Rubycon50
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Royce
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2019
- Threads
- 12
- Messages
- 113
- Reaction score
- 130
- Location
- Glendora, California
- Vehicle(s)
- 2018 Jeep Rubicon JL
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
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:
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
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Make sure they checked the alignment and rebalance your wheels which should be a given and is critical after messing with the axle.
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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