Is it possible to weld to the frame without ruining the structural integrity?

 

you shold plate it first depending on what you are diong but you will find people who know more about it in the fabrication section of the forum.

 

ok, cool

 

My buddy's a professional welder and I've learned a lot from him in the last couple years. In order to weld the frame, first you gotta clean off all the dirt, oil, rust, and anything that will contaminate the weld. Then it's advisable to grind it down and wipe it with some acetone. Then you can proceed to weld the frame. Grind that weld down as flush as possible and reinforce it with some plate and it should be better than new.

 

I was under the impression that the unibody would crack if done so

 

not so. it's not hardened or cast. it's a die stamped piece of sheet metal. if you're too hot on your weld you will blow right through it like a hot knife through butter. if your not sure, maybe best to get some help from some one who knows how to weld not just burn some rods. if it gets screwed up, it will be a ***** to fix.

 

just dont have vertical welds on the frame and your ok

 

just curious, but why are vertical welds bad?

 

the xj unibody frame is very thin along the connectors.
if you are welding any thick metal to the frame, you want to direct all your heat onto the thicker metal first, then do a quick pass down to the thin frame rail. do that along the piece and you should be fine. then you can do a pass along the stitching you've done to beef up your welds.

i've welded in my crossmember with a 110 mig. that seemed better than when i plug welded in my angle iron stiffeners on my old jeep. i burned through one of the plugs, but there were many, so i wasn't worried.

 

it prevents the frame from cracking.

 

To answer the question, yes, the frame can be welded without ruining its integrity.

Can you do it?

I can not answer that.

Jeff

 

cool thanks, just wanted to make sure before i do something stupid.

 

So....Why would a vertical weld crack the frame, and not a horizontal weld?