CJ-7 Frame Crossmember Locations

[jay79cj7]

I am going to put the drivetrain from my 79 CJ7 on an 83 frame I picked up that has no rust.

In the process of tearing down my 79, I see that it has a crossmember just in front of the rear shock mounts, right about where the step is in the tub between the front and back seats. (This is not the cross piece with the body mounts just in front of the gas tank.) My 83 frame does not have this crossmember or any sign of it having been removed... Is it supposed to be on my 83 frame, or was there a change in frame designs between 79 and then?

The bottom line is that I need to know if I need to cut off this rusty old thing, clean it up and weld it to the 83 frame, or if I can run without. Obviously I would rather save myself the time, but I want to do it right. So, does anybody out there with an 80's CJ know, or can you take a look under there for me?

Thanks!

 

[84cj]

Looked at two frames 84 and 85 and neither have the crossmember.

 

[jay79cj7]

Thank you!

Did you see a bracket in that area? The guy I got my YJ tub from said the newer frames don't have the crossmember but have a bracket about a foot long.

I love this board.

 

[84cj]

RE: American Beheading in Iraq

The bracket is for the exhaust hanger and i think the e-brake cables pass through there also

 

[jay79cj7]

Re: RE: Gettin

Thanks. As long as its not supposed to support the tub, I can work something out. I figured it wasn't because there is no body mount there so that would be a problem with a body lift, but I wanted to make sure.