Rusty frame

[Orithil]

Ok, since people thought this should go on the Den proper, here it is. Copy + Paste from the FB page :

So, my eagle's been sitting over winter and I do feel pretty bad about it, but I'm not exactly the most hardy person and can't really handle the cold too well so it sat. I had a new gas tank, a new fuel sending unit put in, new plugs and wires, an oil change and I had another front passenger hub put on. It has the motorcraft carb on the 258, and the switch for 4x4 still worked last time I drove it. I didn't put too much effort into it over the winter because they found a spot of rust on the frame I need to have checked at an autobody shop apparently. I haven't dealt with anything like this before, so I was hoping for some advice or like..what to expect from the auto body guys like price and time and such, and maybe what I can do if the frame isn't going to be able to be repaired.

Someone said something about a picture of the rust, I'll get one as soon as I can but it's not going to be within the next week, I just won't have the time.

[IowaEagle]

Thanks for posting it here.  Yes pictures will be helpful to us to assist you.  And, welcome to the Den.

[IowaEagle]

Some frame rot can be repaired.  Its been done by others.  Just depends where it is at and how bad it is.

[runs.like]

welcome.  I cut out and replaced a good amount of rotted frame on one Eagle I owned.  that was back in 2009, there's a thread out there somewhere but i lost all the photos from my pPB account.  Get some photos up and you will get a lot of help from the guru's.  Where is the rot?? If it irreparable, doesn't sound like it is or they would have told you, then your options are get rid of it and buy a new one or find a good shell that needs mechanical work and move all your good components over.

where are you located?

[IowaEagle]

Looks like he is in Wisconsin.

[Orithil]

I am in Wisconsin yeah.  The rust they were most worried about was back towards the rear passenger side wheel area, I was giving consideration to replacing the leaf springs but because of the rust they were concerned about taking them off. 

Now keep in mind this is a garage, and as a business they may be over-reacting to keep their own fat out of the fire, so to speak, but I still have no experience dealing with auto body issues so I wouldn't know.  Where it was, they don't really do body work, so no one there really could say if it was irreparable or not.

[IowaEagle]

That is a spot of concern but can be fixed.  Probably near the spot of the front mount of the spring.

[macdude443]

My SX/4 has some rust in that same area. I would like to have it fixed but I'm certain is have to remove the spring and remove half the hanger bracket to get under there and that its be worse for the structural integrity to fix it. Have you ever seen that repair done, Doug?

[IowaEagle]

I have not yet.  I need to address some rust there too when I have the subframe connectors installed.

[Amc1320]

Hoping you can get some pics of the problem area, it can probably be fixed

On my wagon I had to rebuild one of the front frame rails with new steel

On the sx4 we redid we had to reinforce where the spring attaches to the back

[runs.like]

I'm certain there is a thread describing someone's experience with that exact problem.  As I recall the hanger punched up through the "floor" around the spare tire compartment .  They cut it out, welded in some new steel and bolted the hanger back in place. 
I cut out and welded in a majority of the area under the spare tire as well as some of the sub frame.  My hangers were not punched through so in that spot I "Micky Moused it"  and welded a piece of of steel from above that covered the area of the hanger and overlapped the solid parts.  My gas tanl hangers were in similar shape I can't remember if i fixed them or not, my thread ends with another member buying that eagle.....

The pics are long gone
http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=35231.15

[captspillane]

I wrote this back in 2011. If you are going to repair the rear spring perches I suggest switching over to CJ7 shackle eyes. The bolt pattern is a little different and they are the same width as the leaf spring (an Eagle shackle is smaller at the top than the bottom). It lets you use a greater range of shackle options intended for Jeep CJ7s.

Before I took my Red Eagle off the road, I jumped it off a hump at 75 mph. I got several seconds of air time. Upon landing the rear leaf springs drove themselves through my rear floor. I spent a few months rebuilding the rear end on that car, so its already ready to go. When I rebuilt it I also installed a reciever hitch tied into the frame with bolts that go straight through to my new floor plates. The bolts are currently stainless steel, but I will replace them with grade 8 bolts soon because I don't trust the brittle Stainless bolts for any degree of load.









I love how snug and subtle the Jeep Cherokee hitch fit under my bumper, but I did run into trouble in putting a cotter pin in and out. I had to notch the back panel. The notches are visible in this picture.



I used greaseable shackles intended to lift a CJ7 1.5 inches. The new spring perches sit on the floor board plates I installed, instead of on a half inch pedestal that used to be in the sheet metal. I also measured my CJ7 shackles and found that they were about an inch shorter than the stock Eagle shackles. The 1.5 lift CJ7 shackles ended up being the perfect length to return the Eagle to stock height. Notice the web stiffener on the heavy duty shackle eyes I used. Those are available as extreme duty upgrades for a CJ7.

[Orithil]

I managed to get out and snap a couple of pics of what they were talking about.  If these aren't enough or good enough or from the right place, please feel free to advise me on where my pics should be taken from.  I don't have a lift or anything though.  Ground shots are all I can manage.

This shot is from the top of the back passenger wheel well down towards the leaf spring. (As I'm sure you can tell.)
This one is from the underside of the back passenger side where the leaf spring attaches. (Once again, as I am sure you can tell.)

[macdude443]

Have you ever taken the plastic cladding off the sides to inspect?  It looks like you may be missing some rocker panels from what I can see.

[IowaEagle]

I have the same issues.  That is why I am installing sub frame connectors and repairing the issues.