both sides are bent from the hitch mounts. i was thinking trying to slide hammer and hammer most of it out. then maybe try and plate it on the bottom and side. any other good ideas?

 

probably pretty hard to manage a hammer in there. ball pein hammer could do some work on it if you could fit it in. i'd suggest plating on the inside as well and bolting the two together

 

well the gas tank is off so i got alot of room on the insides. thats a good idea though.

 

welding might work better though? i'm not sure and have zero welding experience lol. make sure to use some thick plates so the problem doesn't reciprocate

 

Maybe box it in with thicker metal. It'll be tough of you aren't familiar with welding.

 

The kink makes that a weak spot, it needs to be plated on both sides.

 

That in the hell were you towing that bent your framerails like that??

 

I would box it with 3. Just plating the two sides may not be enough.

 

Just asking because I have dropped the full weight of my XJ off of two and three foot shelves down onto solid rocks and logs right on my hitch repeatedly and I have never had so much as a wrinkle in my framerails. That hitch is what has kept me from buying a super expensive aftermarket off road type rear bumper. it works very well for protecting the rear of my XJ.

 

I wonder the same think Buck. I have slammed my hitch into all kinds of stuff. I have also pulled from my hitch and towed some pretty heavy vehicles through some pretty gnarly trails. What the heck were you towing to do damage like that?

 

In fact I was the duty tow Jeep this last Friday when we went up to Walker Valley. I towed Shane87 out of the Upper Mainline trail and then I towed my son XJ87 the last little part of the trip home.

 

i am good at welding i own my own welder so that wont be a problem ill just box as much of it as i can get too. thanks for the help. btw i dont know what bent it thats how it was when i bought it. one more question how do i go about getting those carriage bolts in and out. looks like it might be kinda tricky. maybe a long magnet?

 

fully sleeve both "frame" rails. it will be alot stronger and give you something to tie a cage into... if thats your kinda thing.. if not for the strength

 

so are there supposed to be those carriage bolts like that or nut strips?

 

Was the jeep rear-ended before you got it..?