After I ripped that stupid slash shield off (well, finished ripping it off) I found these nasty rusties. These pics are of along the drivers-side frame rail, with the sway bar mount and above the LCA mount:




Just how bad is this? I had planned on building this guy for some mild wheeling (almost saved up for a lift) but now I'm not so sure he'll last DD duty for a few years...

Anybody have some pics of this area from an XJ that wasn't force-fed salt slurry?

Hope you NM, TX, and AZ guys enjoy this post

 

Thanks for posting. Mine is just about as bad as yours. I do have one word of caution for you though. Check your hard brake line - the one underneath the car that goes from the booster to the rear brake, and make sure its solid. I thought mine only had some surface rust until I lost my entire brake system when the line popped a hole right where the hard line meets the soft line in the rear. I was lucky it happened n my driveway otherwise I would have not been here typing this message.

 

Hey, I'm from PA and that rust doesn't look to bad. I've seen way worse. Mine isn't as bad under mine but also lost my brakes from a rusty line. I was able to limp home from a few miles away from home then replaced the entire rear section

 

I'd check for any soft spots thou. When I was selling my last Cherokee, a 95, the guy buying it found an unknown to me soft spot where the tranny cross member mounted to the unibody, didn't both him and he still purchased it.

 

hit with hammer, if nothing happens= good. but still do something.
hit with hammer, if it goes through= bad. fix or sell.

 

I'm in a borrowed Dodge van from Wisconsin. Giong north on 101 with the Golden Gate about 1/2 hr behind me, This guy merging in a Nova or something, falls out of his car on the freeway in front of me! Then the hard line blew. I went around him and saw in thr rear view the Nova went on across the south bound lanes, and the guy was scrambling off the highway. Of course I didn't stop. (no brakes).

Always good to do a "pretend" emergency stop, parked at home!

You guys know rust better than me. Doesn't look so bad. I might wire-wheel and prime anything I was into there....

 

Most of it just looks like surface rust... Wire wheel it. I live in New Hampshire, that kind of rust is a common find on vehicles 14+ years.

 

Agreed on surface rust judging from the pictures. Ye Olde Hammer test is a good one. A light smack on the frame should return a crisp metallic ring. If you hear a mushy dull thud, check for more rot. If you make a hole...well..


While you're at it, pull back the carpet and look at the top of the floors. They don't always rust from the outside in. Sometimes it's from the inside out- the carpet padding acts as a sponge.

 

Yeah I've got some oil-type undercoating to apply until I get time to do serious work. I already know the floors are crappy, in the second pic you can see the drivers side floor where a circular patch was installed in a hole (looks like the top off of a soup can) and there are some self tapping screws poking through. At this point I'm more concerned about "frame" damage and twisted unibody if that one section isn't up to snuff... I think I need to take like a month off of work and buy a welder lol

I will definitely check the hard brake lines, this thing passed safety in October but things can change fast around here. The bastards are now spraying some super salt liquid gunk whenever snow is merely forecasted; pavement that was fresh black in November looked about 5 years old when spring hit thanks to all the salt.

Thanks guys!

 

rust you say, welcome to new york...

 

I have a "twistable" unibody, but not much rust. I have cracks around the top back corners (that leaked), and more visable at the top rear corners in the rear door doorways. (one leaked a tad). You might want to check, my 84 has them to. Is there suppose to be some flex? Yea man, if I had that anti sway bar mount off.....anyway, another salt soak next year isn't gonna make that any better!

 

You aren't driving that are you? Rocker panel rust is an annoyance, but the frame rails are another story....

 

bwaahahaha, no thats my donor the rest of it is in my sig, unless ur on the app

 

Whew. I was gonna tell you to drive reeeeeeeeeeal sloooooooooooow over any bumps.

 

Holy ****! Well you'll agree with me then when I say I wish they'd spend our tax dollars on something more productive and just make it a requirement that people learn how to ****ing drive and stop using bald summer tires in the snow. Maybe road repair instead of destroying the pavement with salt