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Too far gone with rust?

4K views 41 replies 14 participants last post by  Kevinyj95 
#1 ·
I was under my jeep today familiarizing myself with the exhaust as I'm going to be replacing the entire system when it gets here. And I noticed a lot of rust where the rockers are and what I think is called the A pillar?
There was some undercoating stuff that was covering it and I couldn't see the extent of the rust from the outside, I pulled that out cause the undercoating stuff was what was holding it together! as you can see in the first picture.

Then it gets worse, the rust has gotten to where the control arm fitting is.. and my fender is dented, but I can't put a new one in because the part of the rocker that it bolts on to is completely rusted away! :thumbdown:

Also there is some frame rust where the center metal piece that hold up the transmission is... Don't need that thing failing on me.

So my question to all you guys is, can this be "fixed"? I know rust is a cancer and you need to cut it ALL off so that you can put new metal in there, but is that really advisable for the frame? how much cost are we talking here? Is there some place that specializes in rust repair? or just body shop. I'm open to learning to weld, but I don't wanna mess up the frame..

If you guys want more pics to see just let me know I'll post them asap.
Open to all comments, advice, suggestions! thank you all for your input.
 

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#4 ·
okay I took some more pics, some of the rear bumper area/tow hitch, some from the rear axle/rear upper control arm areas, and some of the sides which I can't see the full extent of the rust cause its covered with some kind of under coating, and some of the parking brake assembly.

just so you know what you guys are looking at, sorry for the crappy lighting, its getting a bit dark out here. And if I do decide to keep it, I see new brake lines in my future and a new fuel filter too.
 

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#9 ·
I'd just buy another and use that one as a parts jeep. I work on cars where I live and I can usually tell where a vehicle is from by looking underneath it. Northern cars tend to rust through a lot quicker than southern cars and cars from the lower midwest hardly show any rust at all. Road salt is a killer.
 
#11 ·
Yeah that may be what I end up doing, I just don't have the cash to buy another one with less rust... they are probably all rusted out from where I am here in MN. I was building up this car cause I wanted to learn about cars and do the work myself. mostly because the car just hit 121k miles, it's barely getting started! Hopefully I can return the exhaust system I just ordered for it.
 
#12 ·
Another question, how much do you guys think a good body with no rust would be? no tranny or motor, I think the ones ive got would suffice.

also, It would be awesome to get a 5.9 body and put my 4.0 engine in it cause of all these extra features from the wiki page
The 5.9 Limited was available only in Deep Slate, Stone White, and Bright Platinum. Other features separated the 5.9 from the standard Limited model including:

A Deep Slate 1998 Grand Cherokee 5.9 L (Note hood louvers and mesh grille inserts)
Functioning heat-extracting hood louvers
Revised grill with mesh grille inserts
Five-spoke alloy Ultrastar wheels
Black-wall tires
An improved premium 180 watt, 10 speaker Infinity stereo system
A rear speaker bar for additional Infinity speakers
Calf-grain, soft leather seats and trim
Leather door inserts
Leather shift handle, e-brake and transfer case handle
Enhanced faux wood trim throughout, additionally around the transmission shift handle base
A full-leather spare tire cover with multiple pockets
A center leather armrest in the rear seat
A lower-profile roof rack
Molded rocker panels

I know a lot of you guys wheel your cars and stuff, I just really need the space in the back of it for my job and a nice car when I'm not working. My goal for my car is to get a good gas mileage out of it and have a simple ish engine to work on when I need to.

Thank's for all your input guys!
 
#14 ·
Yeah I took a look at craigslist and couldnt find one with broken engines or trannies that sounded promising... I'll hit up the local salvage yards, theres one around me that I saw a platinum 5.9 zj with no engine or tranny (the JY takes them out for individual resale) I'll see how rusty it is.

Thank you for your help xcaliber, maybe when I swap the engines over I'll fix a couple of the leaks my motor has and give it a once over good cleaning, and maybe paint some stuff so that it doesn't rust out on me again.
 
#16 ·
Yeah I know it wouldnt have as much power and it wouldn't be a huge savings in gas the v8 vs the I6. Every little bit counts to me, and I'm not really interested in huge wheels with a lifted body or going super fast in a large car that wasn't really designed to go fast like a sports car is. I figure if I can find a 5.9 body without the motor and tranny which comes in a color that I wish my current zj was (black, white, platinum) and with all the extra cool features of a 5.9 interior and such, it would be a good deal for me. I'd actually like to regear to a smaller size ring and pinion, I've seen a chart around here somewhere maybe in the FAQ thread that a 2.something ring and pinion gear could give me more gas mileage which is something that i'd like to try out if/when my diffs go out.

those things would be the best for my own custom zj that I build with bits and pieces, yours may be different, and I respect that. Thank you for your input.
 
#17 ·
I was under my jeep today familiarizing myself with the exhaust as I'm going to be replacing the entire system when it gets here. And I noticed a lot of rust where the rockers are and what I think is called the A pillar?
There was some undercoating stuff that was covering it and I couldn't see the extent of the rust from the outside, I pulled that out cause the undercoating stuff was what was holding it together! as you can see in the first picture.

Then it gets worse, the rust has gotten to where the control arm fitting is.. and my fender is dented, but I can't put a new one in because the part of the rocker that it bolts on to is completely rusted away! :thumbdown:

Also there is some frame rust where the center metal piece that hold up the transmission is... Don't need that thing failing on me.

So my question to all you guys is, can this be "fixed"? I know rust is a cancer and you need to cut it ALL off so that you can put new metal in there, but is that really advisable for the frame? how much cost are we talking here? Is there some place that specializes in rust repair? or just body shop. I'm open to learning to weld, but I don't wanna mess up the frame..

If you guys want more pics to see just let me know I'll post them asap.
Open to all comments, advice, suggestions! thank you all for your input.
hi, i'm sorry for your rig. :(
question is: how is that possible? where do you live? and the previous owners?
 
#19 ·
I am in Minnesota, the capital of the rust belt... I did have a chance to look up the vehicles history though and it was made in Canada, parts of the books I have that came with the car are in French and say Canada, still have the original sticker!. And then it was imported where it lived in Wisconsin, then to me afaik? 3 owners with me? I think possibly 2.
 
#20 ·
She's definitely seen better days unfortunately . Rust is such a crapper to deal with , yours has gone past the point of no return IMO . Time to part it IMO . :(

Rust belt capitol ? Maybe , but the worst place for rust in North America (BTW , that includes Canada , :laugh: ) would be in Newfoundland . On a quiet night , you can hear everything rusting , lol . EX My dad's 10 yr old Grand Marq's chassis cracked off with just over 100K . Here's another , read the description http://www.nlclassifieds.com/Automo...okee-for-parts-C-B-S-Newfoundland-NLCId841947
Sux to live in a wind swept region off the Atlantic Salted roads during the winter , salt ocean spray all year round . Beautiful place to visit though , friendly ppl .
 
#35 ·
I picked up my 94 for 650 $ and it was pretty much rust free there out there just gotta look. Try finding one with a bad engine and transmission and swap yours over.
Will definitely do that! how did you find yours btw? junkyard, craigslist, friend, papers? I only know where to look for runnning cars lol.

also the vin starts with 1, but I'm pretty sure the engine bay has a sticker on it that says canada? weird.
 
#26 ·
dnuccio said:
if you want gas mileage, scrap/part out the jeep and buy a civic. With gearing that high, it will barely move
The diffs I have in it now are 3.55, the ones to go in if I get the chance are 2.--. So with gearing in the diffs, the smaller the number the bigger the gear?

My dad tossed me the keys last winter and told me to have at it, that's the only reason why I've got it, and I kept it because of my job, it's got enough room to haul all the things for it with the seats down. Otherwise I probably would have gone with an econobox.. But they don't have the space I need :(
 
#31 ·
The diffs I have in it now are 3.55, the ones to go in if I get the chance are 2.--. So with gearing in the diffs, the smaller the number the bigger the gear?
you will HATE yourself if you put those gears in. my dad had a 05 WK with the 3.7 V6 (around 20 more horsepower than the 4.0) and it had 3.07 gears in it. NO power at all, to describe it, it would be like driving with a 2000# trailer all the time.
 
#27 ·
Kevinyj95 said:
wire brush and rustolium everything. then undercoat. but its not that bad. Ive fixxed alot wurse. cut out that horrible area above the control and cut and weld in a new piece. 3 hour job. If you think thats bad dont move north. also never buy a mustang.
Remind me to stay the f away from you and your vehicles.
 
#28 ·
I didnt say mine had rust. My vehicles are maintained for the climate. Now my tow hitch i did not lol. ever own a pathfinder? lmao. asking people from the south about rust repair is pointless. have you ever seen there junkyards there like candy stores. Ive restored old rigs and had to replace entire sections of frame.
 
#30 ·
I've seen a Jeep that bad once.. The owner bought it from New Jersey and was trying to sell it in Virginia to make a profit... I crawled under and EVERYTHING was rusted and corroded... I mean everything.. I was afraid to touch the tranny cooler lines in fear of me flaking off a piece of dust and it start leaking.. The underbody was sprayed with a tar undercoat too to try to "hide" the rust.. I feel sorry for the poor soul who bought it if the guy ever sold it.
 
#34 ·
why not do the 4 cyl diesel swap and run bio diesel if mpg is the motive? Alot of work to save pennys at the pump. theres a reason jeep doesnt make a prius. The difference in the engines mpg isnt much at all. given the choice either 318 or 360 would be an improvment over the I6.
 
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