Help?

JCMatthews

Tour Guide
Long explanation followed by a question. I own a '97 Jeep Cherokee with 150,000 miles on the clock. It has the AX15 and NP231HD (leaker) combination. I have about 5" of lift, 33X10.50 BFG ATs, 4.56 gears and rear Powertrax. I have the usual rock rails, HD front bumper, roof rack w/spare tire. I have done a few other things, but nothing really not worthy. It has been a love hate relationship. I feel like I am constantly trying to keep it road worthy, and not just falling apart. I have used it a lot. It has hauled me to Alaska and Mexico from my home in Utah. Also it has been to Easter Jeep Safari for the last 12 years. It is really good off road, and I use it as a daily driver. I now have another problem. The inevitable chassis flex has caught up to me. I have had my hatch adjusted to open again, and after a harrowing trip on the White Rim, it was hanging up again. You can read about it hear. http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49183 Since I have been home things have seemed to straighten out. I have looked into buying frame stiffiners, and like the price of these from T&T Customs. http://tntcustoms.com/uni-bodystiffeners-2.aspx

My question is does anyone have experience with frame stiffiners? How much do they help? It is hard to say, but is it worth it or do I just sell it? I have really been looking at, I hate to say, buying an '04 DC Tacoma. Any suggestions would be of great help.

Here are a couple pictures of it when I listed it on ksl.com.
 

Attachments

  • Jeep For Sale 004.jpg
    Jeep For Sale 004.jpg
    64.8 KB · Views: 22
  • Jeep For Sale 002.jpg
    Jeep For Sale 002.jpg
    68.5 KB · Views: 21

wADVr

Adventurer
I have sleeved the frame on my last XJ and while it was a worthwhile mod it didnt help stiffen things up as much as installing cut out rock rails. But neither are going to do much for the hatch area.

A cage is really the only way to stiffen the body back up. A cage properly tied into the body both around the frame and up around the seat belt mounting locations has been a proven method to put everything back in spec.
 

inked33

Adventurer
ive had a few xj's and always put frame stiffners on them before anything got knocked out of wack, and they did what they were supposed to do. i built my own set's so i cant really say anything about any stiffners on the market and their quality. since ive always put the stiffners on before things started getting out of wack i cant say for certain wether it would help out in your case but im pretty sure they would work.

personally it sounds like you first need to decide if you really want to keep the cherokee or go with a different vehicle. its not fun to drive and fix a vehicle that you dont really like
 

hugh

Observer
I have put frame stiffeners on my 98 XJ and they do help. Really the main reason for me was to prevent the rocks on some trails from bending the thin stock "frame". A cage is supposed to help stiffen things up, one company that interests me is Rock Hard, there cage is bolted together and bolted right through the floor and I suppose you could weld it if you wanted. Anyway it is under $1000. In the life of any vehicle, you must decide if it is worth repairing or time to move on. I had a CJ 7 that I thought I would keep forever partially because it had so much aftermarket support and also because it was a cool looking truck, however after driving from home to the Black Hills classic a few years ago [about 800 mi one way] it turned out the rough ride was just to much. Take a look at a grand cherokee, they appear to have a stronger unibody frame.
 
Last edited:

Root Moose

Expedition Leader
ive had a few xj's and always put frame stiffners on them before anything got knocked out of wack, and they did what they were supposed to do. i built my own set's so i cant really say anything about any stiffners on the market and their quality. since ive always put the stiffners on before things started getting out of wack i cant say for certain wether it would help out in your case but im pretty sure they would work.

This is the correct approach IMO. Do the stiffening before the metal starts to fatigue... that way it won't have a chance to fatigue and get "sloppy".

I have the TNT stiffeners. They made a big difference that was noticeable right way - just closing the doors on the Jeep didn't sound as tinny.

If you really want a different vehicle and this is a decent excuse to make the jump then do that.

But, if you really like the Jeep and are not happy with the particular one you have then I'd suggest buying another one and transferring your parts - but do the stiffening first (stiffeners from stem to stern, steering plates, mondo bumpers front and rear. Soccer-mom-mobiles that have never been twisted are easy to come by for ~$2k around here and I'm guessing it is the same where you are. That is what I'd do but then I'm a bit obsessive about these unibody Jeeps.

I haven't done the rear cargo area unirail stiffeners or the front frame horn stiffeners but probably will next year (Jeep is going away for the winter in ~November). I'm also going to do a little roll cage/hoop type thing in the cargo area (only). Part stiffener and part rear bench roll over protection without being a melon cracker.

$0.02
 

JCMatthews

Tour Guide
Thanks for your comments. I will let you know what I end up doing. I hate to spend more money if I don't end up with a lot of benefit.
 

BIGdaddy

Expedition Leader
This is the correct approach IMO. Do the stiffening before the metal starts to fatigue... that way it won't have a chance to fatigue and get "sloppy".

I have the TNT stiffeners. They made a big difference that was noticeable right way - just closing the doors on the Jeep didn't sound as tinny.

If you really want a different vehicle and this is a decent excuse to make the jump then do that.

But, if you really like the Jeep and are not happy with the particular one you have then I'd suggest buying another one and transferring your parts - but do the stiffening first (stiffeners from stem to stern, steering plates, mondo bumpers front and rear. Soccer-mom-mobiles that have never been twisted are easy to come by for ~$2k around here and I'm guessing it is the same where you are. That is what I'd do but then I'm a bit obsessive about these unibody Jeeps.

I haven't done the rear cargo area unirail stiffeners or the front frame horn stiffeners but probably will next year (Jeep is going away for the winter in ~November). I'm also going to do a little roll cage/hoop type thing in the cargo area (only). Part stiffener and part rear bench roll over protection without being a melon cracker.

$0.02


Hey JC, I second Chris's postulations above...

Stiffeners, or lack thereof, are one of the reasons I've kept my rig off the trail for the most part so far. I want to pick a good solid set, and may end up going with Detours weld-on/bolt-on dropkick slider/stiffeners to have everything work together and be done all at once.

My rig is a very clean specimen and intend to keep it for as long as I can, including a new motor in the foreseeable future. These seem like a very wise investment, IMO.
 

Xjaddiction

Observer
Frame stiffeners help, but I agree with the cage to eliminate the problem. At least a hoop behind the front seats that ties into the seat bolt bolts for the driver passenger. If you can tie it into the stiffeners, even better.

The other thing I always thought about doing to my XJ's was using a MJ tail gate, or make the XJ tailgat a split, with the bottom half folding down like a p-up truck.
 

DrMoab

Explorer
I'll give my nod to the TNT stiffeners also. I put them on my jeep when I installed their lift and they have been great. The fit is awesome and if you are a decent welder...or know one they really aren't that hard to install either.
 

Alltwistedup

Observer
my old xj was a mess by the time i was done wheeling it from twisting. i had to have my frame straightened after an accident with a herd of elk. i noticed a huge difference in the way everything worked and the handling.

my $0.02
first have the frame (unibody) straightened and fix the all the door gaps.
then do a full cage either inside or outside and frame stiffeners before you go wheel it. this way everything is held as close to factory spec as possible.
 

JCMatthews

Tour Guide
My frame wasn't bad yet. It could have been easily fixed with chasis stiffeners from what I have now read. However, today I sold it for $3250.00. Now I am going to work on a new project. I want to do some mild adjustments to our Ford Expedition to get it ready for a summer in Alaska. With three kids, we need the room on long trips, and I just have to remind myself that it is a Ford truck, and that it can handle rough dirt roads. I am excited by the challenge and that I will have to fab rock rails and bumpers.

Plans always seen to change. Now we are talking '05-'06 Tundra and FWC. I think for traveling with kids this combo would be better.
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
185,527
Messages
2,875,534
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top