Tips would be appreciated

I’ve posted some pictures. My xj is developing a crack and tearing on the front drivers side, near the track bar bracket. I plan on trying to weld some plates on it this weekend to stiffen and reinforce the whole area I figure this spot gets a lot of stress from the steering box and track bar. My question is has anybody done this? What thickness steel should I use. Any tips for welding it? I’m not the best welder I know it’s hard to weld thick metal to thin and don’t wanna burn holes in it.

It looks to me you have a lifted suspension, and that is adding additional stress, causing a fairly severe crack

There is some things in the archives about repairing such damage

That level of cracking would worry me quite a lot, and I would want to take additional measures such as internally reinforcing (if possible) with though tubes, bracing, and then plates

I would prefer to consult with someone that had a good understanding of suspension engineering, and welding those cracks requires an experienced welder in my opinion

I would use MIG to repair those cracks, but they need the correct preparation, the cracks need to be veed out with a die grinder, and aligned

There are commercially available frame stiffener kits available. Have you carefully inspected the other side?

How big is your lift?

4.5” lift. The cracking is only in this area. I’m just gonna try to get the crack welded then cut some 1/4” steel to plate over it.