My jeep sucks.

T

thechief86

NAXJA Forum User
Location
White House, TN
So as a few of you know, the jeep i bought to replace my burned one is very rusty. The more i look at it, the more I realize that a wise man would yank the good engine and transmission and tcase out of it, and scrap the rest. unfortunately, i'm broke, and I need a car to drive, and something somewhat utilitarian for hauling junk and tools, and pulling the occasional trailer. (not to mention I really enjoy wheeling, so a jeep is good for that).
This rusty jeep drives good, does well offroad, and has been very dependable despite being driven 500 miles a week for several months, and currently being driven about 200 miles a week or more. It gets decent fuel mileage, and overall rises to any challenge i'd need an xj for.

But it's RUSTY. To the point that aft of the rear axle, the subframe is beginning to collapse, the floor pans and rockers are swiss cheese, and the bolt for the passenger side shackle is broken into the unibody, and just welded down so i can at least drive the car. At this point, i'm wondering if it is better to continue trying to fix this body to at least being structurally sound, or pull the good stuff off and start over with a different body.

I need more practice welding, and I really like having a 2 door xj. Is it stupid to think that at some point after a lot of cutting, welding, and replacing that this jeep might actually stay together?
The end product/aspiration of this here jeep will be something similar to the 2door owned by TheHardStruggler: Don't care if it looks like hell, just want it to run well, and stay together. I want to keep the roof and all the glass, and have the capability to drive it anywhere I want, on road or off. I don't plan for this jeep to turn into something that has to be trailered to the trails, but rather be driven on the interstate despite looks of terror from those i share the road with.:firedevil

What do you guys think? lots of plate/tubing, or scrap this mother and look for a decent body?
 
If it as bad as it sounds, I would look for a cleaner body.

Anything can be fixed but you have to ask yourself if you have the time, tools, talent, desire, and money to fix it.

Floyd had holes in the passenger floor pan and in both rockers when he came to live with me, but I knew where the build was going eventually, and that it would all be cut out. I enjoyed the slow build and all the fun of fabbing custom stuff and it was just a toy and didnt matter if it sat tore down for a month.


It also sounds like this is your main source of transportation and have limited funds, if you have a welder and some basic tools, it can be repaired very cheap and just a little bit at a time. Take a weekend and replace one floor pan, put it back together in time for work on Monday kind of thing. Sheet metal scraps can be had cheap from a metal suppliers dump bin.

I love my 2 door! So much easier to get into and out of.
 
Food for thought.........

Couple of weeks ago there was a clean,not a dent on it, 2wd red two door sport that had been just about completely stripped of all the interior at the Pull a Part here in Atlanta.

I can take a look and see if it's still there. Maybe worth a trip down to see it?
 
Tim, you hit the nail on the head with he idea of doing a little at a time. Almost all of my rust is in places that aren't that structurally important, and I want to replace with plate or tubing anyway. The floors can be patched with scraps, and I don't really care how the patchwork looks. I do have 2 other cars, and a diesel truck if I need it, so I'm not too bummed if it needs to sit for a while. I just love driving it so much that it ends up getting daily duty most of the time. I have to leave my car at a truck stop a couple of nights a week, and the Xj is something that I know won't get stolen or vandalized. I think it's worth working on, under the premise that I have some skills, and some tools, some free time, and a little money (not much, but some).
I am likely to get some ideas from you east tn and Georgia guys, since you have already done a lot of this stuff. Most of my xj's have stayed mostly stock other than some fender trimming, so the problems kind of give me license to try stuff. I'm just a little overwhelmed by where I have to start, lol.
I already know how to swap drivetrain parts and all that, and I'm an ok welder/fabricator. I just need the confidence to get better at it. I have to look at it as an opportunity to hone skills that aren't 100% yet. The mechanic stuff I'm great at, but this jeep doesn't need much in that field.
I think I can do it, just gonna bug some of you for ideas, and others for help actually doing it. If I start with a nice one, I always feel bad when I bang it up. If I start with a turd, all I gotta do is polish it, lol. Thanks.
 
Super!
It really is much more fun to fab when it isn't your only wheels to get you to work! You can really take your time and make a plan.


If you intend to really wheel, a set of middle frame stiffeners is a must. That's really the only thing I should have done but didn't. It's fixed now but it was a lot more work doing it after the frame rails are smashed flat.

I did my rocker replacements at the same time as the floor pan repair, seemed easier with everything cut out.
 
I just spent an hour Seam Sealing all of the broken pinch seam welds on my trail rig. Above the C and D pillars the welds are cracked, seam seal was gone!

Its literally falling apart around me. Its not gonna take too much more flexing before its done.

It will be time to build a MJ then
 
xjtrailrider said:
I just spent an hour Seam Sealing all of the broken pinch seam welds on my trail rig. Above the C and D pillars the welds are cracked, seam seal was gone!

Its literally falling apart around me. Its not gonna take too much more flexing before its done.

It will be time to build a MJ then
Click to expand...

That's the reason I didn't feel bad scrapping the wagoneer.... When I took it apart I found it was very close to separating into its essential elements. The next hardcore wheeler will be more tube than jeep and live on my trailer, the 89 on 31s will be the nice driver Cherokee. Tires that small will keep me from being stupid.........maybe
 
Yeah, the rust free mj sounds awesome! I had one for a while and loved it. But I think for now I'm gonna build what I have. I wheeled the snot out of it today, and in basically stock form (3" lift, welded rear, lots of cutting, 31" at's), it outdid my expectations, as an Xj always does. One obstacle that took a ford ranger 30 minutes, I did in 26 seconds. The other rigs there opted out of it to preserve sheet metal, which I don't fret over. This is one of the first times I've wheeled at wooly's without having to be pulled out of anything! It will take time, but I think I'll be happy with my jeep if I build it how I want to.
 
Ok, so I have a TON of really thick angle iron laying around. I've never really thought it was useful for much other than building trailers, but it looks like I could get creative with the plasma cutter, and make it into some halfway decent frame stiffy's. the stuff is .25" thick, and I can find thicker if I need it. Does anybody see a problem with using that? The beauty of it is that it is free and pretty much unlimited, over a long enough timeline...
 
Too thick, that's a whole lot of weight your adding and te thicker metal will be a PITA to weld to the body.. I hate to say it but your time is worth money and for every jeep I've ever built that money was well spent on the hd Offroad stiffeners. Less heartache and fab work is good when time is a limited commodity



Took a lot of age to finally realize I shouldn't scoop up EVERY good deal I trip over
 
Ha yeah, I just wanted an Xj, and this one was worth what I paid, even if I only got the drivetrain and wiring harness. What is a good thickness for the stiffys then? I don't really wanna buy them, because I have way more time than money, and I can get whatever steel I need for the cheap.
 
thechief86 said:
Ha yeah, I just wanted an Xj, and this one was worth what I paid, even if I only got the drivetrain and wiring harness. What is a good thickness for the stiffys then? I don't really wanna buy them, because I have way more time than money, and I can get whatever steel I need for the cheap.
Click to expand...

You can make 3/16 work... It's easier to form than the 1/4 stuff and way overkill for stiffening duties. The hd stuff is 10ga and I frequently mount suspensions to it, hers is
 
Sweet. 3/16" is just as easy for me to find. Is it acceptably to just make holes in it and rosette weld it every few inches once it is formed? Do I need to weld around the edges, too? I can have the stiffys, rockers, and floor patches done by the end of the summer, and only have to park it for a few days at a time, since I have 3 day weekends now. I already have he parts to lift it more and put a stronger rearend and front locker under it, so that will be done this year, too.

I don't plan to go larger than 33's or 35's, so I figure a 29 spline 8.25 that will be had cheap and welded will hold up fine while I get my Ducks in a row for an 8.8. The only thing that will cost a little bit will be the cage and rear bumper, which I'm gonna need some help with. I've never built anything but a 4 point internal cage in an Xj, or something similar for cj's and wranglers, and my buddy's bronco.
I want basically something like Tim's, but without boatsides or narrowing the quarters.
 
yep rosettes and i weld all the edges but the top.


honestly if you never plan on going above 35's the 8.25 is a great axle....she is still beating the snot out of hers locked up with stock shafts.... they are super easy to setup too if you want to learn to set up gears too (threaded adjusters to set backlash), and when you have the scratch for disk brakes the zj conversion is super easy and cheap


short"underrated axle"xjdoug
 
29 spline 8.25 will hold 35s absolutely no problem with alloy shafts in it from what I've been told. I know I've been thrashing on mine (open diff, though) for years now on 33s with stock shafts without a single problem. And I have my eyes peeled for an LSD for it... almost bought an aussie for it for 60 bucks but realized I needed to save money and the aussie needed parts.
 
My 8.25 has held up just fine on 35's. It is Aussie locked, trussed, Yukon alloys, ZJ discs, cryoed Nitro 4.88's

I'm a finesse driver, light on the skinny unless I just have to use it. I never really worry about the durability of the axle though. All of our XJ's and MJ have 29 spline 8.25's in them. It is an easy axle to set-up. I recommend going with a spacer for the pinion pre-load like I did just for ease of replacing broken yokes on the trail. I HATE crush sleeves when it comes time to repair/replace a yoke.

My axle, before the discs brakes and install in the rig.

P1020216.jpg

P1020223.jpg

P1020224.jpg

P1020225.jpg
 
shortxjdoug said:
yep rosettes and i weld all the edges but the top.


honestly if you never plan on going above 35's the 8.25 is a great axle....she is still beating the snot out of hers locked up with stock shafts.... they are super easy to setup too if you want to learn to set up gears too (threaded adjusters to set backlash), and when you have the scratch for disk brakes the zj conversion is super easy and cheap


short"underrated axle"xjdoug
Click to expand...
cool! i know how to set up gears already, from my days working at trailworks offroad and essentially offroad in middle tennesee, and i already have a set of zj disc brakes on the dana 35 that was under my white jeep. As for the front, i just have a high pinion CAD 30 converted to solid big joint shafts with 3.55 gears and an aussie, with zj steering. it'll do for now, and 33's with 3.55's won't suck too bad with the ax15, at least until i can do better.
the threaded adjusters are cool, after having to press bearings on and off until the pattern is right with dana stuff. This jeep is starting to suck less already! i've already got the steel lined up for the frame stiffys and rear bumper and the start of the cage. I'm still just looking for a deal on the 2x8x3/16 tubing for the rocker replacement like melkor has on his xj. If I can stick with it, and not kill the poor thing, this will turn into something pretty neat, and for cheap!
 
I made a set of setup bearings for my first gear setup... worked out great. May not work so well when I'm using the next set of final bearings from a different lot, but when the final and setup bearings came from the same lot (same shipment from rockauto even) it came out perfect.
 
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