Does this look like rust one should be concerned about?

DeadStang

DeadStang

TJ Enthusiast
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Albany, Oregon
Does this just look like 100k mile surface rust that's nothing to worry about, or maybe hiding something worse? The Jeep lived in Hawaii for about 4 years but has been in Arizona mostly and Texas. I know the salt air in coastal and island cars can make rust crop up in odd places, but this is all I can find that looks rusty from the pictures I have been sent. I am kind of spoiled with west coast, dirty oily undersides and frames but no surface rust in my current Jeeps.

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From what I can see in your pictures that wouldn’t concern me even a little bit…
 
DeadStang said:
Does this just look like 100k mile surface rust that's nothing to worry about, or maybe hiding something worse? The Jeep lived in Hawaii for about 4 years but has been in Arizona mostly and Texas. I know the salt air in coastal and island cars can make rust crop up in odd places, but this is all I can find that looks rusty from the pictures I have been sent. I am kind of spoiled with west coast, dirty oily undersides and frames but no surface rust in my current Jeeps.

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IH8RUST. That would concern me. I’ve worked on rust buckets. No fun. Everything takes 3-5x’s longer to fix.
 
The pics don't show anything too worrisome, IMO. But do you have pictures of where the transmission skid meets the frame? That area is known to rust first and worst. Also, pictures of any of the factory holes in the frame? The frames have a tendency to rust from the inside out, so you need to use a scope (or at least a finger) to find out what the inside of the frame looks like.
 
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That looks pretty damn good at least from what I can see in the picture. In the northeast they have more rust than that when they leave the dealers lot brand new!
 
Yoda said:
That looks pretty damn good at least from what I can see in the picture. In the northeast they have more rust than that when they leave the dealers lot brand new!
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Poor little Yoda. I've missed you since Covid and Brandon destroyed the country and our "freedoms"
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I picked the worst photos to show. None of my Jeeps have that much surface rust so I was a little concerned. Here are others from that Jeep.

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SSTJ said:
The frames have a tendency to rust from the inside out, so you need to use a scope (or at least a finger) to find out what the inside of the frame looks like.
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Andy-WhiteTJ said:
Check it with a scope to be sure. TJ frames rust from the inside out.
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Those pics are low-res, so it's hard to tell, but they look pretty encouraging to me. Still these two comments above really do apply.
 
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With most of it's life in TX and AZ if that Jeep had been driven into the ocean and never had the frame washed out, you wouldn't be sending pictures because you'd know the problem.

That one I wouldn't worry about too much. It has less visible rust than mine had when I bought it and my frame is still good 4 yrs later.
 
As @Andy-WhiteTJ said, scope it. If it was driven on the beach and the inside of the frame was never washed out, you'll want to know what things look like in there. It may be something that could be power washed and dealt with inside the frame if you get to it in time.
 
Owning a jeep that spent its entire life in the Islands, wouldn't be concerned. If it had been driven on the beach or used to launch a boat, the salt damage would be way more extensive. Scoping is the only way to be totally safe built without more evidence than’s been pictured, wouldn’t be worried. Things do rust more than Aridzona but not nearly as much as rust belt.
 
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