Do I put more money into my ‘97 TJ or try to sell it?

[Ronsrods]

Good morning.
Earlier this week I posted about the 97 wrangler that I “ inherited “. You guys were great, and as a result of a few posts I need to first clear something up , keep in mind that it has been over 30 years since I drove my last JEEP, I do not believe that it is wobbly, I believe that it does not ride like my 18 Silverado, or my wife’s Julia. It rides like a 22 year old short wheel based Jeep with a 4” lift and over size tires . With that being said there is some rust on the frame, seems to be worse around shock towers, and the gas tank skid plate has rusted through ( I have already ordered a new one, along with a sending unit to fix the gas gauge) . I have included some pictures for you to look and give me your opinion on. Is this as bad as should be expected, worse, or somewhere in between. Do I put any more $$$$ into it or do I try to sell it?

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[tworley]

Can you get a picture of the front end steering components? The tcase drop though in your last picture leads me to believe a dropped pitman arm was also installed. That will cause the bumpsteer. Wobbly is probably a tire out of balance. Speaking of tires, what size? They are more than likely grossly over inflated. There is no reason this jeep cannot handle and drive like your other vehicles, you just need to get things dialed in.

I see fixed lower control arms, stock upper control arms (at least in the rear). If I am not mistaken its a Rubicon Express lift. If you measure the springs, 8" in the rear is stock, 12" up front is stock. Anything over those amounts will be the amount of spring lift.

Also, the frame is going to need some attention. It looks repairable with a flap disc and some new paint. Ive definitely seen worse.

Also, you have a dana35 rear axle, and a dana 30 front axle.

 

[Cornbread]

The gas tank skid being rusted out isn't a huge deal. If you smack the frame all over with a hammer is everything solid? If so and you're willing and have time to sand that rust down and do a proper paint job you could definitely have a nice Jeep, I've seen much worse rust although there's issues needing addressed. If I inherited a Jeep like that I would definitely take my time and fix it up, one thing for sure, you won't lose any money you put into it

 

[bromel]

Frame definitely needs attention... but it looks serviceable. I would power wash out all the crap inside of it, then drill 1/2" drain holes on both sides near the control arm mounts. Wire wheel as much rust as possible, then degrease, prep, and apply POR-15. Looks like surface rust on the shock towers but they should also be sanded and then coated with POR-15.

My concern is the area under the skid plate. Can't really tell how much rot is there. You might consider dropping the skid plate and cleaning that rust up. Problem is that the nutserts in the frame might be loose. You can buy new ones and replace.

So, to answer your question, yes, that Jeep is worth saving, but it would help if you did the work yourself/with friends.

 

[Chris]

My opinion is that that thing is going to cost a lot of money to fix correctly (just ask @jodomcfrodo how much he spent on having a new, rust free frame installed), but it's also going to be worth next to nothing if you sell it, unless you get someone who simply didn't do their research and has no idea what to look for with all that rust.

You could replace the sections of the frames that are rusted out with something like Safe-T-Caps, but that's going to add up fast. My guess is that inside of the frame is completely rotted, and for those Safe-T-Caps to work, you've got to have a clean, rust free section of frame to weld it to.

So with a situation like this, it seems that the best option is getting a new, rust free frame. However, you'd spend about $1500 or so for the frame. The labor of doing the swap would probably run you 4-5k, unless you did it yourself. It's a huge project though by all means.

 

[02SteelBlue]

Agree with the above. If you have the time/ money to invest now, you will get it back in both driving fun and money - if you decide to sell it later.

A personal perk, if you're into it, is the pride of saving/ restoring it.

 

[Alex01]

Like most said above I would start by power washing the hell out of it then sanding / taking a wire wheel to the frame and see where you end up. It looks like it could be salvageable.

 

[danof76]

I feel so bad for you guys up in rust country and I'm all the more thankful this isn't something I have had to contend with. In my unprofessional opinion on rusty frames that thing looks pretty gnarly. I don't think I'd even want to do a frame swap on that, even if I had a dedicated shop and all the time in the world.

 

[Cornbread]

I feel so bad for you guys up in rust country and I'm all the more thankful this isn't something I have had to contend with. In my unprofessional opinion on rusty frames that thing looks pretty gnarly. I don't think I'd even want to do a frame swap on that, even if I had a dedicated shop and all the time in the world.

Honestly, I've seen much worse been repaired by not even safeT caps, just 1/4" stock steel and turn out well, that is with someone good at fabricating. Although that frame has issues I think it's salvageable, hard to tell through pictures though.

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Since you inherited it, just sell it for parts. Put it up on a TJ page on facebook for a few thousand and I'm sure it will go quickly. Frame swaps may seem fairly straight forward but they can quickly spiral out of control. Safety capping a Jeep right before you sell it doesn't make much sense monetarily to me.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

Living in Ohio my whole life I know too much about rust and at least a little about the TJ.

I think that frame is worth fixing regardless of how bad it is. In those pictures I didn't see any holes in your frame. I'm not saying it might not need some repairs, probably where the transfer case skid plate attaches if any.

I have no idea what happened to that gas tank skid plate but if I saw that kind of stuff anywhere on your frame I'd be saying sell.

 

[bromel]

My opinion is that that thing is going to cost a lot of money to fix correctly (just ask @jodomcfrodo how much he spent on having a new, rust free frame installed), but it's also going to be worth next to nothing if you sell it, unless you get someone who simply didn't do their research and has no idea what to look for with all that rust.

You could replace the sections of the frames that are rusted out with something like Safe-T-Caps, but that's going to add up fast. My guess is that inside of the frame is completely rotted, and for those Safe-T-Caps to work, you've got to have a clean, rust free section of frame to weld it to.

So with a situation like this, it seems that the best option is getting a new, rust free frame. However, you'd spend about $1500 or so for the frame. The labor of doing the swap would probably run you 4-5k, unless you did it yourself. It's a huge project though by all means.

I think you're right that his frame is likely hiding pretty bad rot and probably needs repair in the future. But in my experience as a grizzled rust belt veteran, very few frames are so bad that they can't even be safe t capped. They rust out hard in the bottom half, but the top almost always stays OK. You can cut away all the rust and then weld to the good metal on top. I tend to think a frame swap isn't worth it unless you have a Rubicon or do your own work.

I still think a good wire wheel and POR-15 will keep him going for at least several more years, but the underside of that skid plate definitely worries me.

 

[Zukey14]

Not to repeat what mostly everyone said I don't see anything that really scares me other than the frame under the skid plate. I would see how much attention that needs but overall its better than most of the jeeps I have looked at in my area (SE MI). You will battle rust the rest of its life but its worth it and not that hard. Also this is coming from someone that has a TJ in SE Michigan that is in a lot worse shape than yours. Mine isn't a daily and is a project/off road toy so when something breaks I just fix it. I still face the question every time I go to do a mod of if its worth it considering how long the fame might last but like I said yours is quite a bit better than mine. I think if treated with a rust reformer and painted inside and out you could keep that frame for years to come. Also that Jeep here in the rust belt will sell for a decent price considering its better than most in the area. It all comes down to if you want to have a perfect rig that you could take to a car show or an off road toy or DD. Depending on what you would want to use it for it could be a good low cost build considering the Jeep was free! Also me personally I don't want to take a mint vehicle and beat the crap out of it off road, its more fun to me to not have to worry about being out $7-8k if I roll it over or blow the motor. Personally I would be fine starting from that point, but I can do all my own work. If you want to trade, let me know lol.

 

[Jeep9748]

I had two 97's. Sold the one with 235K on it to friend. he drives it daily. Mine needed saf-t-caps. best 3200 I ever spent. I see it this way. If you can easily poke through the frame, then fix it. the 97 I sold had/has the same rust you show, I simply attached a course wheel in my drill and sanded everything I could and then painted/treated areas. that was about three years ago. here is why I went with saftcaps on the sahara(mine) 3200 and done vs. new car payment of 400(low balling). that's 8 months of car payments on another vehicle that could potentially have issues. So bottom line is, if everything else is good, paint/treat the rust and keep rolling. just my 2 cents

 

[Ronsrods]

Can you get a picture of the front end steering components? The tcase drop though in your last picture leads me to believe a dropped pitman arm was also installed. That will cause the bumpsteer. Wobbly is probably a tire out of balance. Speaking of tires, what size? They are more than likely grossly over inflated. There is no reason this jeep cannot handle and drive like your other vehicles, you just need to get things dialed in.

I see fixed lower control arms, stock upper control arms (at least in the rear). If I am not mistaken its a Rubicon Express lift. If you measure the springs, 8" in the rear is stock, 12" up front is stock. Anything over those amounts will be the amount of spring lift.

Also, the frame is going to need some attention. It looks repairable with a flap disc and some new paint. Ive definitely seen worse.

Also, you have a dana35 rear axle, and a dana 30 front axle.

That sounds like great news.I have “poked “ around the frame this afternoon and have found no holes. Except in the gas tank shield. What about the drive shafts? They are rusty, clean that and be done, or replace? There is surface rust on the entirety of the undercarriage and I think that it could be cleaned.The body has zero rust, and after owning three CJ’s surprises me.
FWIW, I am not afraid of doing some work, I have refreshed a few vehicles previously and when this “ happened “ my first thought was build it as a tribute to my brother.

 

[Ronsrods]

Not to repeat what mostly everyone said I don't see anything that really scares me other than the frame under the skid plate. I would see how much attention that needs but overall its better than most of the jeeps I have looked at in my area (SE MI). You will battle rust the rest of its life but its worth it and not that hard. Also this is coming from someone that has a TJ in SE Michigan that is in a lot worse shape than yours. Mine isn't a daily and is a project/off road toy so when something breaks I just fix it. I still face the question every time I go to do a mod of if its worth it considering how long the fame might last but like I said yours is quite a bit better than mine. I think if treated with a rust reformer and painted inside and out you could keep that frame for years to come. Also that Jeep here in the rust belt will sell for a decent price considering its better than most in the area. It all comes down to if you want to have a perfect rig that you could take to a car show or an off road toy or DD. Depending on what you would want to use it for it could be a good low cost build considering the Jeep was free! Also me personally I don't want to take a mint vehicle and beat the crap out of it off road, its more fun to me to not have to worry about being out $7-8k if I roll it over or blow the motor. Personally I would be fine starting from that point, but I can do all my own work. If you want to trade, let me know lol.

I will drop the skid plat e this weekend and see what I find

 

[tworley]

That sounds like great news.I have “poked “ around the frame this afternoon and have found no holes. Except in the gas tank shield. What about the drive shafts? They are rusty, clean that and be done, or replace? There is surface rust on the entirety of the undercarriage and I think that it could be cleaned.The body has zero rust, and after owning three CJ’s surprises me.
FWIW, I am not afraid of doing some work, I have refreshed a few vehicles previously and when this “ happened “ my first thought was build it as a tribute to my brother.

I think it would be a great tribute. You could sand the driveshafts and throw a fresh coat of paint on them, replace all the ujoints in them too for piece of mind

 

[Ronsrods]

That sounds like great news.I have “poked “ around the frame this afternoon and have found no holes. Except in the gas tank shield. What about the drive shafts? They are rusty, clean that and be done, or replace? There is surface rust on the entirety of the undercarriage and I think that it could be cleaned.The body has zero rust, and after owning three CJ’s surprises me.
FWIW, I am not afraid of doing some work, I have refreshed a few vehicles previously and when this “ happened “ my first thought was build it as a tribute to my brother.

Here are some additional pictures of the front end between the wheels. Have done some more poking around and have not found any holes that weren’t supposed to be there. Assuming that it stops raining tomorrow I will get out the pressure washer and blast away as much of the lose stuff that I can.
Thank you for your opinion

 

[cliffish]

I see lots of surface rust, something those southern and PNW snobs are not used too . I would power wash and flush the frame, buy a cheap endoscope on amazon and get a good look inside the frame. Since you have relatively little money in it, i would buy some wire wheels and a air de-scaler (if you have a compressor) and get rid of the surface rust.

I would then paint all parts with Eastwoods rust encapsulate or por-15, replace u-joints and enjoy it.

 

[Ronsrods]

I see lots of surface rust, something those southern and PNW snobs are not used too . I would power wash and flush the frame, buy a cheap endoscope on amazon and get a good look inside the frame. Since you have relatively little money in it, i would buy some wire wheels and a air de-scaler (if you have a compressor) and get rid of the surface rust.

I would then paint all parts with Eastwoods rust encapsulate or por-15, replace u-joints and enjoy it.

Thank you for your input. I am looking forward to the process.