Bent Frames - Big Thing or isolated?

[Dakarra]

This is a bit long but please hear me out:
When I first bought my JT Willys with the Tow Package (not MAX tow) in 2021 I stumbled over a photo of a JT with a BAD frame bend, and there was debate on whether that was a case of driver abuse or design flaw. I more or less came down on the "driver abuse" side, and carried on. I regularly tow between 2,500-3,500 pounds but have NEVER exceeded weight limits either of the rated tow capacity of my JT or the combined GVWR of both Jeep and trailer. I also installed air bags to help with squat, and I have also never taken my trailer on any trails other than a plain dirt road that you could drive any sedan on. In short, both Jeep and trailer have been pavement driven almost exclusively - but a lot of highway miles.

So last weekend when I was getting my weekly fix of overlanding videos I watched the TrailRecon installment titled "Investigating 20 broken Jeeps" ( Investigating 20 Broken Jeeps (youtube.com) ). I won't risk mis-quoting what was said in the video, but the shop-owner's candid discussion of the bent-frame issue scared me. So I started digging around and this bent-frame issue seems to be "a thing". I suggest you watch the video in the link to see why and where the bend is occurring. Jeep has developed a reinforcement bracket, but it is only installed on some models. Several shops that I called (including the shop in the link) stated that they are seeing enough JTs that have this problem that they have developed a bridge or truss to reinforce the frame. However, it seems that a repair of this type should be done as a "preventative" because once you have a bent frame you have a very expensive repair on your hands - some would argue that the vehicle will never be quite right again.

So, in short, I personally believe that there are way more bent frames in JT world than anyone might think, and it is not isolated to "dune hoppers" and other rough driving situations. If you are towing with your JT you should have it checked at a qualified shop. Oh, and back to my own JT - I took it to a very well-respected off-road shop in the DFW area. The owner stated that he had three JTs in the shop at that moment for bent frames. Mine made Four.

Sponsored

 

[Rusty PW]

Pictures of your bent frame?

 

[Dakarra]

I don't have the pics handy that I can post here right away, but I will try to post "before and after" pics when I get mine back from the shop. The quick and easy manual test (using one's hand) that was described in the TrailRecon video is good for giving an indication of a problem, but for full diagnostic it needs to be checked by a shop - in my case I could feel the deformity on one side but not on the other, but both sides were out of true when properly inspected.

 

[GeneralMaximus]

Were any of those bent frames Mojaves?

 

[Dakarra]

One of the ones I saw was a Mojave, one was Rubi, and the other a Sport. Mine is a Willys. I was also told by the shop that the bracket developed by Jeep is only for Mojaves - but I do not know if that is accurate or not.

 

[piroman683]

People mistake the formed dimples, which are typically there for crash cushions, as a bent frame. That is not correct.

Also, people look at the gap between the cap and the bed and see it's not 100% aligned/parallel and think they have a bent frame, again that is not the case. Remember the bed and the cab are held to the frame by a few bolts which are through massive bushings. Additionaly the bed mounting locations are much thinner sheet metal vs the frame itself.

People have said some bent frames are from shocks being too long, but that is not accurate, the bolt will shear before the frame would bend, also, images submitted to"prove the shocks bent the frame" look at the gap between the cab and bed and say "see it's bent". When you look at path of force the frame would never bend in a way to give you that visual result

 

[PuddleJumper]

I jump mine and tow a 5500lb camper. Its still good.

 

[bleda2002]

Still not really convinced this is a real "issue", there are tons of these on the road, on the trail, built to all kinds of crazy conditions including over 8K lbs on the original frame with no bends. Not saying this couldnt or doesnt happen, but if frame bending or cracking really was such a major issue we'd be seeing a lot of these.

 

[piroman683]

I have a Sport, non-S, with 98000 miles, I have jumped it dozens of times, I have a separate thread on all the suspension work I've done, along with a 1300 mile off road race in MX. I have 0 issues with the frame.

Now in the video Jerry talks about the extra plate added to the bumpstop frame by jeep to strengthen it. This, I agree, is an area that needs improvement. I completly bent my bumpstop bracket on a jump in Barstow. So I cut that out, and welded in the Fox Bumpstops and have not had any issues.

He also talks about cracks forming on the inside of the frame. Cracks are not bends. Cracks are bad though. The stress to form a crack is fatigue driven, the stress to cause a bend is big compression or tension load. An esay analogy is to think of a paper clip, you can unbend it once and not put it back to the same spot becasue the material has both yielded and work hardened. You can also snap it by bending it back and forth over and over again. Bending it back and forth is fatiguing the material, it is a cyclic loading case that results in crack initiation

So, do I think the JT's frame is at risk? No, but I do think some drives could be overloading things in different ways resulting in cracks forming.

 

[GeneralMaximus]

One of the ones I saw was a Mojave, one was Rubi, and the other a Sport. Mine is a Willys. I was also told by the shop that the bracket developed by Jeep is only for Mojaves - but I do not know if that is accurate or not.

Thanks, now I will be checking for a bump behind those brackets on my Mojave. Maybe make it an annual checkup, like giving my Mojave a prostate exam.

 

[piroman683]

Thanks, now I will be checking for a bump behind those brackets on my Mojave. Maybe make it an annual checkup, like giving my Mojave a prostate exam.

unless you're hitting jumps at high speed you dont have anything to worry about.

 

[GeneralMaximus]

unless you're hitting jumps at high speed you dont have anything to worry about.

Jumps, no. But hitting an occasional rut on a fire trail with 3 pax onboard sometimes makes me shudder.

 

[piroman683]

Jumps, no. But hitting an occasional rut on a fire trail with 3 pax onboard sometimes makes me shudder.

I'm only trying to make sure you feel warm and fuzzy about the Mojave, which I think is how Jeep should have baselined all the JT's. Check out the video, this wasnt even the fastest I've gone. An occasional rut is what the stock stuff handles no problem

 

[Dakarra]

I would like to add for clarity and specificity:
1) The pic I referenced at the beginning of my thread was of a Mojave that was towing and going fast.
2) I never said that I could see a deformity by gauging the distance between the cab and the bed. I said I performed the inspection that Jerry described, found something that did not feel right on one side, and had it inspected by a professional that I trust with the proper equipment to determine whether the frame was "in true".
3) The common denominator that I am observing is towing. I don't know how the JT holds up to dune hopping or rock crawling or water crossings or any other activity that we subject our Jeeps to. 4) There are tens of thousands of JTs out there that aren't reporting this problem - maybe some have the problem and don't know it, but let's agree that most do not. HOWEVER - if three reputable off-road shops, a thousand miles away from each other, have each developed a reinforcement bridge truss to address this, and each had 3 or more JTs in the shop for the same problem at the same time when I called - that might be evidence that something is not right in JT world.
5) I was prepared for some of the reactions I have received to my post. What I wasn't expecting was haters calling me stupid for making an observation - observations which are also factual. My conclusion(s) may be off, but don't challenge me on what I reported.
6) My observations are not prima facia evidence that all JTs are bad, or that there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll, or that Elvis is still alive. My observation was that three separate, certified, professional establishments each had more than one JT in their shops for the same exact reason at the same exact moment. Each shop had invested the resources to develop a specialized fix for the problem, and had done enough repairs previously to justify the development.
7) And the common denominator was towing.

 

[piroman683]

No one called anyone stupid. My initial response ended up getting broken into 2 separate responses, and I was highlighting what people historically have said about the frame.

Sponsored