STICKY What should I look for when buying a used Wrangler TJ?

Flanders said:
I had a feeling, thank you for quick response. Was told the frame had no rust and then they send these pics. The jeep is 4.5 hours away from me, so I’m relying heavily on pics and opinions.
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I would want to take an endoscope to the inside of it, but I am extremely confident it’s going to be pretty bad inside the frame. What you see there is unfortunately more than just surface rust.
 
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I have seen much better in Texas but since we sold our farm earlier this year and moved closer to family in Utah rusted bodies and frames are typical. I cringe when I think of the salt on the roads here and am not looking forward to the upcoming winter here. I'd keep looking for something from the south or southwest if you can.
 
First time post. This is a great thread and appreciate all of the usefull information. Been searching a while now and think I may have found what I was looking for, '97 TJ SE. Very low miles and appears to be in excellent condition. Spent half it's life in AZ, the other half in IL. Pictures of undercarriage and engine below. Any immediate red flags come to mind? Checking it out this weekend

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Gonzo2132 said:
First time post. This is a great thread and appreciate all of the usefull information. Been searching a while now and think I may have found what I was looking for, '97 TJ SE. Very low miles and appears to be in excellent condition. Spent half it's life in AZ, the other half in IL. Pictures of undercarriage and engine below. Any immediate red flags come to mind? Checking it out this weekend.
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I don't think thats enough pics to tell much. Looks like he is using bedliner to paint some things. Not necessarily bad. Especially in those areas. But bedliner can be used to cover up rust and gouges.

So alot more pics are needed. Exterior, interior, closer ups of the engine bay, more undercarriage pics. Also a full description would be helpful as well.

You can also find very reasonable mobile mechanics on craigslist. $150-$200 for them to come with you. Inspect it and run codes. If you can't convince the owner to take to your mechanic.
 
Gonzo2132 said:
First time post. This is a great thread and appreciate all of the usefull information. Been searching a while now and think I may have found what I was looking for, '97 TJ SE. Very low miles and appears to be in excellent condition. Spent half it's life in AZ, the other half in IL. Pictures of undercarriage and engine below. Any immediate red flags come to mind? Checking it out this weekend

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Those pictures don't show (or tell) much.

Being that it lived in Illinois (which is a notorious rust state) I wouldn't buy that thing without taking an endoscope to the inside of the frame. I see rust hiding there under that poorly done bedliner. I really get suspicious when people put that on the frame.
 
Chris said:
Those pictures don't show (or tell) much.

Being that it lived in Illinois (which is a notorious rust state) I wouldn't buy that thing without taking an endoscope to the inside of the frame. I see rust hiding there under that poorly done bedliner. I really get suspicious when people put that on the frame.
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Ditto on the bedliner being used to hide rust. One jeep I looked at even had the exhaust coated🤦
 
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Greetings. First post here. I've had JK's, and now I have a JLUR. My daughter has been driving my Jeeps off road since she was 12 y/o. She is looking for her first Jeep, and I am assisting her from a distance. She is interested in a local 2005 LJR. One owner, 58k miles. Auto, hardtop, full doors, on 285/75R16's. With the exception of "Electrical system checked (7/7/06, 7/10/06, 11/17/06, 12/7/06)" and "Power steering fluid leak checked (2011)" Carfax is unremarkable. $21k.

Thanks to an Amazon link on this thread, she has an endoscope. She will see it in person on Tue 10/25. Below are the only photos that I have at this point. Any input would greatly appreciated. Honestly, I haven't had to worry about rust on a vehicle since I've lived in upstate New York 30 years ago. 🙂 Thank you in advance. ~Doug

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doubletap said:
Greetings. First post here. I've had JK's, and now I have a JLUR. My daughter has been driving my Jeeps off road since she was 12 y/o. She is looking for her first Jeep, and I am assisting her from a distance. She is interested in a local 2005 LJR. One owner, 58k miles. Auto, hardtop, full doors, on 285/75R16's. With the exception of "Electrical system checked (7/7/06, 7/10/06, 11/17/06, 12/7/06)" and "Power steering fluid leak checked (2011)" Carfax is unremarkable. $21k.

Thanks to an Amazon link on this thread, she has an endoscope. She will see it in person on Tue 10/25. Below are the only photos that I have at this point. Any input would greatly appreciated. Honestly, I haven't had to worry about rust on a vehicle since I've lived in upstate New York 30 years ago. 🙂 Thank you in advance. ~Doug

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The rust mostly appears to be surface rust, though there is a lot of it.

Looking inside the frame will be a lot more telling. Personally that one has more rust than I want to bother to remove, but that's just me. The good news is that what I can see is surface rust and that's not the end of the world.

Don't buy that thing without a thorough inspection inside the frame. I have suspicions about what may be lurking there.
 
Chris said:
The rust mostly appears to be surface rust, though there is a lot of it.

Looking inside the frame will be a lot more telling. Personally that one has more rust than I want to bother to remove, but that's just me. The good news is that what I can see is surface rust and that's not the end of the world.

Don't buy that thing without a thorough inspection inside the frame. I have suspicions about what may be lurking there.
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Thank you Chris. She'll be sure to bring the endoscope, a rubber mallet, and a small ball peen.
 
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doubletap said:
Greetings. First post here. I've had JK's, and now I have a JLUR. My daughter has been driving my Jeeps off road since she was 12 y/o. She is looking for her first Jeep, and I am assisting her from a distance. She is interested in a local 2005 LJR. One owner, 58k miles. Auto, hardtop, full doors, on 285/75R16's. With the exception of "Electrical system checked (7/7/06, 7/10/06, 11/17/06, 12/7/06)" and "Power steering fluid leak checked (2011)" Carfax is unremarkable. $21k.

Thanks to an Amazon link on this thread, she has an endoscope. She will see it in person on Tue 10/25. Below are the only photos that I have at this point. Any input would greatly appreciated. Honestly, I haven't had to worry about rust on a vehicle since I've lived in upstate New York 30 years ago. 🙂 Thank you in advance. ~Doug

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Looks pretty clean to me. Nothing a wire wheel and some paint can't fix as far as rust goes from what I can see. Not sure what that mount is attached to the front passanger side body mount.

Looks like a solid jeep to me.
 
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Alex01 said:
Looks pretty clean to me. Nothing a wire wheel and some paint can't fix as far as rust goes from what I can see. Not sure what that mount is attached to the front passanger side body mount.

Looks like a solid jeep to me.
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Thanks Alex01. I hope to be back in town in time to check it out with her Tuesday afternoon. As long as the rest of the frame and the floorboards check out (actually as long as everything else checks out as well), the frame looks like it will be a good project for us to do together. Now I'm down a digital rabbit hole of Eastwood IFC, Fluid Film, POR-15 and drain holes. 😂 And that bracket... that piqued my curiosity as well. Quick question, where should she/we measure to check how high it is lifted?
 
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doubletap said:
Thanks Alex01. I hope to be back in town in time to check it out with her Tuesday afternoon. As long as the rest of the frame and the floorboards check out, the frame looks like it will be a good project for us to do together. Now I'm down a digital rabbit hole of Eastwood IFC, Fluid Film, POR-15 and drain holes. 😂 And that bracket... that piqued my curiosity as well. Quick question, where should she/we measure to check how high it is lifted?
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measure the springs.

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Surface rust is no big deal.
 
doubletap said:
Thank you for the table. 🙂
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Good luck. I'd measure the body lift as well. 1.25" is pretty standard. It looks like it has an Nth-degree skid on it as well. I'm not very familiar with them but there are plenty here that are. @Wildman and @Daryl come to mind.
 
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Alex01 said:
Good luck. I'd measure the body lift as well. 1.25" is pretty standard. It looks like it has an Nth-degree skid on it as well. I'm not very familiar with them but there are plenty here that are. @Wildman and @Daryl come to mind.
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Yes it looks to have the Nth Degree tummy tuck skid with the transmission skid & the engine skid also. And if my memory is still correct those are Nth Degree disconnects also.

I think $20K is a high price but the price on these Jeeps seems to be slowly coming back down.
 
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Wildman said:
Yes it looks to have the Nth Degree tummy tuck skid with the transmission skid & the engine skid also. And if my memory is still correct those are Nth Degree disconnects also.

I think $20K is a high price but the price on these Jeeps seems to be slowly coming back down.
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Does seem crazy but in today's market with 56k miles isn't horrible. May be worth shooting for 18k though.
 
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doubletap said:
Greetings. First post here. I've had JK's, and now I have a JLUR. My daughter has been driving my Jeeps off road since she was 12 y/o. She is looking for her first Jeep, and I am assisting her from a distance. She is interested in a local 2005 LJR. One owner, 58k miles. Auto, hardtop, full doors, on 285/75R16's. With the exception of "Electrical system checked (7/7/06, 7/10/06, 11/17/06, 12/7/06)" and "Power steering fluid leak checked (2011)" Carfax is unremarkable. $21k.

Thanks to an Amazon link on this thread, she has an endoscope. She will see it in person on Tue 10/25. Below are the only photos that I have at this point. Any input would greatly appreciated. Honestly, I haven't had to worry about rust on a vehicle since I've lived in upstate New York 30 years ago. 🙂 Thank you in advance. ~Doug

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Looks clean enough to me. I'd say the rust present is from being drug over rocks vs any type of corrosion enhancing environment. Also, for a low mileage LJR, from what I'm seeing, price is decent.
 
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