Considering LJ from rust belt, what do you professional think?

FJQue

FJQue

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 15, 2020
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229
Location
Kansas City
I moved to the rust belt less than a year ago. I love TJ's, I'm on my 4th or 5th one but my wife cannot drive my current one, so looking for an Auto and the extra room of an LJ would be nice, also, this color has really grown on me over the years.. Rust Pros, what do you think from pics below?

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/d/prairie-village-2004-jeep-wrangler/7498683070.html

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/d/prairie-village-2004-jeep-wrangler/7498683070.html

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/d/prairie-village-2004-jeep-wrangler/7498683070.html

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/d/prairie-village-2004-jeep-wrangler/7498683070.html
 
I've seen much worse. With some a careful refresh I think its ok. I guarantee there will be rust between the skid plate and frame, that will need to be addressed. It will likely be worse than what I found on my Texas jeep when I bought it. I would be more concerned if it had a fresh coat of paint on the frame, hiding more rust.

IMG_6202.jpeg


IMG_6203.jpeg
 
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Did it sell that fast, links don’t work anymore? If was decent and priced right I expect sold.
 
I didn't see the pics before it sold, but if you have the option of getting one outside the rust belt I would highly recommend that. Good ones can be found, but it is often a long process with looking at a bunch of jeeps. I have one from the rust belt and one from florida. My one from the rust belt is in good shape for a rust belt jeep, no structural issues, but tops of fenders, windshield frame, etc have/had some issues. The Florida one is perfect, no rust on anything. The motor is blown, but that's another topic lol!
 
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for next time, you're looking for something that is smooth on the inside of the frame. Don't worry too much about surface rust. That isn't a big deal. Look for the flaky, scaley kind of rust. That is the stuff you have to watch out for. Look in the frame near the rear wheel arches and near the rearmost crossmember. If those two areas are good, chances that the rest of the frame are good is pretty high.

Look at the seams underneath the tub too. When Chrysler welded the body together, they didn't seam seal anything on the outside and the welding process burned the galvanizing off (or whatever they used) the steel. So, salt water can get between the layers and start the corrosion process. Once its there, you really can't do anything about it...unless you pull the body apart to address the rust. Now...it will take a long time to ruin the tub, but that is where it starts.
 
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Yeah, have to have cash and be ready to move fast to get the clean and decent priced ones. Good luck in your search.
 
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The frame looked decent to my untrained eyes but there was one spot near the rear wheel arch that looked like it had been patch repaired (on top which is weird). Kind of surprised given the way the rest of the frame looked. Also, just because a jeep is currently in the rust belt area doesn't automatically kill it. Check the carfax history to see where it lived most of its life before writing it off.

Is KC considered the rust belt?
 
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rhanna said:
The frame looked decent to my untrained eyes but there was one spot near the rear wheel arch that looked like it had been patch repaired (on top which is weird). Kind of surprised given the way the rest of the frame looked. Also, just because a jeep is currently in the rust belt area doesn't automatically kill it. Check the carfax history to see where it lived most of its life before writing it off.

Is KC considered the rust belt?
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I would say it is, it snows about 6x / year & they use salt. I'm originally from the south & I've looked at more cars I would NOT buy than ones I would here. You can occasionally find one that someone with enough money did not drive much in the winter, they are here but even harder to find. I'm thinking my next JEEP will be the keeper, so I am trying to tick a lot of boxes..
 
hardtailpan said:
I didn't see the pics before it sold, but if you have the option of getting one outside the rust belt I would highly recommend that. Good ones can be found, but it is often a long process with looking at a bunch of jeeps. I have one from the rust belt and one from florida. My one from the rust belt is in good shape for a rust belt jeep, no structural issues, but tops of fenders, windshield frame, etc have/had some issues. The Florida one is perfect, no rust on anything. The motor is blown, but that's another topic lol!
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damnit this shit has to stop ! y'all stop telling them to come and take the last few unrusted TJ's to the rust belt where they turn into shit and rust away. next thing y'all will tell them all the pretty womens are here and all we will have left is the Pelosi's looking bitches and when their fugly they'll come back !!!! all the jeeps in my area are worn out pieces of shit that you cant even drive to the store without having to fix atleast 3 things !
 
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tr21triton said:
damnit this shit has to stop ! y'all stop telling them to come and take the last few unrusted TJ's to the rust belt where they turn into shit and rust away. next thing y'all will tell them all the pretty womens are here and all we will have left is the Pelosi's looking bitches and when their fugly they'll come back !!!! all the jeeps in my area are worn out pieces of shit that you cant even drive to the store without having to fix atleast 3 things !
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Yes, they are all worn out and terrible… and all have ugly bush wacker pocket flairs…. (Yes I know my jeep still has them, soon to be fixed.
 
DWR said:
Yes, they are all worn out and terrible… and all have ugly bush wacker pocket flairs…. (Yes I know my jeep still has them, soon to be fixed.
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and damn near every one of them has a snorkel and angry grille on it ! :love: and they all have a real bad case of bump steer that will take you from the far right lane to the far left one on a 4 lane highway ! 😱 they all have 300k+ miles on them. y'all know nothing about that because after 50k miles there's nothing left but the top up there !!!
 
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tr21triton said:
damnit this shit has to stop ! y'all stop telling them to come and take the last few unrusted TJ's to the rust belt where they turn into shit and rust away. next thing y'all will tell them all the pretty womens are here and all we will have left is the Pelosi's looking bitches and when their fugly they'll come back !!!! all the jeeps in my area are worn out pieces of shit that you cant even drive to the store without having to fix atleast 3 things !
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LOL!
If it's any consolation, none of my TJs will see snow or salt ever again...
oh, and I'll take a rust free worn out piece of shit all day over a rusty one!
I've dealt with that shit enough in my life and it's never fun.
 
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Yeah I get it, I just bought a Land Cruiser out of CA about a month ago. This one just popped up on my radar like 2 miles away and I thought i would ask about it but the guy said I could look at it the next day as he was busy and then messaged about 2 hours later that it was sold.
 
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