TJ purchase advice—too much rust?
- Thread starter JolleyRoger09
- Start date
For the south, it's ready for a junk yard.
Up north that would be advertised as "rust free".
Not too bad, what I can see of the frame looks decent. You want to check out the middle of the frame where the skid plate bolts up, and the right rear, near the exhaust.
Up north that would be advertised as "rust free".
Not too bad, what I can see of the frame looks decent. You want to check out the middle of the frame where the skid plate bolts up, and the right rear, near the exhaust.
Well maybe not ready for the junk yard. But we would be wire brushing that surface rust away hitting it with some fresh paint or it would probably keep us up at night.
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What you are most interested in is the frame. You want to reach your little pinky finger into the holes along the frame under the doors. REach in and feel the bottom of the frame. Is it slick (good)? Is it rough (rust)? The rest of that stuff underneath doesn't matter much. Frame, frame, frame.
There could be crap built up in that section of the frame because it gets flung up in there in teh round holes just above and behind the front tire and above (seen in your first pic) and in front of the rear tire. Periodically you should spray water in those holes and havec a drain hole in the bottom of the frame near the rear control arm mount to get the crap out. Otherwise, moisture gets held in the dirt and that's what causes it to start rusting in the frame between the control arm mounts.
That's really helpful! Thanks all. Here's some better pictures of the frame. (Had to describe where the transfer skid plate was to the seller haha)
One thing's for sure, it looks A LOT better than my frame. I ended up with Safe T Caps.
It doesn't look terrible from the outside but you need to stick your pinkie or other digit inside the frame and also shine a bright light in the holes and check for scale etc
It's only slightly more rust than mine in a couple spots and I think mine is in pretty decent shape (North East rust belt Jeep...). Of course, mine is undergoing a frame re-paint to clean up the surface rust to avoid future problems. This one you're looking at will enjoy some similar time with you to avoid future problems.
I would check out that oil pan closely. Mine was similarly rusted (unless that's oil build up/crud) and couldn't be reused when I replaced the engine.
As mentioned, check the control arm mounts closely and some of the metal-on-metal bolted joints where rust likes to grow into a bigger problem - compared to surface rust.
(North East rust belt Jeep...). Of course, mine is undergoing a frame re-paint to clean up the surface rust to avoid future problems. This one you're looking at will enjoy some similar time with you to avoid future problems.I would check out that oil pan closely. Mine was similarly rusted (unless that's oil build up/crud) and couldn't be reused when I replaced the engine.
As mentioned, check the control arm mounts closely and some of the metal-on-metal bolted joints where rust likes to grow into a bigger problem - compared to surface rust.
Doesn't seem hateful, but more rust than usual for the Salt Lake Valley. Maybe they took it out to the flats for Speed Week.
Like others have said, check the inside of the frame. I picked mine up here near Hill AFB, previously brought here from AZ. There was more rust than I thought on the inside of the frame, but mostly surface.
Like others have said, check the inside of the frame. I picked mine up here near Hill AFB, previously brought here from AZ. There was more rust than I thought on the inside of the frame, but mostly surface.
Nice! There’s a trail clean up event at 5 mile pass on Saturday July 31st. You should get a feel for it!
https://www.boaroffroad.com/events/5-mile-pass-cleanup-and-trail-ride-2021
https://www.boaroffroad.com/events/5-mile-pass-cleanup-and-trail-ride-2021
I'll actually be in the Uintahs next week, but I'll keep on the lookout for more of these!