I think they are different, or Mopar made the more recent frames out of poorer quality material. I've seen a lot more of the 98-2003 frames rot out around the steering box mounting location then the 94-97 ever had. Since the difference seemed to follow the body change, I assumed they modified the frame in a way that caused it to rot out faster. I never had the opportunity to look at both era frames at the same time. Gene