bent frame

Well guys, im not a happy camper today. Not sure if this is posted in the right place or not, sorry if it isn't. We had a ice storm lastnight and I got caught out in it in the jeep. The roads didn't seem bad at all at the time, and there was just water on the windsheild. I started over a bridge and totally lost it. I slid all over the place and finally slamed into the concrete wall on the side of the bridge straight on. It didnt hurt the bumper, grill, fenders, or any of the body, but it did bend the frame to the drivers side about a inch or so. It bent it from the front crossmember forward, its only about a foot section or so. Its the crossmember that the steering shaft go's through when you do the siginaw swap. From there froward is where it is bent. So, I was wondering if any of you could give me a ballpark estimate of what you think it would cost to have that foot or so section straightend out? I am going to crawl under it today and make sure that is all the damage that was done to it. I guess I am wondering if it is going to cost like a thousand dollars or a couple hundred. Thanks in advance!!

 

Re: Bent frame!!

Hitting that hard will probably had have a bunch of effects on a secondary areas and remote items. It may take you a quite while to discover them all.

A good body shop can straighten a frame, by chaining to the floor and using jacks etc. Get an estimate from one of them.

 

Like Howard says. You can rent a Porta-Power hydraulic ram and perhaps do it yourself. The trick is finding the right points and angles to push/pull from, to get the right results.

 

you could also drill into your garage slab to mount hardware to pull from .

 

A good Frame shop should charge Min 2 to 5 max hours @50 to 65 per hour from what you are describing. Better a Frame and axle shop than a body shop. Hard pulls where almost always sublet by the body shop to frame only shop. At least here in California from the places I have known. Most frame machine at body shop are to pull uni-body stuff Not an old Cadillac or truck frame. Never seen an old Jeep pulled so not sure how strong the frame is. It might be cheaper to find one nearby shop than buy items to do it at home. Just a thought.

 

The pic above shows where the spot it was bent at. from that crossmember forward, both rail were pushed to the drivers side at inch maybe two. A friend told me today of a near by frame shop that did his sons wrecked car for 250, and that included taking off body part to do the job. Im going to take it up there and see what the guy says. I was just afraid it was going to be major bucks.. I would rather have a shop do it rather than try it on my own, they can probably get it straighter than me. Thanks for the replys.

 

That is the way to go. Should be cheap bring cash works for best possible rates. It will be just fine. Good Luck!

 

be shure the shop has done some full frame rigs the tin crumple zoned unibodys pull way easier than jeep frames if you don't feel comfy with that shop look for an equipment body shop typically they have bigger pulling gear.

 

Look for a truck frame and wheel shop.

 

Either do it yourself or find a shop (like the one you mentioned) that'll work for cash. Shouldn't be more than a few hundred bucks. I've bent lots of frames (racecar) and the shop has always been able to fix the seemingly impossible. The damage you describe is VERY minor in the big scheme of things. Shouldn't be a big deal at all

 

thanks, I will let everyone know how it go's .

 

got an estimate on the frame yesterday. The guy said it would be about 150 - 200 hundred dollars, if it was just what he was seeing, and around 300 - 350 if it diamond the frame (meaning, if it hit in the front passenger cornor of the frame and knocked the frame into a somewhat diamond shape) but he didnt think it had done that. Going to have him do a front end alignment and balance the tires while it's there. alignment is 49.99, tire balance is 9.00 each. I posted this just to give a price on frame work, because I would have thought it would cost a lot more than that. He will call me when he gets a open spot on the frame rack. He said I should hear from him in about a week.

 

Great news. That is not horrible prices either.

 

I do full frame repairs on newer trucks as part of my job, the price you have is relatively low.. at $50 hour rate its only 3-4 hours to do the repairs... and techs expect to be able to do it in half that time. However.. for the diamond in the frame issue, you can easily check that yourself. You would measure the center section of your frame in a "X" configuration.. and on our ecj5 frames, the leaf spring mount rivits is the ideal measuring point. But, the measurements needs to be precise to determine any misalignment... so you would use a tram gauge. Google for a image. So, if your frame center section is square(not diamond shaped) it wont need correction there. I am guessing there is no diamond as well.. the rails up front pass the front middle cross member is fairly weak and bends easily.. as that cross member is very stout and the rails are welded to it. I would look over that area carefully to see if there are any tears or broken welds. Which would bring more charges up at the repair shop.

For a wheel alignment, on our jeeps the only factory adjustment is the toe in/out. So, if the frame is straight, the front/rear axle should track properly. The camber is not adjustable. The castor can be corrected with shims(needed for suspension lifted rigs) under the axle spring perches. Wheel balance needed ? How big are the tires.. and how fast do you drive you jeep ?

 

I will def check the center section of the frame, Thanks for that info. The tires are 35" and the guy said they are hard to balance but he would try. I drive the jeep a few times a week everywhere, side streets, highways, ect.. So, you are saying if my frame middle section is square and he straightens out the front end of it, that you wouldn't bother with the alignment?