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Frame Cracks

jc_chandler

jc_chandler

Well-known member
City
Durango
State
CO
After pulling off the front end I noticed three small cracks in the passenger side of the frame. I'm thinking I can drill out holes on both ends of each, grind them to a v, weld them up, and then grind flat, but I'm curious about y'all's thoughts on how to fix and also what might have caused them. This was a farm Scrambler so maybe it was just stress?

PXL_20201031_005700760.jpgPXL_20201031_005712398.jpgPXL_20201031_005720708.jpg
 
Upon closer inspection, there's a lengthy crack along the top inner edge of the frame. Kinda looks like they forgot to fully weld it at the factory...
 

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Very common for a hard used Jeep. I have frame with much worse cracking.
 
The top is the factory weld that cracked.
 
The decision I'm struggling with is if I should spend the time and money to clean out the years of dirt, blast the frame, fix the cracks, paint inside and out etc etc etc or just pony up the dough for a TDK frame and sell this one to help offset the cost.
 
It is all repairable. The issue I see are the cracks not noticable. The top section where the weld is questionable actually looks like a crack propagated along the weld in the heat affected zone. Dye penetration is a process used to find cracks and is one means to identify and locate the true ends so that remediation is accomplished. It is a simple process with very good results. Sure there are YouTube videos on this.
 
If the frame is solid, but just has those few cracks, I would clean it up and weld up the cracks.

If you are doing an engine swap to double the stock HP levels, I would get the TDK frame.
 
I am planning to swap the engine with something that will have much much more HP and torque. I'll give TDK a call. What's an original frame like this worth?
 
I think I paid just under $1000 for a perfect original frame that looked like it was straight from the factory about a year ago. One with work that needs to be done would be worth less. It might be worth more to people in the rust belt.

I am in the process of strengthening the factory frame for V-8 power, and wish I had just gone the TDK route.
 
jc_chandler said:
I am planning to swap the engine with something that will have much much more HP and torque. I'll give TDK a call. What's an original frame like this worth?
Click to expand...

I went down the same rabbit hole with my build. Between the cost and time of cleaning it up and needing a stronger frame fit the 360 and trail use, I went with the TDK frame. Awesome quality, only issue was the rear body mounts were 1/2 off. But other than that it was perfect. I had it galvanized and set up for a front shackle reversal and YJ springs. You can also have it set up for a TJ Control Arms. Lots of options and more rabbit holes to dive down into.
 
Thanks everyone. I think I'm sold on the TDK route. I'll have to do some research on the shackle reversal. Any immediate drawbacks to that over the stock setup?
 
ok, I’m joining the rabbit hole. Looking at a frame swap. How much time should I expect to do the work?

also, I already h ave a 4.5” rubicon express lift. So I assume I don’t need the shackle reversal. Thoughts?
 
Time depends on how far down the rabbit hole you go. My six-month project went and found the bottom of the hole, and turned into a full build with a new tub, and took four years.

I'm not a fan of shackle reversals, but others have alternative opinions.
 
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