New Jeep owner from Philly

Jasondo

New Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
5
Location
PENNSYLVANIA
Hi gang! First time jeep owner here. Bought a 98 TJ with 105k miles and I have to say Its a great little ride. My boys are pumped about it. There are holes in the soft top so It will be topless for the summer.

Any way I got into it a little bit and have a ton of questions. Paid way under market value so assumed I'd find some surprises. First I swapped the rusty shocks and leaky steering stabilizer. I also ordered the 36mm socket to take the hub off to inspect the axle shafts. It also has an exhaust leak somewhere and I think it may be where the manifold meets the downtube. It was all wrapped in heat tape, no idea why. The downtube also has patches and just looks terrible. It will be the next thing to get swapped. Anyway thanks for having me I really value a great online community to help he out when I have questions.

Here are a few pictures,



IMG_20200429_155515347_HDR.jpg



IMG_20200501_151553395_HDR.jpg



IMG_20200429_161835371.jpg



So that was the good , now for the BAD. Way over due shock replaecment. Pushed them in and zero rebound. Pretty sure they are original.

IMG_20200506_211813055.jpg




The Next few pics are of the downtube and where it meets the manifold. Here is where I have questions,

How does this interface work?

How do I get in there to cut rusty hardware off to remove the downtube?

any chance its leaking from where the manifold meets the head? That looks tough to replace.

Any info here would be great. The exhaust leek is driving me crazy. Who makes a decent downtube? It comes with a new catalytic convertor correct?


This joint had that silver heat wrap all around it before this picture was taken.

IMG_20200506_211602087.jpg


IMG_20200506_211548189.jpg



IMG_20200506_211648373.jpg


Thanks again!

Jason

IMG_20200506_211648373.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hi gang! First time jeep owner here. Bought a 98 TJ with 105k miles and I have to say Its a great little ride. My boys are pumped about it. There are holes in the soft top so It will be topless for the summer.

Any way I got into it a little bit and have a ton of questions. Paid way under market value so assumed I'd find some surprises. First I swapped the rusty shocks and leaky steering stabilizer. I also ordered the 36mm socket to take the hub off to inspect the axle shafts. It also has an exhaust leak somewhere and I think it may be where the manifold meets the downtube. It was all wrapped in heat tape, no idea why. The downtube also has patches and just looks terrible. It will be the next thing to get swapped. Anyway thanks for having me I really value a great online community to help he out when I have questions.

Here are a few pictures,



View attachment 159299


View attachment 159300


View attachment 159301


So that was the good , now for the BAD. Way over due shock replaecment. Pushed them in and zero rebound. Pretty sure they are original.

View attachment 159302



The Next few pics are of the downtube and where it meets the manifold. Here is where I have questions,

How does this interface work?

How do I get in there to cut rusty hardware off to remove the downtube?

any chance its leaking from where the manifold meets the head? That looks tough to replace.

Any info here would be great. The exhaust leek is driving me crazy. Who makes a decent downtube? It comes with a new catalytic convertor correct?


This joint had that silver heat wrap all around it before this picture was taken.

View attachment 159305

View attachment 159306


View attachment 159314

Thanks again!

Jason

View attachment 159308
Welcome! What part of philly are you from? I’m from NE but moved out to MontCo 5 years ago. Nice looking Jeep! Looking at that last picture, make sure your frame isn’t rusted on the inside. Looks questionable like it was painted over. I can see rust thru the one hole. This is a great place for information! Good luck!
 
My god... talk about a rigged exhaust system! That entire exhaust system needs to be cut off and replaced, seriously.

The rest of the Jeep looks good, but that exhaust is terrible.

Have an exhaust shop do all the work and replace everything from the manifold down. They likely won't charge you that much (maybe several hundred at most) and it will be way easier than attempting it yourself, unless you have a lift.
 
wow, that's a seriously ugly exhaust. Looks like how my old man used to rig the clothes dryer.

But seriously, welcome and it's nice to see someone else from the area (South Jersey here but parents originally from South Philly)!) and welcome to the forum. Tons of good info to help you along. Enjoy the ride.
 
Welcome! What part of philly are you from? I’m from NE but moved out to MontCo 5 years ago. Nice looking Jeep! Looking at that last picture, make sure your frame isn’t rusted on the inside. Looks questionable like it was painted over. I can see rust thru the one hole. This is a great place for information! Good luck!
Mt airy. There is a bit of rust inside the frame and yes it was sprayed with some under carriage coating but its not a show stopper. At least I dont think so haha.
 
My god... talk about a rigged exhaust system! That entire exhaust system needs to be cut off and replaced, seriously.

The rest of the Jeep looks good, but that exhaust is terrible.

Have an exhaust shop do all the work and replace everything from the manifold down. They likely won't charge you that much (maybe several hundred at most) and it will be way easier than attempting it yourself, unless you have a lift.
Its terrible I know. I think I am going to just wait until the winter and take the intake off and just swap the manifold and downtube all in one go. Parts do not seem to be expensive for these jeeps.
 
Mt airy. There is a bit of rust inside the frame and yes it was sprayed with some under carriage coating but its not a show stopper. At least I dont think so haha.

Welcome, born in Philly & lifetime suburber, Del Co for the first 30+ & Ches Co ever since; you’re in a great spot in Mt. Airy. I love the city, limitless cool shit to do in & around town, really missing it these days though but I’m hoping maybe beyond hope that the 4th of July gig happens, absolutely the best party of the year from the Art Museum to Penn’s Landing & every inch in between. I’m not holding my breath that Kenney will allow it though.

TJ looks great, body looks fantastic. I would take a very close look at that frame even before the exhaust & other things, as it could be a safety issue. Get an endoscope synced to your phone & look inside from front to back, pull all the flakes out, drill some holes forward of the control arm mounts for drainage, wire wheel everything you can & repaint. There’s tons of threads on here about how to tackle TJ frame rust, & given the age of your TJ, where it’s likely from, & what we see in the photos this has to be job 1.

And when you're ready to get it dirty let us know, you may or may not know that you're 75+/- miles from some fantastic trails.
 
Welcome! What part of philly are you from? I’m from NE but moved out to MontCo 5 years ago. Nice looking Jeep! Looking at that last picture, make sure your frame isn’t rusted on the inside. Looks questionable like it was painted over. I can see rust thru the one hole. This is a great place for information! Good luck!
Exactly what I was thinking, took the words right outa my mouth. ⏰ 💣
Before I spent another dollar on it, I would dig deeper into that frame, sorry to say but there appears to be more cancer there then meets the eye. I'm in Philly all the time. I have a rental unit in Pier 3 / VFMA grad / Wayne Pa.
 
uh oh, now you have me nervous. What is the concern. Wont pass inspection? PO just had it inspected. Yes there is a higher than normal level of rust but I am still able to remove bolts. At least with the help of a lot of PB blaster and impact wrench. And yes there is a lot of flaking and some sort of under carriage coating. It appears that the PO was good at changing oil and patching exhaust pipes but not at actually changing anything. Its all completely stock and original. What exactly fails? where do I check first? It lives in a garage now and will never see a trail or the salty winter roads. I have a Subaru for that. This jeep was bought to entertain my kids on a nice day with the top down. If its a ticking time bomb what is going to blow up exactly?

Thanks!

Jason
 
So doing a quick check on google It looks like its the area just behind and the control arm mounts that are really prone to rot because of no drainage holes. Ill check this area out and drill some drainage holes there but I dont even plan to drive this in the rain anyway. I am not keeping a top on it.
 
Wasnt trying to make you nervous I
Just wanted you to be cautious : it appears the PO may have covered more rust with black paint then you can see. Passing inspection is a good sign !!! I would do the hammer test & bang around a bit making sure the frame is solid - before putting kids in it.