Introduction and pre-purchase advice

[BT74]

Have a good gander at the frame when you can. If any rust looks alarming post up some pics.

I will definitely give the frame and the rest of the body a good once-over. But we are buying from someone we know and I’m pretty confident they would have let us know about a rust issue. Then again, they might not know themselves. But given that this is basically a summer vehicle in a dry environment, I’m optimistic.

 

[BT74]

I am resurrecting this post because I want all of you to know that I ignored all of your advice. By the time I got up to see the vehicle I was so excited I couldn't wait to hand over cash and go!

And now I am paying for it. I should have posted pictures of rust for everyone's opinion. In my defense, I did have to drive 3.5 hours to an area which didn't have cell service, so posting pics wouldn't have been easy. Honestly, I don't think it is too bad. But the skid plate bolts will have to be cut off and the nutserts replaced, which is going to be a pain in the ass. There is some surface rust on the frame, but nothing is missing or soft. The floor pan in the front seats has some surface rust, but again, nothing you can stick a screwdriver through.

That being said, both my son and I have loved this Jeep. If it could run AC I would keep it forever.

The moral of the story is: if you are going to get into Jeeps, LISTEN TO ADVICE!!!!! Off to get an angle grinder.....

 

[TheBoogieman]

I've been waiting 4 years for pics!

 

[BT74]

Well today is the day!!! Here are the pics.

Since we bought it we have done the standard upgrades-headlights, stereo, wheels, shocks, etc.

Fast forward few years and I have bought it back from my son. I don't know how many of you have dealt with this situation, but "Yeah, dad, it runs great!" means everything is perfect except for that pesky little throwout bearing that is seized preventing me from even starting it, and driving is out of the question.

So while I am fixing the clutch and throwout bearing, I have decided to clean up the interior, including new carpet, and all the plastics. I pulled the original carpet out and while there was some surface rust, it came up easily with a wire brush. I would like some opinions on this amount of rust. I will also post pics of what it looked like post-wire brush.

Also, when I was removing the center stack (More on replacing the heater core some other time) I ran across two connections. One (the black one) looks like it fits an OEM light rocker switch. The other I am not sure. Any ideas? It has a hard top, but doesn't have the harness for defrost or wiper. There are some unconnected wires on the front bumper, which I assume used to be connected to some kind of lights and a rocker switch. But I am not sure. I might as well install the rocker switches while everything is out, even if the business end isn't hooked up to anything at the moment.

I will try to be better about posting as I go through this. Look for a thread titled "Another Idiot Thinks He Can Work On His Jeep By Watching Youtube". That is if I recover from twisting myself into a pretzel to get the master cylinder nuts removed.

This post was intended to be a mea culpa for not following the advice given to me, and also to post pics that are 4 years overdue. Please look for my other posts as I need all the advice I can get and have learned my lesson about ignoring it!

 

[macleanflood]

Looks pretty bad...do you have an endoscope? Especially one with a light? Outside that frame is bad...but inside tells us if it's worth patching.

And if you're in Vegas I'll bet you can find a clean tub and frame for not too much...I paid $1300 for one up here in Oregon.

And then you really have to decide if all of that is worth it when there are plenty of clean 4.0s out there.

-Mac

 

[BT74]

My plan is to get it fixed and cleaned up and sell it and buy a 4.0.