Hello from Nova Scotia

derekmac

derekmac

TJ Addict
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Messages
2,576
Location
NS, Canada
Hey all,

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. I don't yet have a TJ, but I'm looking to sell my WJ and get one.

I've been slowly building my WJ over the last four years, and it's now at the point where I wanted it to be. Saying that, I think it's time for a new project.

I'm going to possibly look at a fairly low mileage 2005 stock Rubicon on the weekend. The problem here is finding something with minimal rust.
 
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I was about to say, I'll bet that rust up there must be a huge issue! Be sure to inspect the vehicle carefully to make sure it isn't covered in rust.

Welcome to the forum by the way!
 
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Yep, rust really sucks here!! Lol. The rockers on my 02 WJ completely rusted out, but that allowed me to get 2x6 sliders welded in, so not all bad, lol.

The Rubi I'm going to look at has 160,000 km (100,000 miles) on it, but looks to have been well taken care of. The folks that have it now have owned it for the past 6 years, and are the second owners.

If that doesn't work out, I'm going to look at an 05 Rocky Mountain one that I know is rust free, and also only has 112,000 km (67,200 miles) on it. The turn off for me on that one is it has a 4" lift on it.

I wanted to start stock, and go from there. My "plan" was to get a 2" lift, and 32's. The RM has brand new 32's on it, so I could just buy a 2" lift, and swap it out.

I really do want a Rubi though. They are both 6 speeds, but I prefer an auto for wheeling. So preferring an auto, I'm thinking I'd like the lower gearing more when I'm in the rocks. I also like the thoughts of a 44 front, and lockers.

I hope to go look at the Rubi this weekend, but not sure if I'll be able to make it. I'll post here any updates I have though.
 
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Welcome to the site! I'd push for the Rubi too, and I too started from stock and have built what "I" wanted rather than deal with what someone else wanted.
 
If you do find one that is rust free, make sure you undercoat the hell out of it with something such as Fluid Film. That stuff will keep rust away really well!
 
Yeah, just about all the guys that have bought new Jeeps have coated them with Fluid Film right away.

Here's a video of the RM one that I might go and look at:

 
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It looks like most of the rust on there isn't that bad. You'll have to get under it and check it out in person though.
 
Hey, welcome from down south (North Carolina). Good luck on getting that Rubi. I just got my TJ Sport recently and my list of things I want to get done keeps growing, especially after reading what others have done to theirs. Let us know how it goes.
 
OK, so I finally got a reply back from the lady that owns the Rubi.

Yes jeep is available. Asking $8500 obo.
Rust is forming under each front fender, one hole had formed, that I had patch repaired to pass inspection in May. The windshield frame has rust forming, there's a hole on each side of it, but can be seen from the inside only.
I've had the oil pan, steering block, water pump replaced in 2015, along with all new breaks, pads, shoes, and sway bar links. I've kept all my receipts of the work done on the jeep from the time I've owned her.

I can get new fenders for pretty cheap, but a window frame is a different story. Getting a good used one is also becoming difficult according to the guys in the local Jeep club.

The RM is what we'd consider here as rust free. I've seen 1 year old vehicles here with more surface rust than that. Gotta love salt, eh!

I can get both for the same price, just not sure if I want to get the better condition RM, or get the Rubi and fix it up. Really it's just the lockers that are the big plus on the Rubi. The RM has Trac-Lok, but I don't know much about it. I swapped a front Vari-Lok axle into my WJ, and it works very well, but not sure if they are similar or not.
 
What it's ultimately going to come down to is whether you want a project or not. Granted that price is reasonable given it's condition (I'd offer them less), I will say that you need to know what you're getting into. Rust is like cancer and it could be in many, many places that you won't know about until you start taking things apart.

So, bare in mind that if you buy this rig you are buying a project that could very well end up costing thousands (if not more) to fix properly.

If you're okay with that, then offer her less and buy it. If you don't want a project then hold off and wait until something better comes along that may cost a little more, but doesn't have any rust issues.
 
I'm waiting to hear back from the Rubi lady to see if I can go look at it tomorrow. The fenders don't really bother me as I would just replace them with flat fenders probably. The local Jeep guys say that's a good deal, even with the mentioned issues. So if I can possibly get it for even less, and there are no mechanical issues, or frame rust, then I might get it. Won't be able to get it on the weekend though, as we're waiting to hear back from the bank for us to go in and sign the papers (renewing our mortgage and incorporating this into it).
 
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If you do get it, clean up all the rust you can and go crazy with the Fluid Film. I think that would make it last a long time.
 
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Just got back from taking the Rubi for a drive, and looking it over.

The good:
It drives great, engine sounds good, has been undercoated yearly, clutch is very strong, frame is in great shape, body is good for the most part. Most work has been done at APJ's, and all fluids have been recently changed.

The bad:
The rust on the fenders isn't horrible, and I would like to replace with flat fenders anyways. The windshield frame seems bad to me though. The water pump was done not long ago, but I could smell coolant when driving, and the temp was running a bit high. I know nothing about the 4.0's, so not sure what would cause this.

Here's the temp it's running at:
8A0B508F-ED00-42C1-A98D-40E1FB13FF0E.jpg

Here's both sides of the windshield frame:
4E906E50-6FD6-4240-81C1-C75457017A6B.jpg

42982E0A-EA9F-404E-8F62-34760A3062CC.jpg

Some underneath pics:
9702C23D-87E6-4C71-8F82-8EA3F40C130C.jpg

C66AB236-AC2F-4F73-A97A-BD18167D9078.jpg

0C711FFF-0E8F-4620-804F-5AEA12411E6B.jpg

EDCA1873-DD37-4863-88F0-A0542BF56937.jpg

71558289-7AF0-4AEF-B1DF-09A0292A8440.jpg


What do you think could be the cause of the running hot, and could it be something major enough to not consider buying it?
 
The major thing for me is that rust. You don't know how far down that rust goes. I'd bet money on it that once you start taking it apart, that rust goes much deeper than you can see.

As for running hot that could be a variety of things from bad thermostat to bad water pump (even though they say it was replaced). If you smell coolant while driving you need to look around underneath the rig because that means coolant is leaking somewhere.

Hell, it could even be a bad head gasket or heater core.
 
I wish I had of thought of checking the dipstick to see if the oil was clean, or if it was foamy. After it warmed up (-11C here), I drove it fairly hard, and the temp didn't go above what I took the pic of.

They also said that when they had it in for the last oil change (just done) that the coolant had been overfilled. So I guess it could have just been going out the overflow tube?

That rust does concern me as well. It seems that 90% of the TJ's around here are rusted like that though. I could spray some rust preventative around it to help slow it down until I either replace the frame, or fix it.
 
Yes I would be curious just to make sure it wasn't the head gasket. I don't know, the price is pretty good no matter how you look at it (I would still offer them less), it's just a matter of whether you want a project or not.

Like I said though, good price!
 
You can always buy one from one of the good states and not have to worry about rust.

Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico... to name a few.

I'd rather pay $800 to ship it than have a rusted out Jeep.
 
badlieutenant said:
You can always buy one from one of the good states and not have to worry about rust.

Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico... to name a few.

I'd rather pay $800 to ship it than have a rusted out Jeep.
Click to expand...

He's in Canada. Not going to be easy at all to import a vehicle from the US to Canada.
 
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