dgrigorenko
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Big Rapids MI
X-lots
HDoffroad unibody stiffener write up (with lots o pics)
- Thread starter dgrigorenko
- Start date
XJ&CHZ4ME
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Unionville, MO
thanks to this write up I have been in contact w/ Brian and plan on getting some on the way very soon, thanks for a good write up! :thumbup:
muddyrocks
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Zebulon,NC
My turn to add to this thread, as promised. It didn't take all this time to add the frame stiffeners...
The first weekend after I got the delivery from HDO I set out to supply myself but it took 'till Monday to find the weld through primer, so I lost time due to that; here is the brand I found,
With a torch and scrapper I cleaned the rails. It took no time to do. Cleanup was easy because I rolled out some roofing felt to catch the mess. I followed the OP's method of marking the plug welds with a felt pen to grind only where neccesary. Now it's time to weld, (my buddy Steve showing me how easy it is to run a wire welder)
Again I followed the same clamp and jack method as my predecessor; welding a couple of plugs to hold the piece and moving back 'till it was all lined up and then filling in the rest in a random way so as to allow cooling down of hot spots. Grind off the welds, primer up the fresh steel and on to the long arm installation.
I have the Full Traction 6" lift and as you can guess the lower mounts were moved downward and outward by the thickness of the sleeving material and the uppers just moved down. But in order to keep the arms alligned to each other I needed to space the upper mount downward by the same amount. (pic-tard). No problem, at least I hoped not, it simply meant that the old bolt holes would no longer work (The FTS is a complete bolt on product). I used a rotory file on a drill and the old bolt holes became plug welds, ground edges for stiching and commenced locating the mounts in their new locations.
The lower arms mounts utilized the two crossmember bolts on each side so I elongated those holes in both mounts. Next I had to locate and shoot a hole through the new plating to run a long bolt through the upper mounts on each side. That is the only bolt I needed to retain the location for, relative from upper to lower. This is where I was busy enough to forget pics too (sorry). However, it's fairly rudimentary, so I hope you get 'the picture'
. Blaze on the mounts and install the arms.
Think the paint is glossy enough? Sorry-bout-that! :anon:Since the cross member was off I took the time to widen it into a t-case skid which allowed me to delete the crossmember drop I had caused by the clocking of my D 300 (In retrospect I shoulda hammered out the tunnel enableing me to go flat). I used an extra crossmember I had laying around and,
and,
such that,
I finally got to drive it yesterday and I want to say WOW. No more creaking noises as it flexes and it feels, as others have stated, all-around stiffer.
Thanks HDOffroad for a great product that was ready to and easy to install.
I hope this is of help.
Mike
:compwork:
The first weekend after I got the delivery from HDO I set out to supply myself but it took 'till Monday to find the weld through primer, so I lost time due to that; here is the brand I found,
With a torch and scrapper I cleaned the rails. It took no time to do. Cleanup was easy because I rolled out some roofing felt to catch the mess. I followed the OP's method of marking the plug welds with a felt pen to grind only where neccesary. Now it's time to weld, (my buddy Steve showing me how easy it is to run a wire welder)
Again I followed the same clamp and jack method as my predecessor; welding a couple of plugs to hold the piece and moving back 'till it was all lined up and then filling in the rest in a random way so as to allow cooling down of hot spots. Grind off the welds, primer up the fresh steel and on to the long arm installation.
I have the Full Traction 6" lift and as you can guess the lower mounts were moved downward and outward by the thickness of the sleeving material and the uppers just moved down. But in order to keep the arms alligned to each other I needed to space the upper mount downward by the same amount. (pic-tard). No problem, at least I hoped not, it simply meant that the old bolt holes would no longer work (The FTS is a complete bolt on product). I used a rotory file on a drill and the old bolt holes became plug welds, ground edges for stiching and commenced locating the mounts in their new locations.
The lower arms mounts utilized the two crossmember bolts on each side so I elongated those holes in both mounts. Next I had to locate and shoot a hole through the new plating to run a long bolt through the upper mounts on each side. That is the only bolt I needed to retain the location for, relative from upper to lower. This is where I was busy enough to forget pics too (sorry). However, it's fairly rudimentary, so I hope you get 'the picture'
. Blaze on the mounts and install the arms.
Think the paint is glossy enough? Sorry-bout-that! :anon:Since the cross member was off I took the time to widen it into a t-case skid which allowed me to delete the crossmember drop I had caused by the clocking of my D 300 (In retrospect I shoulda hammered out the tunnel enableing me to go flat). I used an extra crossmember I had laying around and,
and,
such that,
I finally got to drive it yesterday and I want to say WOW. No more creaking noises as it flexes and it feels, as others have stated, all-around stiffer.
Thanks HDOffroad for a great product that was ready to and easy to install.
I hope this is of help.
Mike
:compwork:
XJ&CHZ4ME
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Unionville, MO
another great write up, thanks! :thumbup:
dgrigorenko
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Big Rapids MI
NICE!! glad it worked out for you! i like the skid too!
muddyrocks
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Zebulon,NC
Thanks and thanks.This will, without a doubt, be the first mod on my next 'victim'.
dgrigorenko
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Big Rapids MI
where did you get that primer, and how did you like it? or did you just do what i did and paint the back?
muddyrocks
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Zebulon,NC
I used the primer on the Jeep rails and on the backs of the HDO sleeves. The stuff I found was from CarQuest Paint and cost $20 bucks a can. It seemed to work fine but I have nothing to compare it to yet. Hopefully I've generated some interest from the local parts shops and Krylon too, yes I called them in my effort to locate weldthru, so that it will be easier and cheaper to get in the future.
I have a set of these stiffiners ready to be welded on, did any of you put rock sliders on after the stiffiners? i have AJ's rails that will be going on as well and was wondering if anyone had any fitment issues after installing the stiffiners.
Thanks
-Rich
Thanks
-Rich
XJ&CHZ4ME
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Unionville, MO
That is a good question, I am running the JCR stage 2 sliders and was wondering if there was going to be an issue when I installed these....
The first prototype is a pretty good fit. A few small changes and we'll have them ready.
dgrigorenko
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Big Rapids MI
i did not have rails to go on after... i am cutting out my quarters and putting in 2x4 and then connecting those to the stiffeners. that is a good question, i wonder if it would affect the fitment of the pinch seam.
I'm prepping my unibody rails for this tonight or tomorrow. Is it necessary to remove the undercoating? I liked your idea of just marking where welds will go and only removing that material and wondered if the same could be done with the undercoating still on. Since there are a couple of vertical unibody seams per side, I figure the stiffeners aren't going to sit 100% flush the whole length anyway.
Last edited:
Make sure enough undercoat is removed so you dont get the smoke contaminating you molten weld pool. Snap, crackle, pop.:yelclap:
dgrigorenko
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Big Rapids MI
yeah the issue with that is burninating... it will burn and smoke like there is no tomorrow... i should have used the torch/scraper method, the wire wheel was nasty
dgrigorenko
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Big Rapids MI
Yes... Where did that come from
Yes, I run the same set I ran before the stiffeners (for now).
The pinch seam deflected a little bit when I cinched the bolts down again, but it was only 1/8" or so.
Fit just like they did before.
- Location
- Port Orchard, WA
Rock Rails, and frame stiffeners (like these) serve 2 different purposes.
Rock rails make it so you can open your doors later, frame stiffeners make it so that yout unibody doesnt fall apart as fast.
