Been lurking for quite a while and now finally ready to take the plunge. I was shopping for a new JL but couldn't stop looking at old TJ's. Over the years I've owned a JK for a few years and a CJ way back in the day. I'm admittedly clueless in identifying what problem rust looks like or more importantly what looks like typical for a 15 year old jeep. Here are some pics a dealer sent me on a 2002 TJ I'm looking at. Dealer is claiming "very clean" with only "normal aging". Any help is greatly appreciated!
Underbody Rust Assessment on 2002 TJ
- Thread starter pkrip
- Start date
I do not see anything that would concern me and being from NJ that is probably the cleanest east coast frame I have seen ever.
That underside looks pretty good. I think you’d be hard pressed to find another frame that clean in NJ. That’s cleaner than my AZ frame.
From what I see it’s very clean the torque box where the body mounts is where the rust starts and I can’t see any. Do you have any more pics of the body mounts and also in front of the gas tank skid is where they go bad here in Canada. It doesn’t even look like there is an oil leak on the engine.
That frame is great for New Jersey. It appears that Jeep hasn’t seen salt ever. I would ask why the transmission is blue though...
That frame is flawless! My 2001 east coast frame looks like a Jack Cousteau treasure
Thanks for all this awesome feedback. And... you guys have some keen eyes. This jeep actually is out in AZ a dealership in Tempe AZ (Im in NJ) . Planning on shipping or fly and drive depending on where I end up. 03sahara asked for other pics. Here a couple more (I didnt want to overdo it with pics in the orginal post). Thanks again to everyone. This is a huge help.
There’s plenty of members in the Phoenix area like 
Stop by Albuquerque on your way home, we'll go wheelin! I would take you out for some good Mexican food but our F#*king Govenor still has us locked down.
I did a similar thing for my TJ. It was in Dallas, so my brother and I flew down out of Pittsburgh for $90 on Spirit Air and drove it back to Ohio.
I would look around the AQ area and find someone who can do a PPI and have them look over it before you commit. That said, the one you found looks great!
I would look around the AQ area and find someone who can do a PPI and have them look over it before you commit. That said, the one you found looks great!
Sigh. I saw you were from NJ and I was breaking out the popcorn for the rust horror show.
In the third picture of post number one, look at the frame right behind the body mount. Does that look like the frame was buckled from a previous accident?
People brought that up in another thread about frame photos. I thought it was normal so I went and checked my Jeep and I have it as well. Don't think it is a buckle.
There is a bend in the frame there that is sometimes hard to see when looking from the side. That is what causes the slight indent.
Thanks. Thats a keen observation about frame buckle. Sounds like may not be the case here but something I'll look out for as I shop around. Also, thanks Cybrslyder, I'm glad I'm not the only crazy one to do a fly and drive like that! My wife thinks I'm nuts. Anyway, I was oign to ask about PPI's. If I'm not overdoing it, how do you all go about finding a trustworthy PPI resource from long distance? I was planning on googling and reading reviews. Reviews are always tough as there's always people that complain! There were some negative reviews on this dealer but its starting to sounds like he gave a fairly good assessment on the underbody/frame.
I used Yelp and found a mobile PPI guy on there as well as called a couple of shops to see if they would do them.
The guy I settled on drove to the dealership with his work vehicle and performed the inspection on the spot. I also let the dealer know I was having him come over to inspect it and when.
He did a great job. I'd start by Googling maintenance facilities in the town and calling them up to see if they do it, what they check, and how much it costs. Get a couple quotes so you get a good idea.
EDIT: Just did a quick Google for ya and found these guys - https://www.4wheelparts.com/stores/new-mexico/4wp-albuquerque-nm-65
I'd give 'em a call and ask and if they don't, ask them who they would recommend.