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Rubycon50

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I think you are going to be fine especially since you had a jeep dealership do it so you have the peace of mind of being able to return if there are any issues afterwards. Your insurance company should back you up as well.

My son and I replaced the frame on our 2018 JLUR in my driveway. It was major repair in terms of hours (7 months for the heavy haul part of it) but considering I'm no auto expert and there was very little online to assist with a 2018 it was really just about diving in and being logical and documenting what goes where and not rushing things. The only real technical issues I had after the replacement was electrical issues which for me were a real PIA. In terms of the quality of my own repairs I have found about 4-5 bolts I had failed to tighten since the repair was 'finished' and that was because they had to wait until a part came in etc. and I never got back to tightening them up. I have since gone over every exposed nut and bolt I could touch and everything is good now. The jeep drives straight and effortlessly now.

I do agree with a previous comment regarding repair versus replacement. I think most insurers will shy away or flat out deny frame repair because of liability reasons however in your case you're getting a new replacement and I think you should feel confident that the repair will bring the car back to normal feel. I would expect one or two visits maybe for little issues they may have forgot like me.

Things I would do after getting your jeep back from repair:
  1. Crawl under the jeep when you get it back and check the torque on all the bolts you can reach. Pay special attention to all the connections to the axle, control arms, fuel tank etc. Check your body bolts are all there, you can try to turn them but they will have loctite on them so that might be pointless, don't put a pry bar on them and go crazy...they do break.
  2. Your steering box probably took a good hit which may not be evident. They have a bad history of not lasting and can lead to very bad steering wobble (death wobble). I added a brace to mine for added security. When you get your jeep back take it for a slow drive over some bumps to see if there are any steering wobble issues. Better still, ask them if they replaced the box and push back if they did not.
  3. check to make sure all the flexible parts such as hoses and wiring are secured in their clips. I still find parts that I had not clipped in properly and it's wear or worse, fire hazard.
  4. Make sure they checked the alignment and rebalance your wheels which should be a given and is critical after messing with the axle.
Another issue I discovered, the batteries don't appreciate being slammed during an accident. Your jeep may start but you might find the battery has trouble holding a charge or weird electrical things start popping up. Remember there are two batteries, your main and the stop/start (ESS) small battery, have them replace both if they will do it.

While my frame was bare I did put a protective coating on it because even a new frame has a very light coating of paint and some of the welds were showing some orange rust staining. I did not have any tolerance issues with the coating I used and in fact I personally don't think that comes into the equation as I could have put something much thicker down and not had any issues. Somehow, I don't think Jeep will do that for you as part of the repair and am pretty sure they will not let you in to do the same. You could ask to inspect the frame to see if there are any rusting welds at the frame joints which they then may decide to recoat it for you.

Anyway, I think all should be good and you'll be back to enjoying your Rubicon very soon.
Take care
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Shots

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You've mentioned a lot of stuff, but you didn't mention anything hard to do. Yes, it will be a lot of hours. No, it's not hard stuff to do. In fact nearly everything you mentioned could be done in my driveway.
Funny you point that out, because I was going to say I've done those things (on various vehicles) in my driveway. Yes it's labor intensive taking a lot of time, but not overly technical.

I don't think the OP will have any problems. I also agree there may be 1 or 2 return trips for minor issue/adjustments, but how many of us have taken our Jeeps in for minor warranty work? That's a factory fresh Jeep that still had minor things needing attention. Doesn't mean they're no good or should be sold.

I understand that people get nervous about stuff like this. I chalk it up to "the unknown". People tend to fear, or distrust things they don't know. If you can't do (or aren't comfortable doing) work more involved than an oil change, something like this can seem extremely technical and easy to mess up even if it's not. You see posts all the time where people say "it will never be the same", but why not? At the end of the day it's just a bunch of parts bolted together. If you can bolt it together at the factory and it works fine, there's no reason you can't bolt it together in a shop and have it work fine too.
 

aldo98229

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This is a great reminder and example of why I never ! ever ! buy used. That Jeep will never be the same.
I have owned many used Wranglers over the years without issue.

You just have to make sure: (1) it has a clean carfax and the Jeep looks clean; (2) it hasn’t been modded; (3) it has low miles.
 

Shots

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An unmodded Wrangler? That's got to be hard to find. You are clearly very patient.
 

DaltonGang

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I think you are going to be fine especially since you had a jeep dealership do it so you have the peace of mind of being able to return if there are any issues afterwards. Your insurance company should back you up as well.

My son and I replaced the frame on our 2018 JLUR in my driveway. It was major repair in terms of hours (7 months for the heavy haul part of it) but considering I'm no auto expert and there was very little online to assist with a 2018 it was really just about diving in and being logical and documenting what goes where and not rushing things. The only real technical issues I had after the replacement was electrical issues which for me were a real PIA. In terms of the quality of my own repairs I have found about 4-5 bolts I had failed to tighten since the repair was 'finished' and that was because they had to wait until a part came in etc. and I never got back to tightening them up. I have since gone over every exposed nut and bolt I could touch and everything is good now. The jeep drives straight and effortlessly now.

I do agree with a previous comment regarding repair versus replacement. I think most insurers will shy away or flat out deny frame repair because of liability reasons however in your case you're getting a new replacement and I think you should feel confident that the repair will bring the car back to normal feel. I would expect one or two visits maybe for little issues they may have forgot like me.

Things I would do after getting your jeep back from repair:
  1. Crawl under the jeep when you get it back and check the torque on all the bolts you can reach. Pay special attention to all the connections to the axle, control arms, fuel tank etc. Check your body bolts are all there, you can try to turn them but they will have loctite on them so that might be pointless, don't put a pry bar on them and go crazy...they do break.
  2. Your steering box probably took a good hit which may not be evident. They have a bad history of not lasting and can lead to very bad steering wobble (death wobble). I added a brace to mine for added security. When you get your jeep back take it for a slow drive over some bumps to see if there are any steering wobble issues. Better still, ask them if they replaced the box and push back if they did not.
  3. check to make sure all the flexible parts such as hoses and wiring are secured in their clips. I still find parts that I had not clipped in properly and it's wear or worse, fire hazard.
  4. Make sure they checked the alignment and rebalance your wheels which should be a given and is critical after messing with the axle.
Another issue I discovered, the batteries don't appreciate being slammed during an accident. Your jeep may start but you might find the battery has trouble holding a charge or weird electrical things start popping up. Remember there are two batteries, your main and the stop/start (ESS) small battery, have them replace both if they will do it.

While my frame was bare I did put a protective coating on it because even a new frame has a very light coating of paint and some of the welds were showing some orange rust staining. I did not have any tolerance issues with the coating I used and in fact I personally don't think that comes into the equation as I could have put something much thicker down and not had any issues. Somehow, I don't think Jeep will do that for you as part of the repair and am pretty sure they will not let you in to do the same. You could ask to inspect the frame to see if there are any rusting welds at the frame joints which they then may decide to recoat it for you.

Anyway, I think all should be good and you'll be back to enjoying your Rubicon very soon.
Take care
Very good info. Thanks.

..
 

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elf883

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So a lady ran a red light and smashed me and my Jeep a couple months ago. I thought the pics of the frame replacement process were interesting, so I thought I’d share. I’ll post more as the service guy sends them.

786DC528-B4BE-4949-A16E-7CC3072106ED.jpeg


FA2AD64B-FAE7-44B3-97BE-D074EA8C7EB8.jpeg


6D14F915-BECB-416D-943D-7C08C91C451D.jpeg


FE6F3393-65F2-488B-9FF5-EF3D336E8697.jpeg


857275F8-0FE7-4A2D-8B45-AF98C9004E6C.jpeg


3B895CC6-3ADE-4D44-8E2B-D8B7F09EFBCA.jpeg
glad your ok ! the jeep can be fixed not you ..........now bigger wheels and bigger lift while its all apart lolol
 
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Jerkeejoe

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glad your ok ! the jeep can be fixed not you ..........now bigger wheels and bigger lift while its all apart lolol
Unfortunately I wasn’t unscathed, but hoping to get back to normal sooner than later.

35” and 2.5” is probably as big as I’ll go for daily driving. My wife already complains it’s too high. Haha
 

GearWhore

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Depends on how detailed oriented they are, if something come up (ot will be shortly after) - you go back to get it fixed free.
No different then bringing jeep to get aftermarket axles or regear installed.
Getting it fixed for "free" is one thing. But what about the time necessary to drive to the dealer, get a ride or loaner to get home, then reverse the process to pick it up. If I'm relying on my wife or a friend, I've taken their time as well. I've found my "free" warranty repairs basically cost me a day of work/productivity with no way to recoup. I'd be much happier if I didn't have to bring my vehicle in at all because the work was done right, the first time (or during production).
 

jeep-v

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The frame damage was tiny. The "right shop" could fix this small frame damage without swapping the frame. Interesting fact, usually insurance would total Wrangler with any frame damage, because of Wranglers fetch good money on insurance auctions. One thing for sure, no dealer could fix any frame damage, only a few shops in US could do it. I was lucky to find one near me when I needed it and they did a great job, but it was 1 out of hundreds, if not thousands, shops. And I found it, when I almost gave up on it. Wranglers frame is one tough cookie.
 

Iggy

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The CarFax will make you cry when you want to sell it. A frame repaired Rubicon will be read as some yo-yo took this off a cliff to show his buddies how great a driver he was and it was crushed. You'll be lucky to only lose $10,000. I'm so sorry!

Clark County should only allow women to drive with a man walking in front of them waving a red flag.

I had a beautiful Porsche Cayman S I bought from a M-B dealer. When I went to sell it, I ran a CarFax and discovered CarFax had added a report of 'damage' after I had bought it. Nothing I could do. It was in a sand storm and had been professionally polished - that was the 'damage'. I lost several thousand dollars because of the CarFax branding.
 

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OldGuyNewJeep

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The CarFax will make you cry when you want to sell it. A frame repaired Rubicon will be read as some yo-yo took this off a cliff to show his buddies how great a driver he was and it was crushed. You'll be lucky to only lose $10,000. I'm so sorry!

Clark County should only allow women to drive with a man walking in front of them waving a red flag.

I had a beautiful Porsche Cayman S I bought from a M-B dealer. When I went to sell it, I ran a CarFax and discovered CarFax had added a report of 'damage' after I had bought it. Nothing I could do. It was in a sand storm and had been professionally polished - that was the 'damage'. I lost several thousand dollars because of the CarFax branding.
^ This. I’d file for a depreciated value payout and then trade that one in. If you plan to drive it until the wheels fall of (or, more likely, until your new frame rusts out) then I guess it doesn’t matter...
 

No IFS

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Question, what would the Carfax show on something like this?
 

Duck Dodgers

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Look on the bright side. At least it wasn’t immersed in salt water.
 

aeonixx1001

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Same thing happend to my 2018 Sahara with 2000 miles. I figured when it went in that the dealer would miss so many details and I was right. I traded it in 24 hours after getting it back after waiting 2 months. There is just simply no way that low rate dealers mechanics are up to the task. You will have issues pop up years later from something rubbing because they missed a detail. I did get a great deal because the idiot dealer that I traded it into didn’t factor in the frame damage and they were the dealership that did the repairs. Either way it’s not worth the future gremlins.
I always thought if the frame was bent, it was totaled. It seems that if the metal was stressed from being bent it would not have the same strength integrity as the undamaged area. I am old school, but if they have mastered frame straightening, I would like to learn more. Thanks for posting.
 

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The frame will either be straightened or replaced. Can they re-stamp the VIN on a new frame? Dunno.

CarFax can be your friend and your enemy. In this case, I'm sure the dealership will report it (does CarFax pay for each damage report?) and it will live on that Jeep's CarFax eternally. They don't make exceptions. It might say the frame was damaged but more likely it will say 'Major Repair' or something foul like that.

After I got a post-purchase 'damage' hit on my Porsche, I'd only take my vehicle where they will not report to CarFax. In my opinion, because so many people rely heavily on CarFax, any negative CarFax is almost the same as a branded title. I'm the same way!

Protecting your car from CarFax is terribly important.
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