Hey, So just found out my frame may be ****, was wondering if anyone had an idea how much it may cost
Info:
97'
Jeep cherokee XJ
4.0

 

Need more info than that pics might be nice too. And XJs dont have frames.

 

Hate to break it to you but your Jeep doesn't have a frame. It's a unibody. Be a bit more helpful and tell us what you were told is wrong with your "Frame" which again you don't have. Was the Jeep hit? Are the lower unibody rails rusted? What exactly is wrong?

 

Uh, excuse me gentlemen but the Cherokee did in fact have a frame!



Sheesh... lol

 

My bad, I refer to it as a frame because its more simple than describing unibody etc, It was not in an accident, in fact it has not been on the road in years, it is just rusting away on the bottom and extremely weak you tap it with a hammer and it gets holes in places.
I have no pics..... or anything to take any.

 

 

Without pics it is really hard to get an idea of how bad the damage is. If it is just one or two small areas it shouldn't take too much to plate it or cut out the bad area and weld in new metal. A body shop will charge you a fortune for anything involving welding but if you can weld or have a friend that can weld the metal won't cost much. If you can't weld try to find a local welder that does side jobs, they might do if for a few hundred bucks.

If most of the rail is rusted out your best bet is to look for another vehicle, replacing large sections or the entire rail will cost you much more than the Jeep is worth.

 

If it's that bad you need a new one.

 

It will be impossible to even try to tell you how much it would cost without seeing the damage. If you plan on having a shop do the work you will have to get estimates from them since it will all depend on the shop and the location that you live.

 

Congratulations OP you now own your very own "Parts Jeep". Go find another with a good body and your set.

 

I still see no picture....

 

Yes it has a frame. It's integral to the body. The term Jeep used upon introduction and in the videos I watched showing the assembly of said Jeeps, is Uni-frame construction.

Since we can't see the Jeep from here, perhaps the OP should contact some guys in his Region to have a peek at it.

 

"your xj doesn't have a frame", "you don't need a steering stabilizer", "steering stabilizers only mask the real problem", "flares are not fenders",
"they didn't make a 2003 cherokee", "your 99 xj didn't have a V6", etc...

i wish these forum know-it-all's would just STFU already.

as for your "frame", if it's not all that bad, and there's plenty of good metal there, you can weld in frame stiffeners that will buy you some time, but if it's worse than good, you may be in for a whole lotta work.
not saying it's not doable, just lots of fab work.

lets see some pics

 

That would be great but he stated he has no way to post pics.

Only way we'll be able to tell is with pics.

 

HAHA. You and I have to meet someday. We all knew what the OP was talking about. I've learned how to ignore those "Chair Experts"

If it's been sitting in the weeds and not on gravel or something else you'll find the rust will be EXTENSIVE over a that long period. There is a reason we call rust "Cancer" Once it starts it's relentless. Only way to get rid of it is to cut out ALL the stuff and replace with new.