[Candymancan]

I noticed like 2 months ago that my moms 4.0 the cv boots were cracked and getting ready to go and the coolant level was dropping very slowely over the last year or so..

I checked under the Jeep today to see how things were and the passenger cv boot is torn and grease is everywhere now. The other side is still intact but its got some big crackes in it and itll tear soon..

I found the coolant leak too and its coming from near the lower radiator hose on the drivers side.. But its the actual radiator leaking its drooling down from up top somewhere. so i assume the radiator has a pin hole in it and needs replaced too.. Her tranny fluid needs done as well, and there is a bunch of other things that need done.. The steering stabalizer is like the most rusty peice of metal i've ever seen. but it doesnt leak .. but i assume that needs replaced.. The mount its on tho is rusty as hell too and id be afraid to even touch the bolt on it in fear of breaking the mount lol. Its getting rusty in other parts too but too bad.. The zerks where the joints are the rubber bushings feel dry as a bone.. All the shocks are gone... the ones in the rear the dust sheild are so rusty i can peel metal chunks off them.. Also all the spot welds or weldings on the I beams are getting rusty.. How should I go about cleaning those up and protect them from further rust ? I dont want the welds to rust so much that the metal comes apart.. The Beams themselves are good tho, very minor rust inside and out.

So it seems age and miles finally have caught up to her Jeep lol.

So Im wondering, How much/hard is it to replaced the radiator and cv axles ? and what radiator should I get ? I plan to also remove the check ball in the tranny line but i dont know how to go about doing that. I fear removing the old rad and stuff will make the old ball stuck and burn up the tranny.

[coralman]

They make some stuff call POR15. Its kinda a system not just one product.Theres a cleaner,and a prep,a basecoat,and a topcoat they say is designed for suspension parts. I've seen the system to the basecoat level and that stuff is pretty tough. Only disadvantage I saw was a short pot life. Once you open it you gotta get it on there. Just my two cents on the radiator get a valeo. There will be many different opinions on brands and I've had a good many of them but this one has lasted so far when others didn't.

[ratmonkey]

Sounds like it might be time to retire.
all steering, all shocks, radiator, radiator hoses, half shafts, most likely control arms/bushings, ball joints....doing them as they go bad isn't a big deal, but letting them all pile up will cost you.
You probably have 1500 or better in parts you'll be buying, especially as you find the rest of what's wrong while taking it apart...plus the rust. I'd likely just drop that money on a better condition one after selling that one for 800-1000.

[Candymancan]

Well ratmonkey it isnt as rusty as i led to believe... Its just parts of it that are rusty.. The I beams Inisde and outside are clean and mostly free of rust "i Used a mini cam to look lol" The body behind all the cladding and stuff is fine, the underside unibody is fine. Its just parts of the frame where the welds are for the control arm plates the paint pealed off and the welds are rusty. The metal plate that the steering stabalizer is on is the real rusty part.. Its like bubbling along with the stab. The shocks are most deff bad, the control arms bushings are bad yes i looked at them and they look like the ones on my 5.9 i replaced not too long ago.

The radiator hoses need replaced the lower ones feels weird when i squeeze it lol. As for the steering again she had death wobble a few times in the past on the freeway so im not sure what causes that. Basicly its her Jeep she has had for 12 years, the engine and transmission, transfercase and both diff's are in great condition. Its just the outside parts that are bascly falling apart lol.. She wont sell it ever, hell she wants a $3,000 paint job on it because the paint is is all peeled and I have had to sand it down and spray paint it. Honestly she doesnt care how much itll cost to fix, we are bringing it in to a shop to have the CV boots replaced, and the guy will look at the radiator.... I keep insiting i can do it myself, and I would prefer both cv shafts to be replaced vs the boots, but her boyfriend always convinces her to go to his spanish friends shop cause he does **** really cheaply and does a good job actually lol..

Believe me mechanicly her Jeep is better then anything for sale out there, and those other Jeeps will have the same worn out parts.. Its just basicly some parts that are rusted or starting too and i want to prevent it from getting any worse.

Lemme take a picture of the rusty parts im talking about

[Candymancan]

Here are some pics, as you can see the Jeep is mostly rust free.. Its just starting to rust in some spots, and other parts like the plates welded to the axle and stuff that hold the steering stab on are like horribly rusted.












This last picture is the rust starting to form on the weld's. I just want to control the rust thats forming because right now its still in good shape but i want it to last