So I was talkin to a buddy and he was saying something about uni-body stiffeners, and how without them the body will crack in places when the rig gets really flexy. Is this right? And are stress cracks in the body a common thing, or is it over rated? Thanks!

 

Two doors are more prone to cracking at various points along the b-pillar, bur 4 doors can as well. I'm happy with the improved rigidity after plating mine.

 

See now, you just messed up my day lol.

 

i went wheeling with a guy who had one side of his xj's rail crack right in half. but that is after he beat on it for 6+ years running 33's, locked, etc.

 

i personally have never heard of the unibody cracking after the install of stiffiners. i can see how it could cause points with more stress on the unirail in some spots but i would not worry about it.

 

If you're going to do it, do it before you get sliders. Wish I had.

 

seriously? I find this hard to believe. I do agree that XJ's have cracks all over but the uni-rail cracked in half?

 

I'd also recommend the RE bar that goes for the track bar to the other rail.

 

he slammed it down on a boulder. and ti smashed/cracked it but it was a late 80's one so it did have a bit of rust.

 

it is very common, you can either stiffen the rails, tie in a cage to it, build some heavy duty crossmembers and have a rig that will last you sometime, or treat xj's as disposable vehicles and once your current body is too far gone swap everything over to a new body

i installed stiffeners from the front bumper to the leaf hanger when my last jeep was stock and still had significant cracking around the top of the d pillars, base of the a pillars, along the tranny hump, along the rear leaf hangers and AROUND the rear wheel openings as well as between the steering box and trackbar.

 

Check my build for a half-assed write up on Ruff Stuff Stiffeners.

 

Ive seen it too. Folded like a wet taco

 

Im seriously thinking on goin ahead and doin some stiffening up of my XJ before i put sliders on it, so people, all this talk about it, show some pics of how you done it

 

was it on aetna?

 

x2 I would love to see some pics of what others have done. So stiffening the uni-body is obviously a good idea if you want it to last a long time.