Tweaked Frame

[jwill22]

So the other day someone found a hard top for my CJ7 , and well there were things sitting on top it, making it bow out a bit. Its like the sides are wider than that of my jeep. So i still figured i try to put it on. I start from the tail gate forward. The holes were aligning, except for one right by the tail gate, but these guy just went and drilled a hole into it any way. ugh Well any ways after the bolts were hand tighten to were the holes matched up. the front was not sitting evenly with the front windshield. It looked like she had a tilted hat on her. haha When you stand in front of my cj, from front side (where the grills at) ha you can see the front windshield leaning one way, and the roll bar either right where its suppose to be at, or leaning in the other direction. Im thinking its the frame, at first i just thought i was the leaf springs sagging. But since going with a 4 inch lift, and replacing the leafs and shox its still doing the same thing. Is this fixable? How much would i look to be spending to fix this? I'd like to be able to use the hard top i have. If its too pricey, would a soft top work even with this problem? I don't have a soft top, so i wouldnt know? Any ideas. or comments. thanks

 

[jwill22]

zoey!

 

[TDHofstetter]

Sounds to me like the body tub is twisted on the frame - if you crawl underneath, how do the body mounts look? Rusted? Missing? How's the rubber? There should be quite a few of 'em. How's the sheet metal under the tub? Crushed? Rusted?

 

[mhubacek]

X2 on the twisted body. IMHO, if the tub was square, the top would fit reguardless of the frame. I guess you could loosen the body mounts on the low side, and see if in fact the frame is twisted, and pulled one side of the tub downward. Easier said then done, if your body bolts are as rusted as mine. Definately check all tub body mount locations, and the area around them first though. Is the Roll Bar making contact with the top at any place?

 

[Sasquach]

The body/tub is fairly rigid and am having a hard time picturing how you could tweek it without being caused by a tweeked frame, I would also think if the tub is tweeked it would show up looking front to back along the sides as this should be flat and straight.

 

[IOPort51]

I would find myself a good 4 or 6 foot level and block the frame up level and then start checking the tub. you do have something that is field modified, now you need to be sure what and where. That is a pretty fair camo job.

 

[BajaEdition]

A mechanic friend of mine and myself just went through this on a frame. I was helping him a few months ago straiten a frame he had bought to start a rock crawler project.

we stripped the frame down to just frame and no hardware.
did the squaring measurements and once it was square we brought the tweak out of it, took us a few hours but ended up flat level.
we set it up on 4 jackstands, took a 4 foot level and a few 4 foot pieces of angle iron and a plumb bob and went to work. we started first with the rear and then moved to either side on the front. Using a ram and chain for leverage. I never knew how important leveling the 4 jacks were until we went for our first plumb, everything depends on the base being level.
It is not a hard project.Just tries your ingenuity to get the tweaks right.

 

[mhubacek]

I'm curious why one would think it's a frame issue. I know the frame could be a factor, but my very little experience (and I emphisize "very little",) would have me focused on the tub. "If the frame was bent and pushing up at any point causing the body to be sitting at an angle, wouldn't the top still line up correctly to the tub? I would think that the body bushings would give before the tub, provided the OP still has them, intacked and depending on the type of bushings used. I only say that because my bushings I believe are the stock rubber type. Are the frame rails in contact with the tub anywhere underneath? Wouldn't it have to be some pretty significant frame damage to that much distortion to the tub?
My thinking is that if you put a new tub on a bent frame, the top would fit on the tub, reguardless of how it was sitting on the frame. I like that camo job too!

 

[Old Dog]

Well most cj came from the factory with a tweaked frame, and some had hard tops that fit. So I don't know

 

[Old Dog]

When you stand in front of my cj, from front side (where the grills at) ha you can see the front windshield leaning one way, and the roll bar either right where its suppose to be at, or leaning in the other direction.

after reading this again, it sounds like a body problem of some sort.

 

[BajaEdition]

Well most cj came from the factory with a tweaked frame, and some had hard tops that fit. So I don't know

I have to agree with this, if you look at a lot of CJs from behind they look like they lean one way or another, Until they boxed the frame from the factory having a tweaked frame was quite common. That is why before boxing an old frame they suggest to level it.
And many a tweaked frames had hard tops on them.