Drilling Drain Holes in a Jeep Wrangler Frame to Prevent Rust and Rot 

Lol they impress me more and more every day!

Great to hear and certainly something to keep in mind. Drilling inside the control arm mount like I did is likely overkill, but I spent a lot of time sourcing and installing a rust free frame under this jeep and didn’t want to risk forming a crack.

I think we might enjoy wheeling even more than a $50k JL...I'd much worse about scratching a new JL than scratching a 20 year old TJ on the trail.

Awesome, thank you! The super 35 kit is a good middle ground between the stock 35 and a new axle

Freakin engineers....

planned obsolescence. they only care if lasts the five year warranty period.

It wasn't overlooked

Because chrystler sucks. Still does.

Great!

100% agree

Have to love science lol

It sure is!

Absolutely. I always wear a face shield when drilling overhead.

Maybe wear a condom

@@Trohawkk 😂

I’ve had that problem too. Unfortunately theres a layer of foam between the corrugated piece and the top piece, which can trap salt and moisture. Short of cutting out the corrugated piece and removing the foam, there doesn’t seem to be a good way of preventing rust in this spot.

True. A drilled hole is better than a rusted hole!

Still working well, no clogged holes yet!

Good point, depending on the coating you use on the inside of the frame. I use Fluid Film inside my vehicle frames, which as you mentioned in another video acts as an oxygen barrier, but stays soft and “fluid”-like so I think small debris escaping the hole could easily push any built up coating out of the way. I also found some rubber plugs on eBay that fit in the big round holes in the frame next to the tires, which should help keep debris out

Fluid Film. Coat the frame inside and out. If you live somewhere with road salt, reapply the fluid film every fall and give the undercarriage a good wash when spring rolls around.

@@dironaa I just thought about what I should use and the I saw the reply. Thanks!

@@1965Gindy If you live in a dryer climate without road salt and the outside of your frame is still in decent shape with original factory paint I'd recommend only Fluid Filming the inside of the frame and leave the outside original. Fluid Film works great for rust prevention but it can get a bit messy when working under your rig after applying it. If you do live in a region with road salt or if you drive on saltwater beaches, getting a little messy when under the jeep is more than worth it for how well the fluid film protects the steel

@Dirona have any experience with Eastwoods internal frame coating? Torn between this and Fluid film. Obvious benefit is not reapplying every year.

@@tedforddw77 any oil or diesel mix should work for internal cavities/ frame. I don't understand eastwood internal coating. Makes not sense how it works. Not realistic. I'd say stick with the oil because we know that works

I have done that exact same thing (except used a 5' section of garden hose duct taped to the shop vac hose to get in the frame). Long story short, once the inside of the frame has dirt or rust, it's near impossible to remove it all to properly prep for paint application on the inside. The internal frame coating ended up falling off in sheets for me and IMO made the corrosion process even faster because water would get trapped under the sheets. If you are 100% against drilling drain holes my recommendation would be to vacuum and power wash inside the frame then apply Fluid Film to the inside once it's dry. I would also recommend buying plugs to cover the big round holes on the outside of the frame just behind each tire (4 holes total) as this is where most dirt and debris gets into the frame.

@@dironaa Good to know. Thanks!

Good thinking, but hole size purely has to do with the properties of water and for all practical purposes will not be affected by the size of the "container". Let's say you end up with an inch of water in the frame: the majority of that water would actually flow out through a smaller hole than shown in the video because the volume of water on top of the hole will give 'head pressure' to the water right at the hole. It's just the last little bit of water which is essentially flowing under no pressure that will need a hole this size. Thanks for watching!

I'm not sure but I do know the frames on the JKs were significantly beefier than the TJ frames

Working great so far!

@@dironaa Im going to be doing this to my 05 TJ soon. There are a lot of flakes inside and I can feel where rust has eaten away at the spots where you drilled but I think there is still a lot of integrity left in the frame. Definitely not as bad as Ive seen other TJ wranglers.

Haha these just barely rub at full lock with the 31" Cooper Discoverers. Not a big fan of these wheels; after 20 years on the road the simulated rivets are starting to fall off...every so often I'll be driving down the road and hear a "PING" as one flys loose LOL

Wow. I live in the South. Alabama specially. One of the first things I will do when I get back from deployment is drill those drain holes. Keep up the good work.

Nice. Frame must still be nice a clean down there, the road salt destroys ours up north (especially with nowhere for the salt to drain..). Thank you for your service.

I did not. But it had been a while since I washed this jeep or drove it in the rain

Eh, the frames in the southern half of the country are still mint. The problem is road salt. That crap should be outlawed.

I used Fluid Film on my last few jeeps and it has worked quite well, although more expensive than used ATF

Use Fluid Film bro

The old timer farmers I knew used diesel or kerosene. Saturate the gear then go turn circles in the dust. Poor man's cosmoline. Worked well. I've seen em add a splash of diesel in the wash bucket while washing the car. Their vehicles always looked freshly waxed. Kroil products or fluid film when you want to get serious.

And I intend to keep it that way!

Was a nice frame

A little preventative maintenance goes a long way!

@@dironaa yes. It keeps small problems from turning into big ones.

Sadly we live in the era of disposable cars...

Put POR-15 on the frame and tub the day I got my 06 TJ. Sold it after 12 years and the only rust I had was a spot on each front fender where I didn't think to apply it. CT winters, salt on roads,....if I was doing this, I'd fill the holes with The Right Stuff and call it a day.

The size in this video has worked well for me for the past few years without any clogging issues

The sidewalls of the frame have plenty of holes for water to get in, but there are no holes on the bottom side of the frame for the water to get out.

I was thinking the same thing . How about drilling those holes like you did and then plugging all the holes up where it can get in ?

Is it a major issue if there are 4-8 holes on bottom side of the frame?

Oops, I’ll have to throw this jeep away and get another to start over with! Glad you caught my mistake! LOL

LOL that’s one way to fix it

@@dironaa Actually, I am getting ready to heavily saturate the insides with cosmoline and chain lube in an attempt to slow down the progress. No way to get all the rust flakes out.

@@kf3en for what it’s worth I’ve had good luck coating with Fluid Film

Agreed. Did the best I could with a die grinder bit, but either way it's far better than factory

Maybe use an old hex key wrench, cut the head down and a put side bevel with a sharp edge?

Interesting idea. I just may give it a try.

LOL. The joys of owning a jeep..

It’s a great club!

Thank you !

A sad case for many Jeeps

You are correct, drilling into the bottom chord of the frame will technically weaken it, as the section of the frame between the front and rear coil springs puts the fiber of greatest tension on the very bottom of the frame. However, the way I see it, there was going to be a hole in the bottom of the frame whether I drilled one or not. By drilling a hole I have theoretically chosen where and how large the hole is, rather than letting the frame rust through on its own, in a location I didn’t choose, due to trapped water.

LOL. Where do you think the lowest part of the frame is?

@@dironaa behind the front lower control arm and in front of the rear lower arm ,,,,drill 1/2 hole is perfect