Rust on the passenger side frame rail

[darkangel07760]

Brought my 2002 into the shop the other day because it was stalling out when I went into reverse. Also, had a bit of a transmission leak so when my mechanic went to remove the skid plate to take a look, he informed me that there was serious rust on the passenger side frame rail. The skid plate was hanging on by one bolt. Ugh! He told me that it looked like a good portion of the frame would have to be replaced. I live in NJ so road salt and all that garbage has taken its toll. I bought this used 2 years ago and wish I had taken a better look under the skid plate, but what can you do, what's done is done!
I am hopefully getting my Jeep back today. I am not able to work on the frame myself, so it looks like I will have to farm out this job.
He suggested I sell my Jeep for what I can and get one without the rust issues that mine has. I am not sure whether to put the money towards a body shop replacing the frame, or to sell it for what I can and try to find another TJ with less issues.
Thoughts?

 

[Starrs]

Brought my 2002 into the shop the other day because it was stalling out when I went into reverse. Also, had a bit of a transmission leak so when my mechanic went to remove the skid plate to take a look, he informed me that there was serious rust on the passenger side frame rail. The skid plate was hanging on by one bolt. Ugh! He told me that it looked like a good portion of the frame would have to be replaced. I live in NJ so road salt and all that garbage has taken its toll. I bought this used 2 years ago and wish I had taken a better look under the skid plate, but what can you do, what's done is done!
I am hopefully getting my Jeep back today. I am not able to work on the frame myself, so it looks like I will have to farm out this job.
He suggested I sell my Jeep for what I can and get one without the rust issues that mine has. I am not sure whether to put the money towards a body shop replacing the frame, or to sell it for what I can and try to find another TJ with less issues.
Thoughts?

What he said. Sell and buy a non rusty TJ

 

[Westtown Willy]

It doesn’t sound good but it’s hard to say without more information and pictures. Generally speaking if the rest of the Jeep is good (tub, motor…) and it’s just the frame then it would depend on the extent of the damage. If the entire frame needs to be replaced then that will be very pricy & possibly out of rational reach. But, if it’s possible that the frame can be saved with a SafeTcap repair on the areas that are bad that would be far more cost effective & when done correctly can get you another 10 year provided you take care of it… I would take it to a shop that handles frame replacement and repair & get their spin on what can be done & the cost and go from there because it’s possible that your mechanic isn’t aware of the repair possibilities. Of course it’s also possible he is spot on with his assessment, sadly.

 

[Imapepper]

It doesn’t sound good but it’s hard to say without more information and pictures. Generally speaking if the rest of the Jeep is good (tub, motor…) and it’s just the frame then it would depend on the extent of the damage. If the entire frame needs to be replaced then that will be very pricy & possibly out of rational reach. But, if it’s possible that the frame can be saved with a SafeTcap repair on the areas that are bad that would be far more cost effective & when done correctly can get you another 10 year provided you take care of it… I would take it to a shop that handles frame replacement and repair & get their spin on what can be done & the cost and go from there because it’s possible that your mechanic isn’t aware of the repair possibilities. Of course it’s also possible he is spot on with his assessment, sadly.

X2, pictures would be helpful, safetcaps have saved many a Jeep...

 

[cliffish]

Body shop is not the place to go, find a place that does this.

 

[AndyG]

Rusty tj -bad

Sell

Get tj no rust.

Smile

 

[Imapepper]

Rusty tj -bad

Sell

Get tj no rust.

Smile

Look at empty wallet, cry

 

[AndyG]

Look at empty wallet, cry

Try explain to wife. Ugh.

 

[Jeep9748]

Nope- keep TJ Have Saf-T-Caps installed. Jeep is refreshed for at least while. ALOT cheaper than starting all over. I essentially had my frame replaced and it was 3100. Saf-T-Caps are on both sides and go from almost over the front wheel and to over the rear wheels. But I know that its my baby and the rest was of her was great so I choose this route. one way to think of it is 3100 for current jeep to fix. or potentially new payment of lets say 500 a month. so in 6 months of jeep payments you would have payed for your baby to be fixed. Again JMHO!!!

 

[Jeep9748]

https://www.autorust.com/safe-t-cap-kits/
click on installers and it will show you certified installers in NJ....

 

[primetime4]

I just went through with a Safety cap repair. The original estimate was $1600 but it end up being right at $2k out the door. I haven't looked at the receipt yet but they also had to reattach part of the exhaust that was rusted and install some bump stops which I am assuming made up the rest of the cost. A frame swap was quoted at around 3k plus the cost of the frame so this seemed like the more economical route.

Overall, I am pretty happy with the results. It seems very solid and looks clean. It covers the entire side and slots into the front and rear pieces so it is very strong according to the tech. My tub and mechanicals were spotless so that factored into my decision. It has also been my Jeep since new so selling it off was not really an option.

If you are attached to your Jeep, it is definitely a viable option but if not, I would most likely try to find something else with no/less rust to begin with.

 

[darkangel07760]

Thank you everyone! I brought it to a recommended shop and they are going to let me know what my options are. I am going to check out safe t cap and discuss this with them, as I believe this is what they are planning on doing, though they didn't specifically state that.

 

[darkangel07760]

Ok so here is the estimate I got back on fixing the rust issue on my Jeep. Seems a bit steep to me but I would appreciate any thoughts.
The things is, this is an unexpected cost. I have other things on a list that my Jeep needs done, but this tops it as the most expensive.

 

[JDS123]

Ok so here is the estimate I got back on fixing the rust issue on my Jeep. Seems a bit steep to me but I would appreciate any thoughts.
The things is, this is an unexpected cost. I have other things on a list that my Jeep needs done, but this tops it as the most expensive.

That quote seems like an absolute joke to me. Hell, you can get a frame and get a shop to swap it in for just a little more than that.

The parts cost seems high and the amount of labor is just ridiculous. If I got a quote for 38 hours of labor to weld in safety caps I’d be insulted and would never go back to that shop.

 

[darkangel07760]

That quote seems like an absolute joke to me. Hell, you can get a frame and get a shop to swap it in for just a little more than that.

The parts cost seems high and the amount of labor is just ridiculous. If I got a quote for 38 hours of labor to weld in safety caps I’d be insulted and would never go back to that shop.

That's what I was thinking. I was shocked when I got this... I am going to take this with me and shop around, I feel that they are trying to rip me off. I live in NJ and if this is what to expect, I might just wait until I move down to Alabama next year. I had my mechanic do some work to it to keep the frame together for awhile...

 

[Starrs]

Buy a rust free TJ.

 

[JDS123]

That's what I was thinking. I was shocked when I got this... I am going to take this with me and shop around, I feel that they are trying to rip me off. I live in NJ and if this is what to expect, I might just wait until I move down to Alabama next year. I had my mechanic do some work to it to keep the frame together for awhile...

I wouldn't expect anything close to that if you can find a reasonable shop. I'm having my entire frame swapped soon. Labor estimates for that range from 30-40 hours. If the shop has installed safety caps before (find a shop that has!) then it might take them 5 hours per side if they are being really slow about it. The people who make safety caps will install them for you at a reasonable price. They are located in rhode island. If shops around you wont give you a good price, it might make sense to take it up to rhode island for the repairs.

The other problem I see with that quote is the 10 hours of labor for the "suspension and transmission crossmember" install. I have absolutely no clue what they are talking about there as no crossmember on a TJ takes ten hours to install. I would go somewhere else.

Buy a rust free TJ.

While this might be the better option in some cases, it is not the best option in all cases. If you are moving to Alabama, it might make more sense to limp the TJ along for now, then part it out and buy a rust free Jeep down south. It would be very helpful if you could post pictures of the frame and the Jeep as a whole. That might help us figure out what the best plan is.

 

[Starrs]

I wouldn't expect anything close to that if you can find a reasonable shop. I'm having my entire frame swapped soon. Labor estimates for that range from 30-40 hours. If the shop has installed safety caps before (find a shop that has!) then it might take them 5 hours per side if they are being really slow about it. The people who make safety caps will install them for you at a reasonable price. They are located in rhode island. If shops around you wont give you a good price, it might make sense to take it up to rhode island for the repairs.

The other problem I see with that quote is the 10 hours of labor for the "suspension and transmission crossmember" install. I have absolutely no clue what they are talking about there as no crossmember on a TJ takes ten hours to install. I would go somewhere else.



While this might be the better option in some cases, it is not the best option in all cases. If you are moving to Alabama, it might make more sense to limp the TJ along for now, then part it out and buy a rust free Jeep down south. It would be very helpful if you could post pictures of the frame and the Jeep as a whole. That might help us figure out what the best plan is.

Almost 5k to fix a rusty TJ doesn’t make sense to me. You can find clean ones down south for not much more than that. May have high miles but no rust issues.

 

[primetime4]

The center section Safetycaps are only $180 each so $500 is highway robbery. Tell them you will bring your own parts at that price. The 10 hours of labor sounds about right. I had mine done for 1600 out the door with a little extra to weld in some new exhaust supports.

 

[darkangel07760]

I am going to my regular mechanic this week to do a bumper to bumper look just to see if there are any other lurking issues.. I will ask if he can throw it up on the lift and hopefully I can take some pics. I will get those on here ASAP.
As for a rust free TJ, I would love one!!! I am going to take a look around, but that might mean going to a place that I can trust will sell me a fairly rust free TJ. I think the fact that I live in NJ kinda kills a chance of a truly rust free TJ; that is why I might limp it along until next summer when we move, I hope to have a better chance where there are no snowy icy winters.