So, my Wrangler buddies tell me horror stories about my new "old" XJ. They say, that if I run no doors my unibody will twist and never be the same. I dont have the cash to get fancy tube doors yet but I want that free feeling. Any truth to these wretched accusations?

 

FACT
The doors on an XJ are not structural.

If your worried about body flex, install frame stiffeners.

 

Serious is right, the doors play little part in the strength of your XJ. If you wheel then invest in stiffeners. There are many of them out there

 

I run doorless all the time. Never had any issues.

Doors or not its gonna twist.

And, for what its worth, my wife's TJ Wrangler's frame twists PLENTY. You can easily hear the hardtop creaking as stuff moves around.

So tell your stuck up buddies to stuff it.

 

Mythbusters out...lol

 

Insta taco! http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-hate...19985464691108

In all seriousness as stated the doors don't provide any structural support. However if you do bash your rockers without doors it can make it a pain to get them to close.

 

doors or not, unibodies will crack and fail. how long that will take depends on how its built and how its wheeled. I also strongly believe that 4 doors are stronger than 2 doors.

and they dont exactly permanently twist, they just bend back and forth in key areas so many times until they crack.


this

 

X2

 

Love your page.

 

second set of doors adds another pillar right? I'm inclined to agree with this

 

Not certain about the side doors. But I do know the rear hatch does add support.

 

Even on a pre 97? Kind of doubt a fiberglass hatch provides much if any support...

 

Yeah look at your taillight gaps, then flex it out really good, get out and check em again! lol. whereas you can open/close your doors NP flexed. Providing they work well when unflexed!

 

Just figure, most Cherokee driver doors hang anyways and you have to lift to open them, what kind of structural significance is that?

 

All my doors close fine, my passenger doors however don't seal. And you can't open the rear passenger door unless the front door is open.