Floor rust repair... anyone else have a front seat crossmember?

[ngrover]

I'm in the process of replacing some rust on my floor (using a welder and some 18 guage sheet metal etc).

I'm curious about the front crossmember where the front seat mounts (the front of the front seat if that makes sense). I haven't seen any other pictures of floor repairs that have this crossmember and I'm wondering if anyone has taken them out to repair rust?

I have a 1997 Cherokee Sport if that makes a difference. Anyone have some ideas on how I can deal with rust on and under that crossmember?

Here is a picture. The crossmember is the part with the ground wire attached to it:

 

[Tim_MN]

The seat cross member is welded in very well. I wrecked mine trying to remove it for a floor pan replacement. Chrysler/Jeep still had some in stock, so i bought a new one for $22.00.

Unless you have rust holes directly in that cross member area, i would leave it in place and work around it.

 

[ngrover]

Ah man, I was hoping it would be easier to remove. Not sure what I'm going to do then. There is rust on the member and under it. The leading edge of the crossmember is rusty and I would imagine the sheet metal under it is also.

I'll have to give this more thought before tearing it apart. Maybe I could cut it out and leave the tabs on the floor, then weld it back in after doing all repairs?

 

[red_01_xj]

Take a flapper wheel to the edge an you can find where it is spot welded, drill them out and take a chisel to it. After all said and done you can just bolt it back down or weld it down (Mine looked like yours so I just bolted it).

 

[ngrover]

Oh sweet man thanks! I was about to tackle this today and wasn't sure where to start. Much appreciated. I'm going to try as you described. I'll post pics for future reference.