Advice before getting on the road!

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TjAggi

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Just picked up a 1999 TJ Sport w/4.0L Auto. Had a blown motor, bottom end was cracked from drivers side. It's currently at the shop awaiting a new straight 6 motor, but the frame has surface rust and underbody front end parts are mostly rusted. Judging from pics below what would need to be changed or treated before getting it on the road. Thanks for your time.
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Wow! Driven through a salt bath and parked?
There are so many things to suggest I don't know where to start. So how about addressing what the signs are and forget the symptoms for the moment. Any strange behavior: death wobble(not matter how slight), pulling, hard shifting, strange noises, erratic gauge readings, weird noises? Really hard to tell from the pictures but that all looks like unsightly surface rust.
Good luck!
 
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Stinger: Well I purchased it a couple of days ago with the blown motor, have not gotten it on the road yet, hopefully I will by Wednesday. But with all that surface rust I was thinking of hitting it with a wire to get it down to bare metal. It is a Michigan Jeep, 1 owner since 1999 as it states on the title.

I mainly looked for any rotting through rust holes on the frame, did not find any so I went ahead with the purchase for $1500

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Ya for $1500 you could part it out and make a buck or two.
Coming from Michigan I now understand. Get it on the road and drive it-HARD to find out what's what. I can't tell you how many hours I have spend under my jeeps with a flashlight looking for stuff. Sometime I found it--sometime not.
Good luck!
 
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Stinger said:
Ya for $1500 you could part it out and make a buck or two.
Coming from Michigan I now understand. Get it on the road and drive it-HARD to find out what's what. I can't tell you how many hours I have spend under my jeeps with a flashlight looking for stuff. Sometime I found it--sometime not.
Good luck!
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My first TJ so I'm hoping I won't have to part it out, as soon as I get it back in the yard I'm going under and shaving off the rust as much as I can and hoping to apply POR-15 and bed lining the inside of the tub since I have stripped the interior.

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I have used a LOT of POR 15. Don't jump on that immediately. Find your issues first. Replace what needs to be replaces. 15 tends to hide problems and not solve the real issue. When you get it, buy the smallest can you can get- they make a six pack of small cans which for mr was ideal. Always put a plastic seal between the can and lid when reseating, and for Gods sake, wear gloves. If this dries on you it will be there until the dermis under it dies!
 
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Stinger said:
I have used a LOT of POR 15. Don't jump,on that immediately. Found your issues first. Replace what needs to be replaces. 15tends to hide problems and not solve the real issue. When you get it buy the smallest can you can, always put a plastic seal between the can and lid when reseating, and for Gods sake, wear gloves. If this dries on you it will be there until the dermis under it dies!
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Definitely will thanks for your input, I'll take it for a hard test drive when it's up and running and we'll go from there. Thanks again

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Stinger said:
I have used a LOT of POR 15. Don't jump on that immediately. Find your issues first. Replace what needs to be replaces. 15 tends to hide problems and not solve the real issue. When you get it, buy the smallest can you can get- they make a six pack of small cans which for mr was ideal. Always put a plastic seal between the can and lid when reseating, and for Gods sake, wear gloves. If this dries on you it will be there until the dermis under it dies!
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X2, this is sound advice, and the same thing I would do.

But god damn... That is a LOT of rust. That thing must have sat net to an ocean or something.

Identify any major structural issues with the frame and the rust first. I say that because those will be potential dangers. I've read numerous stories about guys with TJs driving down the road and their frame literally snapped in half under acceleration because the rust was that bad.

That's no joke either, if that happens when you're driving at highway speed, you could roll the vehicle and potentially kill yourself or others.

I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just trying to encourage you to tackle the worst areas first, particularly the frame.
 
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Chris said:
X2, this is sound advice, and the same thing I would do.

But god damn... That is a LOT of rust. That thing must have sat net to an ocean or something.

Identify any major structural issues with the frame and the rust first. I say that because those will be potential dangers. I've read numerous stories about guys with TJs driving down the road and their frame literally snapped in half under acceleration because the rust was that bad.

That's no joke either, if that happens when you're driving at highway speed, you could roll the vehicle and potentially kill yourself or others.

I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just trying to encourage you to tackle the worst areas first, particularly the frame.
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Sound advice from both, thanks guys. Story was motor went out in november and has sat throughout winter. My main issue was any see-through rotting holes in the frame, which I did not find, mainly a build up of surface rust. I will run a dry steering test when the motor is complete.
I don't plan on hitting the freeway up here probably until I'm 100% sure frame and front end components are solid.

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UPJOHN said:
That's what the undersides look like on most vehicles within 5 years of winter driving here in Upper Michigan.
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I've been searching for a solid TJ down here at the "thumb" and they're all out of my price range, most of them have surface rust on them (aside from the ones that have cleaned up the frame). My major issue here will probably be the body mounts and bolts, which would definitely need replacing when I plan on applying a body lift. Pretty solid floors and frame for a 17 year old Michigan TJ w/one owner that hasn't been passed around.

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Make sure to stick your finger in the frame holes to check for rust too. These things tend to rust from the inside out. After rinsing mine with compressed air and water, I used Eastwoods Internal frame coating.
 
TjAggi said:
Just picked up a 1999 TJ Sport w/4.0L Auto. Had a blown motor, bottom end was cracked from drivers side. It's currently at the shop awaiting a new straight 6 motor, but the frame has surface rust and underbody front end parts are mostly rusted. Judging from pics below what would need to be changed or treated before getting it on the road. Thanks for your time.View attachment 3928View attachment 3929View attachment 3930View attachment 3931View attachment 3932View attachment 3933
I bought one of the year , it looked great but once I got underneath, the more I looked the more I found .
Check out your torque boxes they have the first three body mount are in the torque boxes.
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I
 
Ron505 said:
Make sure to stick your finger in the frame holes to check for rust too. These things tend to rust from the inside out. After rinsing mine with compressed air and water, I used Eastwoods Internal frame coating.
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I've read posts on here about flushing the frame out. How would I go about doing that? Just shoving a hose in there?

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My '99 came from Michigan too one owner, I took a Blue Point scaler tool and went over every inch of the frame . It was like shot peening the frame ,it took off stuff that a wire wheel wouldn't even budge this tool did an outstanding job . It does about a quarter size area at a time but it also would find any weakness in the frame rails from rust. A dirty , dusty job then started at the the back of the frame and taped off all the holes , attached a shop vac to the front of a frame rail and used a long Snap -On air nozzle hooked to my air compressor and started blowing chips , flakes of rust and whatever debris had settled in the frame from 16 years . Afterwards I looked inside the frame with my. Snap - On digital imaging tool and could see anything left in the frame. All clear then layed on the Eastwood Internal frame coating , again used the imaging tool to see where I needed a bit more coating.
 
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