Frame-Control Arm Weld Failure!!

[JDub11]

Sounded like that is not really what they do. Just did him a favor. I'f they would that would be his best bet. Or any other reputable welding shop. I personally wouldn't want a dealer fixing welds on my Jeep, even if they covered it under a recall or a TSB.

Sponsored

 

[missionale]

There appears to be major decay over time of oxidation on your frame and components i.e. salt invasion. With the apparent missing parent material as well as a weld failure this is fatigue over time - and everything is not known. So as far as an answer on this forum, for your area and environment this would be expected and is not a sign of weld penetration etc. It is failure due to the environment and fatigue of the mounted component load - the affected weld area looks as if it had been "touched" at some time and that would not have been normal maintenance that a dealership would have performed.

 

[mwilk012]

I don’t see any evidence of attempted patch welds. Just the typical sloppy robot welds.

 

[blnewt]

It's threads like these that makes me a bit happier I live in New Mexico, not much here, but at least rust stays away too

 

[kah.mun.rah]

I think in 2018 they had the Boy Scouts working on their welding merit badge welding the Wrangler frames. Here is a pic of my 2018 frame weld in August of 2018. Jeep was 2 months old and never driven in the rain or mud (at that point).

 

[kah.mun.rah]

Here is a comparison of my 2018 frame (left) and a 2019 frame (right)

 

[Bob Burd]

I had the same control arm come off while three states away and 100 miles from nearest dealer. Only 10K mi and completely stock. Guy at shop said it looked loke bad weld and suggested I contact Jeep first. I was on vacation and asked him to just weld it. Charged me $110 and checked other welds while at it. Best non-dealer experience ever.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Unfortunately, the early production JL had unqualified welders put them together. I wish they had been robot welded. I have a 2018 and some welds are not pretty, but I haven't found one that I decided needing fixing. I'm not a professional welder (I do know how to gas and TIG weld pretty decently), but about 4 decades ago I did get qualified to inspect welds in a nuc program. Virtually none of the welds on my frame would pass that scrutiny. But I'm also realistic. Are they good enough to do the job? Probably.

The OP's welds look like a mix of good enough and in need of fixing. Unfortunately, you can only access about 3/4 of the welds with the body on the frame. While there's plenty of rust, presumeably from salted roads, that's not enough to have failed a good weld. As any good welder knows, prepping those bad welds for repair is the time consuming part of the repair job.

If I were in the OP's situation, I'd find a shop with a decent welder and have them fix the worst of them, clean up the rust on the the badly rusted areas and put some good rust protection paint on all of them. Then you can at least drive it with confidence. I would cap the amount I'd throw at weld repairs to a number you're comfortable with. Have the shop inspect it and show you what he recommends and how much it will cost. Once you get this done, you can decide if you want to keep it for the long run. But throwing a bit of money at it now will put in a position to decide whether to keep it or sell it, while not under duress.

 

[mwilk012]

Unfortunately, the early production JL had unqualified welders put them together. I wish they had been robot welded. I have a 2018 and some welds are not pretty, but I haven't found one that I decided needing fixing. I'm not a professional welder (I do know how to gas and TIG weld pretty decently), but about 4 decades ago I did get qualified to inspect welds in a nuc program. Virtually none of the welds on my frame would pass that scrutiny. But I'm also realistic. Are they good enough to do the job? Probably.

The OP's welds look like a mix of good enough and in need of fixing. Unfortunately, you can only access about 3/4 of the welds with the body on the frame. While there's plenty of rust, presumeably from salted roads, that's not enough to have failed a good weld. As any good welder knows, prepping those bad welds for repair is the time consuming part of the repair job.

If I were in the OP's situation, I'd find a shop with a decent welder and have them fix the worst of them, clean up the rust on the the badly rusted areas and put some good rust protection paint on all of them. Then you can at least drive it with confidence. I would cap the amount I'd throw at weld repairs to a number you're comfortable with. Have the shop inspect it and show you what he recommends and how much it will cost. Once you get this done, you can decide if you want to keep it for the long run. But throwing a bit of money at it now will put in a position to decide whether to keep it or sell it, while not under duress.

Were you in the navy or civ contractor?

 

[roaniecowpony]

Were you in the navy or civ contractor?

Commercial Gov't contractor for uranium enrichement at the time ~40 years ago.

 

[Mudduck]

My unpopular opinion. Burn it. Crash it. Part it out. drive it to Mexico (dont forget the Mexico insurance). Oops, it slid down the boat ramp. Someone flicked a cigarette going down the road. I know some undesirables that will take it off your hands for $500, never to be seen again. Either way man, you have options.

You could buy a welder and grinder and teach yourself how to weld....

 

[thadius65]

I was just putting my RainGear cover on in prep for a storm. While strapping things down, I noticed my rear control arms looking odd. Anyone think these needs looked at? This is a 2020 JLUR and pretty much factory underneath.

Sponsored