Found terrible welds on my frame horns

[ALRUI]

Sure anyone can complain, but there are some of us with pictorial proof and background experience that are generally concerned about the bad frame welds.

Not saying there arent genuine issues.......

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[Chocolate Thunder]

I believe there are multiple petitioners and the NHTSA investigator knows about this site.

A NHTSA defect petition is very different than a normal complaint. Read about the difference here: https://jalopnik.com/heres-how-to-possibly-force-a-recall-on-your-car-1830938474

 

[Highonlyfe]

Another update.

Local dealership called and said fca contacted them and wanted me to take a picture of my odometer and build/vin plate to send to them.

That was done today.

 

[DNNDRTY]

We filed NHTSA case. Tracking via another thread https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...petition-for-frame-welds-investigation.12067/

Going to reach out to regional customer service manager next

 

[Highonlyfe]

Im still waiting on any info from fca.

The dealership forwarded them everything they needed and still crickets.

Dealership called the other day to say, "hey, we are still waiting from fca. Just know we didnt forget about you."

 

[practicaltact]

Im still waiting on any info from fca.

The dealership forwarded them everything they needed and still crickets.

Dealership called the other day to say, "hey, we are still waiting from fca. Just know we didnt forget about you."

Wow, so has it been almost 20 days in the dealership now? 30 days and you're in lemon law territory though I'm sure you don't want to deal with the hassle of that. I hope FCA does you right on this!

 

[Highonlyfe]

Wow, so has it been almost 20 days in the dealership now? 30 days and you're in lemon law territory though I'm sure you don't want to deal with the hassle of that. I hope FCA does you right on this!

They gave me a loner, and i had to bring it back 4 days later and have been driving the JL since then.

I really dont understand the holdup though.

The welds are clearly crap and the missing welds and holes in the frame. Does it really take 3 weeks to say, "yeah, we need to fix that!"?

 

[twisty]

I'm in engineering. Not specifically a structural engineer, but some of it has rubbed off over the years. I agree with what JohnP said on the first page. I also can't tell what the welds support, but I doubt they are a legit safety issue. But it makes you want to inspect every damn weld on the frame. The welds I saw all are no doubt hand welded by non-english speaking low skill labor in a far away place...or some backwoods town in the U.S..

I'm sure there are some frames that are unsafe but the vast majority are safe, ugly, but safe. I just had mine checked and they give the thumbs up on mine saying they met their "standards". I have some very ugly repair welds they came from your low skilled laborors. (got to watch the whiney pc types on here lol ). But to be fair, reading a bit about this situation shows the new galvanized frames are tuff to weld. To be fairer yet they owe it to the buyers to figure it out prior to selling them.

A few Porious welds are on my frame too. Again I dont think the frame will fall apart but who the heck wants holes in their frame welds? But I do worry about corrosion.

Guys who are on the fence with their purchase simply need to bring a creeper and flashlight with them and do a quick inspection. This jeep is a home run otherwise. But hey it's an american car, what did you expect! lol

Lastly, when I picked up my jeep from its inspection the guy told me the new bronco will have the same frame issues since it to will be galvanized. Maybe, but I doubt it.

 

[Capt-Zoom]

The problem with this whole examination process regardless of vehicle brand is that it is people doing the inspection are paid directly or indirectly by the manufacturer all it takes is a memo from the mothership and a so called inspector will greenlight a poor weld. There is no incentive for finding bad welds. No checks an balances. My 18 was greenlit at least once at the factory, once at the dealer, once by district, once by Corp, and again by the dealer before I received my 19 as an exchange. Just because a someone related to a manufacturer says it's good does not mean it actually meets welding standards. Get a certified welder or welding inspector to look at it. Immediately talk to your Regional Customer Service Manager as they don't typically waste your time. At least that's what I know from my experience on this issue.

 

[HardRock]

None of those talk about the frame horns, which you cant see unless you disassemble parts of the vehicle.

It is what it is i guess.

Correct, yours are in a different location. One weld looks like it doesn't even belong there. Concerning for sure.

 

[Arrowhead]

But to be fair, reading a bit about this situation shows the new galvanized frames are tuff to weld.

Galvanized? Hadn't heard that before. Besides galvanization is applied after all forming and welding is done so welding on a "galvanized" frame is no different than plain steel (galvanization burns off when welded). This person may have been thinking of the new high strength steels that are out there now.

 

[vavaroutsos]

Galvanized? Hadn't heard that before. Besides galvanization is applied after all forming and welding is done so welding on a "galvanized" frame is no different than plain steel (galvanization burns off when welded). This person may have been thinking of the new high strength steels that are out there now.

No, the frame components for the JL are galvanized before being welded together. The JK was not galvanized.

 

[Arrowhead]

No, the frame components for the JL are galvanized before being welded together. The JK was not galvanized.

Like I said, you can't weld parts together after they are galvanized, if you do you ruin the galvanic coating, plus it gives off incredibly toxic fumes. I've done it and it's not pretty, the burned off coating leave a tell tale disruption in the surface that would show through paint. Bolt on components like cross members and skid plates could be galvanized though. I suppose it's possible they are welding after galvanizing, but I'd like to see more than a marketing memo before I believed it.


http://media.fcanorthamerica.com/pdf.do?id=18669

"Proven body-on-frame design is the foundation for legendary Jeep capability The new 2018 Jeep Wrangler’s body-on-frame design is bolstered by eight body mounts on two-door models and 10 on the four-door. A fully boxed frame utilizes high-strength steel in all critical areas and hydroformed sections of the front rails set a strong foundation to better handle the front suspension load. Galvanized frame components are utilized for improved corrosion protection. In total, five boxed cross members are used on Wrangler."

 

[vavaroutsos]

Like I said, you can't weld parts together after they are galvanized, if you do you ruin the galvanic coating, plus it gives off incredibly toxic fumes. I've done it and it's not pretty, the burned off coating leave a tell tale disruption in the surface that would show through paint. Bolt on components like cross members and skid plates could be galvanized though. I suppose it's possible they are welding after galvanizing, but I'd like to see more than a marketing memo before I believed it.


http://media.fcanorthamerica.com/pdf.do?id=18669

"Proven body-on-frame design is the foundation for legendary Jeep capability The new 2018 Jeep Wrangler’s body-on-frame design is bolstered by eight body mounts on two-door models and 10 on the four-door. A fully boxed frame utilizes high-strength steel in all critical areas and hydroformed sections of the front rails set a strong foundation to better handle the front suspension load. Galvanized frame components are utilized for improved corrosion protection. In total, five boxed cross members are used on Wrangler."

Yes you can weld after galvanizing. It's quite common now. Read this article from Miller and this one from American Galvanizers Association. The zinc from galvanizing, and improper weld parameters were the main cause for all the porosity in the JL frame welds.

 

[Sebuh]

07/2018 build date.

Makes me pretty sad I found a lot of bad welding on my frame.

It's going to dealership in a few days.

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