Bent Frames - Big Thing or isolated?

[Gvsukids]

Fair enough - and here is my response:
1) I saw the video from TrailRecon and it alarmed me.
2) I performed the manual "finger" test described and felt something that wasn't right.
3) I had it checked by a professional, certified shop, who determined it was "out of true".
4) that same shop and two others are all reporting this failure. That isn't ME saying it. That is them.
6) I was categorically NOT overloading or abusing/misusing my JT. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I have only ever shifted in the transfer case twice in three years.
5) There isn't some hidden use that I am not admitting to - I have no idea how other people drive there's. Some would say I have babied my JT EXCEPT for extensive towing within spec - and I had a failure.
Sheesh, talk about shooting the messenger.....

Are they performing this under warranty, or are you paying them?
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[ShadowsPapa]

Are they performing this under warranty, or are you paying them?
I've got great smelling whale meat for sale.

Aw, Russ is finally letting go of his stash?

 

[Lunentucker]

This thread should be locked for grammatical violations.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This thread should be locked for grammatical violations.

You might as well lock all of them!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

i would be very interested in seeing the factory frame spec/measurement sheets and see where the OP's frame is off.
Just for kicks.
Not in an effort to do anything other than see what that shop is looking at, where they are drawing their conclusions from.

Does anyone have the Jeep diagrams similar to these? Might be interesting...........

 

[DylanM]

Does anyone have the Jeep diagrams similar to these? Might be interesting...........

Not the best, but here's what I found in the repair manual available in the Tech/Maintenance & Servicing subforum:

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Fair enough - and here is my response:
1) I saw the video from TrailRecon and it alarmed me.
2) I performed the manual "finger" test described and felt something that wasn't right.
3) I had it checked by a professional, certified shop, who determined it was "out of true".
4) that same shop and two others are all reporting this failure. That isn't ME saying it. That is them.
6) I was categorically NOT overloading or abusing/misusing my JT. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I have only ever shifted in the transfer case twice in three years.
5) There isn't some hidden use that I am not admitting to - I have no idea how other people drive there's. Some would say I have babied my JT EXCEPT for extensive towing within spec - and I had a failure.
Sheesh, talk about shooting the messenger.....

Any chance of more detail - like the measurements, the spec sheet, exactly where they are saying there's a "bend"?
A picture of what they are saying is bent?

 

[bleda2002]

Aw, Russ is finally letting go of his stash?

I still maintain that the rotting whale thread was the best thread ever, maybe second only to last jeep ill ever own

 

[DanW]

Just a note....That shop with Trail Recon's JT is in San Diego. LOTS of wide open desert space nearby where the trails are better suited to a Mojave, and more likely where people are going to Glamis to run the dunes. So I would hypothesize that there are more JT's being jumped out there than most places. Here in Indiana, there are LOTS of JT's. Many in our Jeep clubs. They tow a lot out here. I've not heard one story of a bent or cracked frame here. I will check with my buddy at the service department of my favorite dealer tomorrow. I'm betting he says they haven't seen this. I could be wrong, and if I am, I will certainly post it up.

But I don't think it is a coincidence that Glamis is just east of the shop that is supposedly seeing this as a common issue.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Not the best, but here's what I found in the repair manual available in the Tech/Maintenance & Servicing subforum:

I should have looked there, duh.

Anyway, maybe I'm missing something and someone really really clever with physics and geometry can shed light on this, but here's my take........
In my shot below, the red, that's where the rear of the truck is being supported. The springs support the weight of the truck and that's where the bulk of any force will be, some at the shock mount when there's abrupt jolts, holes in the road, that sort of thing, but it's all concentrated there.
Your receiver is supporting the tongue weight at the very back - to the far right.
The spring/shock area is like a fulcrum. I'd think any bending or stresses would be in that red area - nothing forward, because the weight of the trailer tongue is tiny, compared to payload in the bed, and it's supported by the springs (and shock mounts on hard hits)

So - what am I missing?
If all you do is drive it, and tow a little bit - what's up.............any bend from towing should be around the spring mount area, or to the rear.

 

[Dakarra]

i would be very interested in seeing the factory frame spec/measurement sheets and see where the OP's frame is off.
Just for kicks.
Not in an effort to do anything other than see what that shop is looking at, where they are drawing their conclusions from.

Does anyone have the Jeep diagrams similar to these? Might be interesting...........

I'd be interested as well. No, I don't have those drawings, but using your drawings, the failure in mine occurred at approximately the X-6 reference point, or just behind it, where the frame member curves to make room for the bump-stop mount. In my very imprecise way of saying it, look at where the OEM reinforcement bracket is placed on Mojaves. The failure point is almost in the center of where the bracket would be if mine had the reinforcement bracket.

 

[Dakarra]

Just a note....That shop with Trail Recon's JT is in San Diego. LOTS of wide open desert space nearby where the trails are better suited to a Mojave, and more likely where people are going to Glamis to run the dunes. So I would hypothesize that there are more JT's being jumped out there than most places. Here in Indiana, there are LOTS of JT's. Many in our Jeep clubs. They tow a lot out here. I've not heard one story of a bent or cracked frame here. I will check with my buddy at the service department of my favorite dealer tomorrow. I'm betting he says they haven't seen this. I could be wrong, and if I am, I will certainly post it up.

But I don't think it is a coincidence that Glamis is just east of the shop that is supposedly seeing this as a common issue.

I was sort of wondering the same thing. However the shop here in Texas also reported these issues. While the terrain here in north Texas is not the same as just east of San Diego, there are similarities. Additionally, we're a long ways from most public lands here and we have few opportunities for crawling, etc. But folks do tend to hit the available trails pretty hard.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'd be interested as well. No, I don't have those drawings, but using your drawings, the failure in mine occurred at approximately the X-6 reference point, or just behind it, where the frame member curves to make room for the bump-stop mount. In my very imprecise way of saying it, look at where the OEM reinforcement bracket is placed on Mojaves. The failure point is almost in the center of where the bracket would be if mine had the reinforcement bracket.

So this area........

 

[Dakarra]

I should have looked there, duh.

Anyway, maybe I'm missing something and someone really really clever with physics and geometry can shed light on this, but here's my take........
In my shot below, the red, that's where the rear of the truck is being supported. The springs support the weight of the truck and that's where the bulk of any force will be, some at the shock mount when there's abrupt jolts, holes in the road, that sort of thing, but it's all concentrated there.
Your receiver is supporting the tongue weight at the very back - to the far right.
The spring/shock area is like a fulcrum. I'd think any bending or stresses would be in that red area - nothing forward, because the weight of the trailer tongue is tiny, compared to payload in the bed, and it's supported by the springs (and shock mounts on hard hits)

So - what am I missing?
If all you do is drive it, and tow a little bit - what's up.............any bend from towing should be around the spring mount area, or to the rear.

You are zeroing in on it - the failure in mine is at the curve where the bump stops are mounted, quite close to the shock mount. And from what the shop(s) have said, that is pretty much where all the failures they've seen are.

 

[Dakarra]

So this area........

yep

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