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Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
Hey! I'm pretty new to car repair, so maybe this is a dumb question, but I figured I'd ask.
My husband, who is not a car nor jeep guy, has voiced his concerns on the amount of rust on the undercarriage of my 30-year-old jeep. Generally, I think a good amount of rust is to be expected, it IS 30 years old, so I'm not really all that concerned about it.
But for the sake of argument, does anyone have any suggestions/comments? Should I be concerned and take steps to sand off, inspect, and repaint the undercarriage?
Pictures first to judge how bad it is. If its surface rust it should be fine any rot and it would be concerning. If it is rot he has a good point about your safety. Rotted jeeps are literally death traps and one good hit and something very vital will give away. I.E Control arms, Mounting points of anything suspension related or your shackles. Take note of The recent pictures Jamurrin posted recently of his jeep he had to get rid of it because it had to much rot. Theres a limit, and to much rust and for safety reasons its best to get something else thats safer. Rot is nothing to play around with. To much rot like i said on vital parts like control arms one good hole or hit on the road and your tire can break off and you will lose control.
I'm pretty sure it's just surface rust, but just looking at those pictures makes me nervous. Its 4 a.m. and I almost want to walk out and look. 😱 hahaha
Lol sorry. Little ptsd with rot. I was in a pontiac grand am before that was very very rotted and on the highway at 65 mph the k frame gave away and the car veered into a ditch and rolled several times. Terrifying experience i am kind of a safety freak with rot lol. Surface rust is completely fine tho. Make sure you have plenty of rust penetrate spray for those stubborn nuts and bolts.
I don't blame you! I appreciate you letting me know.
When I actually went out and looked, the only part that even looks like it has rust on it is the fuel line (That's probably a wonderful separate issue 🙄 and the floorboard, There isn't any rust on either control arms.
But I am kind of digging the black undercarriage look in light of the dirty stainless steel so I might use some rust protectant anyway. I just know now that it isn't dire.
Ah the floor pans may need some attention. If you dont want it getting bad. Actually i have another picture handy of my jeep when it had rusty floor boards. If it isnt bad get someone to cut the rusty piece out and weld a new piece in. Oh and to take care of any potential rust issues in the floor boards. Rust is cancer my jeep i had to fix it because my seat went right through the brace and through the floor.
Where are you located? Seems like you've got some harsh weather to be rusting stuff that bad. I'm in Tennessee, and I think that's mostly where the vehicle's been for its life span. We've got pretty mild weather here. My floorboard isn't even close to that harsh.
Like I said earlier, I went underneath and actually checked instead of assuming my husband wasn't overreacting. There's not much of anything. Neither control arms have any rust on them at all and where there is rust, it doesn't seem extensive. I can still post pics if need be, but after looking, I have no idea why he even said anything about how "rusty" it is. Probably because he's an industrial painter.
08-25-2017, 02:26 AM
1987 XJ Excessive Rust, Problematic?
and the floorboard, There isn't any rust on either control arms.
