Broken Door Striker - Time to do the 97+ swap?

[BombDoc]

Hi all, I've read a good number of posts on here about others having a similar problem to mine. The driver's door striker post is toast. A really bad weld job was done and it is failing, it's a matter of time until what little steel is still there gives out and I have a big hole left behind. Because I have to fix it right this time, I want to make sure this gets done right, and I'm probably going to need to rely on a body shop. Because the jamb is damaged and is missing steel (see hole on outward-facing side of the washer), it seems welding is the only way to get this done forever. What I had planned was to cut out the jamb on an XJ and then have it welded back together. That still may be what we need to do here, but does anyone think the stock 88 style striker post is a lost cause here?

 

Since it looks like, no matter what, some metal is going to need to be added, would it be more advantageous to just go for the 97 door swap while we're at it, and update to the different style striker? I'm just not really sure what I'm going to get into once I start this, mostly because of the damage done by whatever knucklehead did this in the first place. Any ideas on the best way to repair this?

[Tex06]

Yikes. Someone whut dun and gone bubba'd that one up good.

The repair itself shouldn't be too bad. I'd get a donor jeep of whatever year you want to use the doors from and cut out the pillar about 12 inches above and below the damaged area on the MJ. Then cut out the bad area on the MJ. If I remember correctly, there's a reinforcement behind the body work that the striker goes through....yours is probably shot but you can make a new one or salvage the one from the donor jeep. It's not important how it looks as it will be hidden behind the bodywork, but it needs to be in the correct location (I think jeep uses a "floating nut"....basically a nut that is trapped but can move a bit to allow for adjustment of the striker for the door) or at least close to the correct location.

After that, it's just fitting a body panel. Cut and fit, then tack in with a MIG welder if ya got one. If not, you can braze it in place with a torch. Just takes a bit more patience that way.


Basically, it's very repairable. Just takes a bit of time. If you use a shop, you can help them out by finding the donor and cutting out the panels they will need. Remember, it's always better to cut out a piece too big and trim later than a piece too small and try to add on.

[BombDoc]

Awesome, thanks Tex06! It looks like the way to go is to cut out the door jamb from an XJ and then pull the trigger on doing the 97+ upgrade at the same time. I got pointed in the direction of T&M Fabrication as well - they make 10ga plates to better support the entire door jamb and striker area. I think once repaired, that's a great way to ensure this never happens again! Thanks for the help, I'll start sourcing 97+ doors now, and find a donor XJ.