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Thread: Stress cracks in doors

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Farmington hills MI
    Posts
    251

    Default Stress cracks in doors

    Before I go and start working on my doors, I would like to know what you guys have done to repair and improve the stress crack that forms down inside the the top of the door, allowing the inner and outer to spread apart. The original u shaped piece seems to be too thin,or allowed to flex to much. Has anybody come up with a good way to reinforce this area so the crack will not reform or cause the next weakest link to show its self?
    Its been awhile sine I looked at the doors but if my memory serves me well still, I wonder if a epoxy mix stuffed into either side of this u shaped piece or bridge would help? I know it might be tough to do, and it most likely would have to be kept with in the width of the metal piece but it sounds like a possibility?
    Any other ideas?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Giddings, Texas
    Posts
    7,729

    Default

    The little metal tabs on both my doors were cracked when I got the truck. I welded them both up and the drivers side cracked in another spot. I welded that up. When I pulled my doors of Sunday, I noticed the door skin where the tab attaches had cracked and was now loose from the tab.

    When I cut up my roadster doors, I noticed that there is a very good reinforcing metal plate embedded in the outer door sking at the widest point of the door just below the first crease in the skin down from the windows. The metal gets thinner and thinner from there toward the top of the door.

    The best place to make a new cross brace would be below the current tab and between the outter and inner skins. I will look at the parts I cut out of my door and see if I can get a picture that shows what I am talking about.
    Remember if you didn't build it you can't call it yours.

    6.2 powered M715, 5 M1009's, M416, 2 M101's, 2 M105's, 3 M35's, M1007 6.5 turbo Suburban project called Cowdog.

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCz...HGkBCfhXZ5iuaw

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Farmington hills MI
    Posts
    251

    Default

    Thanks, that will help alot. From what I have heard if you weld them they just keep breaking in a different spot along the metal strip. I pic would be worth a thousand words. Thanks

  4. #4

    Default

    That crack in the doors is a great way to judge the amount of use or abuse that a Jeep has seen. I've noticed it on abused M715's and abused late CJ's.

    "So that truck's got 20K original miles, does it."

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Giddings, Texas
    Posts
    7,729

    Default

    Here is the section I cut out of a drivers door to make my roadster doors. I never really looked at it for thickness. Now that I have, I can't see any difference. But, both when I was cutting it and when I was welding the fillers in, the widest portion of the outside skin "felt" thicker than the thin top part. Matter of fact, I had to weld so light and easy on the very top that I now have a crack there at the rear on my cut down drivers one.



    If you look at the left side of the picture. You will see the inner door skin. Follow it down to the first bend which is right above one of the access holes already there. I think welding a support from there to the outer skin would be the most effective. You will notice that the notorious bad tab is good on this door and just as thick as the skin around it. I cut right down the middle of it on purpose so the remaining door would have some rigidity while I worked on it. When I welded the fillers in, I had no trouble welding to it.

    Before you weld, make sure your window will still roll up and down and that the vent window will still slide in.

    I hope this helps some.
    Remember if you didn't build it you can't call it yours.

    6.2 powered M715, 5 M1009's, M416, 2 M101's, 2 M105's, 3 M35's, M1007 6.5 turbo Suburban project called Cowdog.

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCz...HGkBCfhXZ5iuaw

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Northern Colorado
    Posts
    324

    Default

    They're a problem in the civilian versions too. I don't know of any good and/or easy (or hard!) fix for them.

  7. #7

    Default

    What about a small diameter steel rod epoxied up into the top of the door edge. turn the door upside down, clean the groove and epoxy away. Some of the automotive panel glues are super strong. I was thinking about that for my truck as the passenger side has cracked.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Farmington hills MI
    Posts
    251

    Default

    Thats what I was thinking, two small peces of tube or rod epoxied in the area, with the epoxy spread out a bit to distribute the stress.

  9. #9

    Default

    I'm sure epoxy would be easy and very strong. A couple years ago I took a body restoration class at the local community college. The instructor had several scrap pieces glued together with panel adhesive. He handed a couple out to the class and asked us to try and separate the pieces. No one was successful. I'm talking vices, hammers, chisels etc. I think he wanted to impress on us how good epoxy really was.

    Cosmetically and structurally you would need to carefully weld it up before gluing. The weld would no doubt need to be ground on the inside for the rod to bed in straight. I wonder if a dremel would fit in there. Maybe a small rat tail file and a box of bandaids.

    I guess post gluing welding you could stop just before the weld makes contact with the epoxy underneath and just use filler to close it up.

    Hey take pictures and maybe do a write up. This is a widespread problem even with the wagoneers and a simple solution like this would be the shizzle.

    Maybe Tim B. can look at his door cut out and tell us what dia rod is ideal.

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