[Military Jeeper]

So today I bit the bullet and decided to tackle some of the small rust bubbles that have formed in the 2 yrs I've lived in Hawaii.

The problem spots where along the door seam (where the door hinges are located) and along the lower windshield leading edge (Where the cowl air intake meet the lower portion of the windshield). And finally the floor pans started bubbling.

In short, HOLY SH@T is the best thing I can say. I ended up cutting out about 2-3 inches of sheet metal on each side of the door seams. I ended up grinding about a .25 inch+ out of the seam along the windshield edge and ground out a couple new holes in the floor pans (new drain plugs.......NOT).

Didn't have my camera with me but let's just say I wasn't expecting the rust to be this bad. I had a POR15 starter kit that I used on it and I'm hoping it will work.

The other thing that really ticked me off was that the PO had a lot of bondo built up along the door seam which caused the panels to rot from the inside out. I have about a .25 inch gap between the outer sheet metal and the inner sheet metal (What was Jeep thinking........it's basically an empty void between the panels). The PO loaded this with bondo, as well as the windshield area which is where all the rust formed. As a result of all the windshield area rust the inside of the tub directly underneath it was rotting away too I found out when I pulled the dash so I started grinding off the inside tub lip that is basically a lip to hold water and I will smooth it out and POR15 the inside area too. POR15 also makes a seam sealer which I will apply once I finish the initial stuff.

I know this thread is useless without pics............but I'll post pics once I get to tear into it again. If you live near the ocean, start keeping an eye on these areas.

[xxxflhrci]

Typical. If you see rust bubbles on an orignial vehicle, you will end up with holes by the time you get done grinding. If you see rust bubbles on a vehicle that has already been Bondoed up, you wll have even bigger holes by the time you get done grinding. I fought the rust battle on an an original paint '78 CJ in the late 80's and early 90's. In four years, I painted it twice. The final time was right before I sold it to the next sucker.

[bluwtrsurfr]

ive got the "bubbles on my 81 CJ5 and im sure when I was in hawaii running around on Northshore past dillingham air field on the beach didnt help. the PO used a lot of bondo on the tub, and when I say a lot, i think more than 50% of whats holding the tub together is bondo and some glass that was done by the owner before the PO...the only reason I actually believe it wasnt the PO i bought the jeep from was he's a friend of my brothers and a NJ state trooper.

[Trombadave]

I have a 2008 Unlimited Sahara. It is 5 months old with 4,000 miles. I am starting to find rust on the hinges and maybe the pegs. It also looks like the washers used under the black black bolts on the hood are rusting. My local jeep dealership is giving me a hard time about fixing it. Is this common and what can I do about it?

[White92]

^ rust on a brand new jeep, no that's not common. Try posting in the JK forum, you might get some help with it.