Frame damage discovered

[fourwheelinj1]

So I am in the middle of a very very slow frame off resto mod on my cj8. For my Fathers Day present I was given the whole day on Saturday to work on the Jeep. I recently separated the body from the frame so I began working on the frame to prep it for sandblasting and paint. I removed the crappy rear crossmember ( new ChiefWahoo crossmember to be installed), all brake/fuel lines and brackets before washing the frame. Man there was a ton of dirt and mice nest materials inside the frame. The good news is it was very dry and frame seems very structurally sound. I unfortunately found an area i am concerned about. The PO welded some ugly home made sidesteps to the frame. His welds were terrible. I cut the step mounting plates off to find one spot where moisture got behind the mounting plate and cause some structural rust damage. Its hard to tell how much of the material rusted off. Now I am trying to figure out what I need to do about this spot. I don't like the idea of cutting out the bad spot and welding in a patch on the frame, but I don't want a weak spot that is going to cause a hole or cracks either. Look at the pics below and tell me what you think. I am considering drilling a small hole in the worst spot to try and tell how much thinner the middle is there. Any suggestions?

 

[fourwheelinj1]

Frame cleaned up pretty decent. Check out the PO awesome blue rattle can paint job that he got all over the frame.

 

[gaducker]

Depends on how it sounds when you hit with a ball peen hammer. If its thick and sounds like the rest of the frame clean it up and carry on.

If its rotten cut it out and plate it the put wahoos plates over that if your worried about cracks. I wouldn't be to concerned about it just repairing it with out an over plate.

 

[fourwheelinj1]

If it's seems structurally sound and I don't cut out the metal I at least want to smooth out the rough metal. I was thinking about just running lots of weld beads in the rough area and then grinding them down smooth and flush with the rest of the frame. Good or bad idea?

 

[gaducker]

If it's seems structurally sound and I don't cut out the metal I at least want to smooth out the rough metal. I was thinking about just running lots of weld beads in the rough area and then grinding them down smooth and flush with the rest of the frame. Good or bad idea?

You could do that, if its thick enough to weld on it will be ok either way.

 

[jammer1]

Sand blast it then make your decision. The blasting may decide what your going to do. After blasting, If in doubt, plate. Much easier now rather than later.