I think its better to use this peice then fab a new one outa two smaller peices of metal welded together.. because my steel plate i have from lowes isnt tall enough.. id have to weld two together.. but well see as i cut this out that i stenciled

Image
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

Topic author
candymancan
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Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

Well i cut the peice out. The frame isnt THAT bad behind. Yes its cracked all the way up.. but the upper crack by my finger is from stress from the lower section. The lower crack needs cut out and a plate welded in. But the upper crack is solid thick metal. Just going to clean that and weld the crack.

Ill cut some metal out if the lower section its gone and too thin.

The engine mount bolt down there is done too i cant turn tha.. ill have to cut it out or something. Not aure yet what ima do.

Image
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

Topic author
candymancan
Posts: 3652
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

Mot gonna lie welding that upper crack.. the fuel line is half an inch away... I gatta put some wet raggs all over. Kinda freaks me out a little
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

Topic author
candymancan
Posts: 3652
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

First welds. Tea im not great at cutting peices of metal out to fit stuff..lol but imm add a plate on the bottom and fillet weld it

[url=https://ibb.co/XyMWPFT]Image
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

Topic author
candymancan
Posts: 3652
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

My dang helmet is going bad.. it has a flicker and delay when it auto darkness.. well at least its partially sheilded by the lense so i think my eyes will be ok.

I know some of my welds suck.. but they should hold fine.. i welded on both sides to be sure and prior welds on my frame havent broke in 3 years or so .. so yea.. now i gatta measure and cut a bottom plate for the gaps

Also gatta remember to drill a hole for that bottom engine mount lop

Image
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

Topic author
candymancan
Posts: 3652
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

Almost done guys !! Welds looks good i think. Not bad for a lottle 90a flux core welder lol

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1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

letank
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Location: SF bay area

Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by letank »

Impressive, cheers to your tenacity
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)

Topic author
candymancan
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

Thanks i just finished.. took me 10 1/2 hours to do.. Finished in one day.. Only thing im missing is the lower shock mount bolt. The one i got is too long, it touches the engine mount bolt on the other side so i gatta get a little shorter one.. not digging the color paint.. i ran out of rust reformer. So i had to use some rusty metal primer.

What do you guys think, and thinl anout my welds? Only one reply lol ?

Image

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1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

sirrus
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by sirrus »

Amazing job! Are you planning to weld some sort of "lid" on shock mount to get rid of the dirt trap?
Sometimes we reinvent the wheel not to have more wheels but to have more inventors

1988 Grand Wagoneer - AMC 360 with ProFlo4 MPFI, TF727, NP229 FOR SALE
2021 JLU Willys EcoDiesel - new shiny toy

Topic author
candymancan
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

For now. Not right now. Im so sore and tired. Lol i just wanted to fix this.. the whole frame was cracked in half. I thpught the top was ok but it was also cracked.. lol

I dont see how it didnt shift or move around.

I think ima just drill a hole into the shock mount bottom so it can drain . Severly stupid idea to have no drain for the shock mount.. allowing this rust to even happen
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)
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Stuka
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by Stuka »

Thats a lot of work. I think you did as well as could be expected without having the frame by itself without a body or the like.

Do you have to do the other side too?
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ

sirrus
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by sirrus »

candymancan wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:51 pm For now. Not right now. Im so sore and tired. Lol i just wanted to fix this.. the whole frame was cracked in half. I thpught the top was ok but it was also cracked.. lol

I dont see how it didnt shift or move around.

I think ima just drill a hole into the shock mount bottom so it can drain . Severly stupid idea to have no drain for the shock mount.. allowing this rust to even happen
Yeah, haven't thought about drain hole. Frame on my rig is in good shape, but now I kinda want to check how much dirt I have in mine lol
Sometimes we reinvent the wheel not to have more wheels but to have more inventors

1988 Grand Wagoneer - AMC 360 with ProFlo4 MPFI, TF727, NP229 FOR SALE
2021 JLU Willys EcoDiesel - new shiny toy

Topic author
candymancan
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

Stuka wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:57 pm Thats a lot of work. I think you did as well as could be expected without having the frame by itself without a body or the like.

Do you have to do the other side too?

Otherside was rusty and chunky. But not NEARLY as bad. It was solid. I just bashed the crap outa it with a hammer to get the chunks off.. and painted it with rust reformer i did that about a year ago.


Also yea id prefer to hsve the engine out so i can cut the frame off on that side and weld a better plate on.. but i did the best i could being on the pavement outside in a townhouse parking lot too.

The frame has to be 100x stronger now though.. no more cracks it litterally was cracked in half top to bottom
Last edited by candymancan on Tue Jun 16, 2020 8:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

Topic author
candymancan
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Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

sirrus wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 8:11 pm
candymancan wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:51 pm For now. Not right now. Im so sore and tired. Lol i just wanted to fix this.. the whole frame was cracked in half. I thpught the top was ok but it was also cracked.. lol

I dont see how it didnt shift or move around.

I think ima just drill a hole into the shock mount bottom so it can drain . Severly stupid idea to have no drain for the shock mount.. allowing this rust to even happen
Yeah, haven't thought about drain hole. Frame on my rig is in good shape, but now I kinda want to check how much dirt I have in mine lol

You saw the donor plate i used right ? That came from a rig with a perfect looking frame.. once i took the shock mount iff though.. it was rusted like you see in the pic.

I think everyone should take the shock mounts off and have a look.. you may think the frame is fine. Until you take the mount off.

Id also remove the bump stops. They hold dirt in the frame. Took my bumps off and i had 2 handfulls of dirt and sand fall out
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)
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HowardT64
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by HowardT64 »

Wow...looks like a lot of work....Good job :)
2016 Jeep Patriot
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threepiece
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by threepiece »

It looks like you did a fine job. I doubt I would have done it better myself and I have been doing this type of work for a living for forty years.

I do however question your decision to molest a good frame for a small piece you could have easily made and installed it on a frame that likely will not be in use for many more years. All things considered, It is arguable that you went through nearly as much work in removing that flat piece as it would have been to make it.
I used to name my FSJ’s after their previous owners, I realized I had too many with five named Rick.

Dang raccoons again!

Rust is a color too.

Topic author
candymancan
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

threepiece wrote: Wed Jun 17, 2020 7:11 am It looks like you did a fine job. I doubt I would have done it better myself and I have been doing this type of work for a living for forty years.

I do however question your decision to molest a good frame for a small piece you could have easily made and installed it on a frame that likely will not be in use for many more years. All things considered, It is arguable that you went through nearly as much work in removing that flat piece as it would have been to make it.

I dont have access to metal this size. The metal i can get here is in like 3 inch by 2 foot sheets.. and 3 inchs isnt wide enough.. id have to weld two peices together and doing that would just be a pita fir me. It was easier to just cut it outa a junkyard frame. That Jeep was crushed soon later so it didnt do anything.

I cut out the dog leg. And quarter panel peices as well so i didnt go there for just that peice. That Jeep was striped to nothing. But no one wanted its frame aparently. I did, but ina townhouse i cant do a frame swap. Im pushing my luck welding in the parking lot lol. Also i dont have a work bench or clamp or anything.. Im cutting metal by standing on it with a angel grinder 3 inchs from my feet.. So its easier to just get a peice from a jeep and weld it in

As for my welds what do you think of them ? The cracks were harder to weld then the peices i put in because i left gaps between the peices to get fusion.. but a thin line crack seems harder to weld. But i think i did ok on the inside. The outside peice i think my welds look great.. I mean theyre not like artist welds.. but not bird poop either.. looks like i got great fusion too. This little 90a flux welder man has saved me so much money lol.. just gatta make things super clean.. and the wire speed is way off on the intructions.. says 8 for 1.8th ga steel.. but 8 was jumping all over and too fast. Had to go to 5 to make sure it melts the metal good
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

threepiece
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Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by threepiece »

candymancan wrote: Wed Jun 17, 2020 10:50 am As for my welds what do you think of them ?
In this application penetration is important this looks good to me. Perfect welds happen under perfect conditions. Welding rusty pitted metal with flux core inside a wheelhouse is far from perfect conditions. You did good.

If you care for constructive criticism here welding to a sharp corner would be it. Sharp corners create stress risers that can initiate cracks when frames and other structures are loaded in cycles. It’s better to drill the corners with a hole saw first then cut between the holes to remove the unwanted piece. The larger the radius (hole saw) in the corners the lower the stress riser. I will sometimes cut an entire section with one hole saw and use the same saw or one slightly larger to cut the patch to weld in.
I used to name my FSJ’s after their previous owners, I realized I had too many with five named Rick.

Dang raccoons again!

Rust is a color too.

Topic author
candymancan
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Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: Working on my rusted frame. Pics and updates.. (ITS VERY BAD)

Post by candymancan »

Well what i did for penetration was take a angel grinder and grind down the whole perimeter so there was like a 1-2mm gap around when i put the plate in. If you look at the pic of the plate in before i welded it fully ? . This way when i drag the nozzle and go left right left right left right slowly with a slower wire speed it will melt both sides and get in the middle of that gap with the lava bead.

Because i noticed welding over time that welding metal too close together if its parrallel to eachother like those cracks for example that i wleded.. make it much harder to penetrate right.

The cracks i had to turn wire speed down to like 2 or 3 just to make sure the metal melted enough. And i decided to weld both sides of the cracks. So inside and outside
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)
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