Somebody put in a hitch without using the nutstrips. Cutting out the section and welding in a replacement is the only viable option. Find somebody good with a welder near you.,

Good luck.

I see it. That is common. You will need to pull your tank and those rubber full and vent lines. Don't weld prior to that removal. You will need to plate the area and weld it. With the tank out the interior access is good. Clean all the metal surfaces real good as rust does not weld. Plan your approach. Multiple patch pieces are ok. Talk in place with small tacks to keep the patch in place. The welds will pull as they cool. Weld with small stitches (limit to about 3/8 to 1/2 lenght) to keep heat distortion down. Be patient. Take your time. Use good lighting to assist your weld starts and hitting your seams. Ask a good friend to help you. Don't flash or set fire to yourself or your friend. A third hand is often needed. Spray bomb all to finish it off and replace the tank and fill system. Be prepared to replace your tank straps as they are often rough area also. Let us know what your plan is to be.

well today i pulled the carpet and found more damage to the floor board caused by that.. ill post more pics later. thanks for the help

i have the same problem...just not completely snapped like yours. it appears to be common on the XJ. mine is the 5th one ive seen live this.

I pulled all my carpet and found some sections of rust. when the warm weather is here to stay we plan to start welding in some 12ga steel to plate it all.

in august i had to "total" my XJ due to this. but mine was worse. the frame was completly snapped in half in both sides. and yes i know XJs dont have frames but it is that part on the uni body.

so putting a hitch on my XJ is a bad idea?

pulling tree stumps with an xj would seem a bad idea.

Lol, true enough.

I'm just looking to tow my boat without rippin the back off my Jeep.

Use the nutstrips designed for hitch mounting and you will be fine towing a boat. It's obvious the hitch in the OP's Jeep didn't use them (or they tried to tow a trailer house), and that is why you see this problem.

Shhhhh.... I do that to.

hmmmmm,

seems like everyone living above the mason dixon line (i do too) has the same problem with the frame, i still have my hitch on mine and have pulled bigg a$$ trucks out of stuck places and stumps and towed a boat and a car etc and have had no problems with mine,,,,,

but,,,,,, one never knows.......

yeah the tank is gonna have to come out and all the hoses and stuff then use a grinder the best u can to clean everything up, then determine what plate stock you want to weld in and then get it done, but take your time with it and it should come out all right.

good luck sir!

cpnwrench

another pic of the damage that i found when i pulled out the carpet.

Weld some angle iron on there just so it does not get worse. But it looks like its close enough to the end of the jeep that it shouldn't have much weight above it anyway. But it does give support to the tank too, so be aware of that. It all looks pretty rusted. They make a roll on bed-liner now thats suppose to stop rust from travailing so you mite want to go that way. But if you weld then spark it up. And if you want to you can cut from behind the front seat and rear pillars, then you have a scrambler wannabee... LOL Good luck my friend and have fun with your restore.

Looks like a really poor and mis-guided attempt at repair has been on this one already. If you can weld this job will be a fairly easy to accomplish. If not, try to find some that can weld and needs some practice doing repairs of this nature. ( a welding school student about to graduate for example) Make sure you remove the gas tank before attempting the repair. Another option is to purchase a welder, teach yourself to weld and fix it yourself. More time consuming but if you are into wheelin' it'll be much cheaper in the long haul.

I've done it with my 92, no damage done....

Of course, I just put it in 4LO and 1st gear