Don't Install Frame Stiffeners Before You Watch This Video | Jeep XJ Winter Build Series Episode 1

Jeep Cherokee XJ's are great off-road vehicles. Their unibody design has a lot of benefits, but also some major drawbacks. If you want to wheel your XJ hard, frame stiffeners are a must to prevent damage and provide solid mounting points for suspension and protection. This video kicks off a series up upgrades this winter to prepare the Jeep to hit some of the hardest off-road trails in Colorado.
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Barnes 4WD Frame Stiffeners:
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[@championacres]

Awesome job. We just installed the same frame stiffeners....I just ground off the undercoat where the welds we're going to be. Saved a lot of time vs stripping it all off. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

[@machinesinc]

Yeah that might have been the move. I just wanted to make sure the minimal amount of contaminants got in the weld.

[@ProjectXJ]

I just did front and mid frame stiffeners on my XJ and replaced the rockers with 2x6 quarter wall tube. Video will come out next month. Definitely replace those floor pans. Luckily i don't have any rust, but Arizona is not known for rusting out vehicles like other states.

[@machinesinc]

You went MEGA beefy on those rockers haha

[@ProjectXJ]

@Machines Inc yeah i have 4 supports back to the unibody on each side. If i somehow dent or bend them i will have bigger problems! I want my XJ to last forever. I still need to do rear stiffeners, i just needed to get it back on the road.

[@alexmacbean9430]

Do floor pans so the rust doesn't keep spreading! Love the video's on your xj so far!

[@machinesinc]

Thanks! A lot more to come!

[@ChatanikaRoosting]

Great detailed video, man. It's nice to see people keeping these old dinosaurs on the road. I wish more people would follow the frame stiffener-route and extend the life of XJs. I had mid-frame stiffeners on my old 2-door Jeep and it reduced so much creaking when wheeling! I'm looking at doing the same on my "new" 1998 w/33's--I was looking at JCR or Iron Rock Offroad's versions. Looking forward to more of your videos!

[@machinesinc]

Much appreciated!

[@projectbumblejeep4190]

C2C Fabrication makes good replacement floor pans for the XJ. Great price and excellent quality. This option also allows you to clean and rust proof the inside of the uni-frame rails. Just a thought. hope this helps. God bless, stay well.

[@machinesinc]

Thanks for the info!

[@craftsmancollaborative]

Full wrap stiffeners are a must - went the DIY route w/ 1/8" bumper to bumper plating. Night and day.

[@machinesinc]

Definitely a must on these things!

[@scaryperson27]

I was removing rear shackle mounts for a no lift shackle mount relocation kit the other day. I had the three angle grinders, Sawzall, electric metal shears... I was able to nip it all off to a certain point, I was fed up at this point as I had spent about 20 min trying to figure out how to get the last bit out. Well, I pulled out my oscillating tool with a metal bit and surprisingly it cut pretty good. I was expecting it to flop. Anyways, that probably would have worked on that booger weld.

[@machinesinc]

Might have to try one out

[@scaryperson27]

@@machinesinc It is slow. Get a good metal bit for it if you plan to use it to cut sheet metal. I had a titanium metal bit and it worked.

[@grenobel]

"Snow on the trails"? Around my area, that's what we call the best time for offroading. Probably because we don't get much snow in mid Tennessee - just enough to make it fun

[@machinesinc]

Snow wheeling is fun for sure. But at the time of this video the snow was so deep on trails not even monster trucks are getting through haha. I’d rather be snowboarding than shoveling myself out all day.

[@titaniumman_22]

Oh no…I installed some before watching this video! Damnit, I’m always late.

[@machinesinc]

I think that means you were early this time?? 😂

[@scottadvevture2022]

nice job my jeep is a little different going from a 4 door to a 2 door i thank you for sharing your jeep and other projects you have. have a great day

[@machinesinc]

Thanks for watching!

[@raulbustamante8337]

Great explanation, just what I was looking for

[@machinesinc]

Glad it was helpful!

[@johnr5545]

Thanks god bless

[@machinesinc]

✌🏼

[@robertweinstein6441]

Hooligan off road has a really cool 2x6 tube kit

[@machinesinc]

I would just build it from scratch

[@joshuazientara4452]

Very nice. I'm here for the XJ. I've got a 99, with the iron rock 3 link. Love it.

[@machinesinc]

Glad we have some Jeep people too!

[@Kyle-ev4fk]

That weld doesn't look that bad and helded. 😁

[@machinesinc]

Enough hot glue gun action and it will stick 😂

[@ericwinkworth6701]

I’ve seen xj’s do things I know not many other vehicles could pull off including shorter wheelbase vehicles. If you can keep their shortcomings together ie front Dana 44 and crank position sensors etc you can literally beat the living shit out of them and get kinda around the same outcomes as a 4,runner

[@machinesinc]

Yeah XJ’s arn’t perfect but can be super capable with the right modifications. I built a solid axle swapped 3rd gen 4runner before this and loved it too.

[@Gordon013]

Good stuff. About to install mids from affordable offroad myself. They seem to be about the same style you used. Did you weld the holes that are at the bend up top ? Seems like I see some people do that and some don't I also see some people weld the top outside seam to the unibody seam but that seems like you would burn through fast being so close to the floor boards. I figured I would just seam seal that top edge gap to keep water out.

[@machinesinc]

I didn’t weld those holes in the bends as they didn’t fit up to the body great. So I would have been filling a big gap. But maybe yours will fit better. Just be careful welding around seams as to not burn all the seam sealer out

[@katherineseivers4114]

May be a silly question BUT why do you put the piece of wood on the jack before you lift? Is this something we should always do? i.e. changing a spare tire/changing oil etc...

[@machinesinc]

The block of wood on the jack is essentially just a spacer so the jack can lift even higher. This isn’t necessary at all on regular vehicles. But sometimes needed for larger off-road vehicles.

[@69sound81]

Hey man, I have a question. I'm not sure if you would be the right guy to ask this, but here I go. Do you know if a big weld can cause a brittle line in the frame? This is the thing. I have a huge Van that weighs about 7000 pounds and can carry other 3500 pounds for a total of 10500 pounds. So, I fabricated the most over engineered rock sliders and respective braces/mounts. But, they are 4 per side and they represent a very large area to weld. Now, I'm afraid so much welding could cause a brittle point where a fracture could occur. I'm welding with 6013 electrodes

[@machinesinc]

When welding plates to the frame you don’t want to weld 100% of the plate. Continuous welds can weaken material and are more prone to cracking. You want to weld in sections suck as one inch on, one inch off

[@69sound81]

@@machinesinc thanks man, I guess I will have to get back to do some engineering design to make the most out of those welds. In paper, my structure have the strenght to carry the wole truck loaded to its max 2 times in one of them. Although reality always calls for 20% overall headroom and 50 to 60% headroom for dinamic forces. So it will end up being about 60% of the trucks weight on the structure at most and if the welds have to be "stitched" it would come out to roughly 30% of the loaded truck weight per structure in a static load force. I guess it having 4 per side will increase a little bit the rating due to distribution and if there are 4 corners, 30% per rear corner would be about the max proportion I could expect on it. Just gave you all my though process back there, but I guess It should be fine. I will still try to weld about 60% of the wealdable area just to be safe and be able to trust the strenght of those welds. I'll let ypu know if it held up fine

[@machinesinc]

Good luck!

[@TerranautAdventureClub]

I have a road sign patching the floor of my Scout ii

[@machinesinc]

Best priced floor pan out there 😂

[@TerranautAdventureClub]

@@machinesinc Cant beat Free.50

[@JohnDoe-jq4mr]

Do boat sides!!!

[@machinesinc]

Would be cool!

[@TexasRedneck]

When welding on the "frame" do you need to disconnect the battery?

[@machinesinc]

Anytime you are welding to the chassis it’s proper procedure to disconnect the battery. A lot more important on newer vehicles, but always a good idea.

[@TexasRedneck]

@@machinesinc thank you!

[@matchedbook1]

Patch those rusty floors!

[@machinesinc]

They are so bad 😂

[@moejr14]

Did you have to modify your front bumper brackets after installing the front frame stiffeners? Also, do you recommend the barns frame sisters or would you go a different route if you had to do it again?

[@machinesinc]

The backers on the front bumper have adjustability to accommodate for the added width of the frame stiffeners. The Barnes stiffeners are a good price and decent fit . But honestly I’ve seen other stiffeners with much better fitment.

[@moejr14]

@@machinesinc do you have any recommendations? I’ve been trying to watch videos but I can’t decide. Iron rock has some good looking ones but I can’t get over how expensive they are.

[@machinesinc]

@@moejr14 I don't have any hands on experience with other brands.

[@moejr14]

@@machinesinc OK let me ask you like this. If you were to buy a different set which set would you go with?

[@machinesinc]

@@moejr14 Budget is always on my mind so that may steer me the Barnes route again. However I like the design of the RuffStuff ones and they are not much more.

[@moejr14]

Does the jeep feel more solid now after stiffeners?

[@machinesinc]

Stiffeners are not something that you will physically feel a difference. But you will visually see less flex in the chassis when the vehicle is flexed out off-road. Before when the Jeep was extremely flexed out you could not even open the doors. After the stiffeners I can.

[@johnpecoraro1720]

What settings did you use for the mig?

[@machinesinc]

Most important thing is to set your machine for the thickness of the thicker material. In this case the stiffeners were 3/16 so I set my machine to the recommended voltage to ensure it penetrates the thinner material as well as the 3/16. Just try to keep most of your heat on the thicker material.

[@randyhoover7399]

What if your frame has a lot of rust?

[@machinesinc]

You want to remove and treat as much rust as possible. And ensure the sections where you are welding the stiffeners to the frame have no rust. If they do cut them out and weld in a patch panel first.

[@beaumont9072]

Dana 30s are junk . I would start finding some 1ton super duty access 🤷‍♂️ America 🇺🇸 💪🏼

[@machinesinc]

I don’t have a Dana 30…

[@robertweinstein6441]

Replace the damn floor pans

[@machinesinc]

They need it