I upgraded from my 91 rust bucket xj to a 99 xj that has less rust. It however has rust on the drivers side floor board, by what Im assuming is the drain plug, http://www.jeep4x4center.com/key-par...y-482221l.html This link shows the panel im thinking of buying to fix the rust, there is also rust on both of the rear quarter panels where the plastic covers were. There is other surface rust all over but a sanding and paint job can take care of this. I have about 2 months to get this all fixed as I have joined the Army Reserves and ship out on June 10th.

Other info about the Cherokee:
Made in October 1998
4.0 AW4 NP231
Had a 10 cd changer, cd box broke but the controls are still on the dash, I will remove this. The carpet is also fairly cut up under the rear seat so Id like to either get new carpet or bedline the whole floor.
Has a 3.5 in rough country lift with add a leafs in the back, When I get back in December I plan on getting full leaf packs for the back.
Has a sway bar drop in the front, and a half inch transfer case drop.
It was in a front end collision so part of the frame is a little bent, only where the bumper brackets are.

When I get back I should have more than enough money to fix everything properly, or even buy a newer Jeep. If anyone has any advice on how to go about this Im willing to listen.

 

Here's the pictures. I duct taped over the rust on the floor pan to stop more water from coming in.

 

After some thinking tonight. I will likely bedline the floor. Not sure about carpet. I will probably just leave it in the basement and see how it goes with no carpet.

 

The plastic covers for inside the front fenders are out, I realized that the washer fluid reservoir is in the fender so I plan on moving it inside the engine compartment. I will do this Thursday and Friday, as I have bad luck with repairs going quickly. And I need to go to a Junkyard

 

So instead of the washer fluid reservoir I am going to try to fix my floor. I got all the seats out except for the drivers seat, the drivers seat has the back left bolt that is exposed to the elements so it was rusted, and of course I striped the head of the bolt, So I have to drill out the bolt, got to wait til wednesday or thursday since I dont have any power tools at my house.

At least the interior of my Jeep is mostly taken apart, im also getting to the rust on the passengers side before it gets bad, the passengers side was wet below the carpet. Minimal surface rust there.

 

http://www.monstaliner.com/

 

I was going to go for hurculiner. It's like half the price. I'm thinking of possibly putting the carpet back in. But without the pad that is under it.

I understand monstaliner is supposed to be better. But it's just for the interior. Should I really go for it?

 

I just bought the stuff, but did do a fair amount of research beforehand. I personally think it all comes down the prep work. If I were you I would pull the carpet out, sand down the rust as beast as possible, apply chassis saver over it, and either monsta line or hirculine it. The sanding and chassis saver the most important of all. Just an opinion of course.

 

I've never heard of chassis saver. Would that be por15? Or is it something else?

 

Today I was going to my parents house an hour away when a quarter mile from my house my jeep just started to randomly stall with a check engine light. Luckily I had all my tools and was next to an autozone. They checked the computer and it was the throttle positioning sensor. Changed it right in the parking lot and went on my way.

Got to my parents house and fixed the trailer lighting(didn't even know it was bad) and got my bumper mounted back properly since it was in an accident a while back. (Before I bought it) the floor pan is also ordered.

Tomorrow I will be fixing my front speaker wiring. Mount my fire extinguisher and rotate tires. Possible junkyard run for front fog lights so I can easily wire lights in. Then camping and sleeping in the jeep.

 

So as luck goes I didnt make it camping, as I was driving from my parents I encountered the Death Wobble. I believe it was the Pitman arm to Drag link Ball Joint so I changed that. Right now its at the shop waiting for an alignment. After I changed the ball joint I no longer encountered the Death Wobble but the steering is a little loose when turning to the right, but only for about 2 inches, then it gets back to being normal.

On a positive note, the drivers side floor pan has arrived from c2c and I have a friend who will weld it in for about $150.

 

Ball joints put in, newly aligned. 2 new tires, Death wobble still occurs but I believe it may be the 2 old tires as they are on the front. This isn't a serious death wobble, its just uncomforting instead of terrifying.

Im going to rotate the tires so the new ones are on the front, then I shall see if that fixes it, if not I shall continue to figure out my issue.

 

Swapping the tires fixed the issue. I have to get the oxygen sensor changed now and fix my floor pan. My floor is missing some nice sections.

 

Over the past month or so Ive been fighting the death wobble, Ive gotten to the point where the only thing left to be changed is the tie rod and the steering stabilizer. Tie rod looks good, but the stabilizer is very much done for, its the leakiest thing on my Jeep not counting my lack of floor. I have 31's for now and the DW only happens in 2 spots ever, and I have repeated the area to be sure so I just avoid those roads.

Next week my friend will be putting my new floor pan in. Fixing the floor pan is the final step before I ship to basic besides prepping the Jeep for sitting for 6 months. When I get back I plan on lifting to 4.5 inches and buying some 33s or 35s. 19 days left.

 

Also after 14 years and 170,000 miles my original factory muffler decided that the mounts wanted to break. I took the muffler off and tail pipe. Cat Converter is still there but flopping around. Its still quieter than a Harley but has much better performance than before. Better acceleration and response. I also went from about 14.5 MPG driving like normal person to about 18-19 MPG of driving like an idiot teenager. When I get back Ill be putting a straight pipe in it. Maybe a high flow muffler.