John helped me remove my cage because I am welding all the seams, and I have added some diagonal rear bars, gussets, and a rear upper cross bar....Removing the cage takes about a half day with a torch, drill, and a lot of cuss words 😀
You all motice how hard JOhn is working in this photo 😂
At that point I was thinking, "Now, how are we going to get it down from there." 😂
I like the idea of welding up the cage, if for no other reason than it should stop creaking.
Wasn't your cage fully welded in the first place? Going over a weld with another weld isn't going to make it stronger. Now if it wasn't fully welded and there are gaps that's another thing and would be pretty scary to think someone would build a cage like that.
If you are going to re weld all the joints I would grind out all the old welds first otherwise you are just putting weld on top of weld.
TJ cages are bolted together in several spots.
Rob, did you strap it to your deck and drive off? I hope you got everything disconnected!
What took so long? I think your challenge is all the aftermarket work you did, correct? A stock cage is just torx bolts from what I recall.
The TJ cages are bolted and GLUED in place. You have to burn off all the glue to pry it loose. Then there's the fact that it weighs about 200 lbs with the after market front cage, so it's awkward to take it out by yourself.
Rob...how are you liking the welder?
"FAM" wrote: I like the idea of welding up the cage, if for no other reason than it should stop creaking.
That was one of the big reasons I did this..That creaking was annoying me big time :!:
"Howdy" wrote: Wasn't your cage fully welded in the first place? Going over a weld with another weld isn't going to make it stronger. Now if it wasn't fully welded and there are gaps that's another thing and would be pretty scary to think someone would build a cage like that.
If you are going to re weld all the joints I would grind out all the old welds first otherwise you are just putting weld on top of weld.
My cage is mostly stock with an after market Rock Hard front cage that is bolted on with heavy duty clamps. I am welding all the seams on the factory cage and welding all the clamps of the after market cage so it is all welded and stronger. I have added supports as shown in the picture.
"BKGM Jeepers" wrote: TJ cages are bolted together in several spots.
Rob, did you strap it to your deck and drive off? I hope you got everything disconnected!
What took so long? I think your challenge is all the aftermarket work you did, correct? A stock cage is just torx bolts from what I recall.
We did strap it to the deck first and then I drove out from under it.
What takes so long is that all the factory bolts have to be drilled out to release the cage. They are impacted on at the factory then they are painted over and over time they rust in. I tried every trick on earth to get them off, but they had to be drilled out. They will all be replaced with grade 8 bolts (Factory bolts that hold the cage in were not grade 😎
After that, you have to fold the window down, move wires, and as John said, the main supports behind the seats are clued in with some stuff like Rhino liner. You have to use a torch to cut the glue and then you still have to use pry bars to break it free.
Very time consuming, but my cage will be extremely strong when I am done with it.
"rainfly" wrote: Rob...how are you liking the welder?
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 Get the idea 😀
"RobD" wrote: [quote="BKGM Jeepers"]TJ cages are bolted together in several spots.
Rob, did you strap it to your deck and drive off? I hope you got everything disconnected!
What took so long? I think your challenge is all the aftermarket work you did, correct? A stock cage is just torx bolts from what I recall.
We did strap it to the deck first and then I drove out from under it.
What takes so long is that all the factory bolts have to be drilled out to release the cage. They are impacted on at the factory then they are painted over and over time they rust in. I tried every trick on earth to get them off, but they had to be drilled out. They will all be replaced with grade 8 bolts (Factory bolts that hold the cage in were not grade 😎
After that, you have to fold the window down, move wires, and as John said, the main supports behind the seats are clued in with some stuff like Rhino liner. You have to use a torch to cut the glue and then you still have to use pry bars to break it free.
Very time consuming, but my cage will be extremely strong when I am done with it.
WOW! That's a lot of work! Any idea when you'll be back in action?
"RobD" wrote:
My cage is mostly stock with an after market Rock Hard front cage that is bolted on with heavy duty clamps. I am welding all the seams on the factory cage and welding all the clamps of the after market cage so it is all welded and stronger. I have added supports as shown in the picture.
Ok....well that makes sense.
"BKGM Jeepers" wrote: [quote="RobD"][quote="BKGM Jeepers"]TJ cages are bolted together in several spots.
Rob, did you strap it to your deck and drive off? I hope you got everything disconnected!
What took so long? I think your challenge is all the aftermarket work you did, correct? A stock cage is just torx bolts from what I recall.
We did strap it to the deck first and then I drove out from under it.
What takes so long is that all the factory bolts have to be drilled out to release the cage. They are impacted on at the factory then they are painted over and over time they rust in. I tried every trick on earth to get them off, but they had to be drilled out. They will all be replaced with grade 8 bolts (Factory bolts that hold the cage in were not grade 😎
After that, you have to fold the window down, move wires, and as John said, the main supports behind the seats are clued in with some stuff like Rhino liner. You have to use a torch to cut the glue and then you still have to use pry bars to break it free.
Very time consuming, but my cage will be extremely strong when I am done with it.
WOW! That's a lot of work! Any idea when you'll be back in action?
Next week I will be back in action. All the welding is done. I just need to paint the roll cage black now. I am adding 1/8 inch sheet metal to the area above mine and the passengers heads to prvent rocks from hitting us in the head in case of a roll over..
Just something to think about....I would consider adding some diagonals in the corners. I know they saved the entire rear part of my cage on Wrecking Ball.
"rainfly" wrote: Just something to think about....I would consider adding some diagonals in the corners. I know they saved the entire rear part of my cage on Wrecking Ball.
Already working on it. I am doing the rear angle spreader bars and the rear angle gussetts just like your photo...
The cage is all welded up and will get a final coat of paint tomorrow. Then all I have to do is modify my sound bar to work with the new rear spreader bars.
"rainfly" wrote:
You were not supposed to see that. I didn't until I was painting it. I am going to weld it up tomorrow 😳
Wow...talk about a good eye for detail!
Blood stain?
Attached files 
😂 😂 you guys are funny. good job rob. looks great. way to go buddy! 😀
Let me know when you're ready to put it back in the Jeep.
"JohnDF" wrote: Let me know when you're ready to put it back in the Jeep.
Yeah, I want to come over and play too. 😀
Woohoo...mini work party 😀
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