I need some help guys how safe is it to drive with rusted floors.

Here is the reason i'm asking i know that the jeep is a special type of suv since it unibody unlike say every other suv and that the actual floor provide alot of structeral integrity unlike and some suv wherwe the floor is just there and other parts of the body bolt to the frame.

when i bought my jeep the drivers side floor was rusted completly through like a 1ft by 2ft hole.

well i got some sheet metal and fab up a new floor the best i could and riveted in.

But i wasnt able to drill through the frame like structure under the floor boards to secure the floor to it like it is factory so there like a inch gap between the new floor and the frame thing.

i didnt think much about it but now i notice my passenger side is starting to do the same thing.

My main question is how much integrity do the floors provide to the whole body i mean what else hold the body to the frame like thing.

My wife is scared to ride in the jeep now becuase she feels it very unsafe and that its rusting way to much.

I know on any normal suv the floors rusting is no issue just fab and new plates and your safe since the floors dont attach to the frame at all so no worries.

Basically i'm looking for a way to tell my wife its safe with out spending alot on having all new floors welded in when i can just patch them.

If it comes to having to have all new floors welded in then i'm going to have to probally junk it.

On a side not the body is in perfect condition accept the floors which are just rusting more each day it seems also there is a water leak in the jeep now that soaks the passenger side carpet when it rains and the headliner is now getting wet also wtf.

 

its a uni-body. so, since theres no frame, cut out the bad and weld in the new. Its the right thing to do. give it a good undercoating afterwards. if the metal is questionable, cut it out. give her new metal

 

Tell your wife that if you shes worried she needs to watch the flintstones again.
Fred just sticks his feet down to stop. So can you!
jk

mark

 

Well i really like the jeep and on a good note the body itself except for the floor arent rusted at all the paint is peeling alittle bit on the roof but nothing seroius.

I have a question for people who have riveted in new metal did you drill holes into the unibody to secure the new metal or is there a gap between the unibody and the floor?

 

I can't tell how safe or unsafe it is to ride a jeep with holes in the floor, as I really have no clue.
I only can share my situation.
I've read countless notes/posts an alike, stating that the floors in Jeeps play major structural role. I've read comments about the only Right way to fix rusted floor, and so it is to weld new loor pans. I have never seen a one single comment from anybody who would dare to say, that it's perfectly safe (or say OK) to drive around a jeep with rusted holes in the floor.
NOW......
I have seen many (AND I MEAN - many!!!!!!!) jeeps XJ with rusted out floors running around and and many for sale in such condition, that aredescribed as "Runs Great".
As a matter of fact it's not easy to find , say a 10 years old or so jeep XJ that has nice floors, in the areas where the winter dumps a load of snow and then people dump bunch of "nasty stuff" on the roads . Also, I am not even sure that the snow/weather actually is the reason for why XJ's floors are rusting out by "LAW" of nature ...heh heh...
So, what it all comes down to in my mind is this: there many many jeeps right now as we speak out there on the roads with holes in floor.

I have yet to find a one single story about a jeep falling apart due to holes in the floor. If anybody knows about such story - please share a link. I have never read a such story anywhere. But then again, there are many things I simply unaware of.
***********
When I've got My '96 it had holes in the floor: both passenger and driver sides (those were pretty large), also there were holes in the rear cargo floor (large holes).
So the way I "fixed" all that mess was NOT the right way, but that was all I was capable of and could afford.
I've bought 6-pack small cans of POR-15, bought some Polyurethane Roof & Flashing Black Sealant (that stuff is great from my experience), and then found some junk pieces of sheet metal.
First I've got the carpet out and spent couple of days cutting out all the falling apart rust, then metal brushing around the edges of the holes, then treated as much as could with "Metal Ready" from POR-15 (that's a blue chemical that turns rust into "POR-15" friendly "stuff").
Then I painted all around the edges (inside and outside) of the holes and where ever else I could with POR-15. So at this stage my goal was to stop the rust spreading.
Then I did cut some pieces of sheet metal and covered the largest holes. I did not even use rivets, just fitted pieced and used some of PL Polyurethane to keep them in place (they actually stay in place just by being jammed under the carpet). Then I sealed all the remaining holes and between the edges of the holes and pieces of sheet metal from inside and from the outside (from the under the truck, that is). This "process" also took couple of days.
Next after few days after the sealant hardened, I again painted the bottom with POR-15 couple times, covering everything that I could.
So this whole work was a longer than a week ... lots of work, really and it's a very dirty work, I must add.
So at the end, at least for now I have no holes and everything is nicely sealed from the bottom and I hope POR-15 will keep the rust "in check" (have no clue how long this will last).
So, basically from structeral point - I still have bunch of holes in the floor, but no holes for water to get in.
I am driving my jeep around, regular driving (nothing crazy and stuff ), maybe it's unsafe - I don't know, really.
If my jeep will fall a part on the road and I am still alive - I'll sure let everybody know about it.

 

I might be a newbie on this site but I have done 30years car resto and fabrication.
If you were to take your cherokee rock climbing you would notice more flex in the body of your rusted out truck than a truck with solid floors. No big deal.
The real danger (although it is a small ) in having rusted out floors is when you are at speed on the highway, if you run over road debris such as rocks, lumber or car parts
there is the chance of that debris coming through the rusted floors at the speed you are going (80mph) causing injury to driver and or passengers and possibly causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Your rivited in floors might do the trick but nothing is as good as welded steel.
Where I live the cops are pulling over older rusty looking vehicles and if they find one rust hole or perforation that goes into the interior of the vehicle they issue and order
"Fix it or junk it" and they give you a time limit.
Some of the guys are getting around it by ripping out the seats and carpet, laying a layer of fiberglass then reinstalling the interior. The whole bottom can rust out and technicaly there is no perforations so they can't do a thing to you.
Maybe that's not the safest thing to do but aleast you get to drive your beater until it dies.

 

When I used to do vehicle safety checks here in Ontario, we used to take a screwdriver and "Poke" any suspicious rust spots from underneath.
The reasoning is not for structural strength but for any place that exhaust gases can seep into the vehicle from underneath. As long as the frame connections were not rusted out we would let any vehicle that had rusty floors BUT no actual holes (Other than factory) pass.
No longer in the trade but recently while in court for another matter they were trying a mechanic for a crappy floor repair job the Ministry of Transport had caught wind of. Seems the guy did a job something like one of the other posters had done and not secured the patch to the good sheetmetal. Mechanic ended up with a $500 fine and loss of his inspection station licence for a year.

 

I maybe completely wrong, but the fact is that rusty holes in the floor in jeeps XJ are sooooooooooooooo damn "popular" and if those holes would/did cause accidents and/or injuries then we would see more law firms TV commercials targeting Jeep XJ owners than those that target "asbestos victims".

Also, God Bless Ministries of Transportation , without them the world would stop moving....

"An inspector with a screwdriver" - that sounds very very dangerous to me. heh heh -

And cops were dangerous since day one... on and off road...

Regardlessly, I'd say, if you can weld or can afford shop work , then I see no reason for why not to weld in new floors.
I don't have welding equipment nor have experience doing this type of work, and I can't afford shop work at the moment. So there.... , I have to live with it >>>>

 

I'm in the same boat... Mine looks 100% clean topside. You'd never suspect by looking at it that there are big holes underneath. There's not a speck of visible rust on it, but there's a good hole in the passenger floorboard, and another couple more under the backseats and the hatch.

It did make for a very interesting ride home when my exhaust broke off right underneath one of the holes. 40 miles in 20 degree weather on the interstate with my head out the window to keep from passing out from the monoxide lol.

Personally, I'm planning to do the same thing as everyone else seems to be doing, and give it the old POR15/sheetmetal/JB weld treatment. I'm curious though: what are people's opinions on welding in sheetmetal patches rather than welding in entire new floorpans? I don't necessarily see that it'll be that much weaker than an entire new floor... am I wrong? If so, what's the major difference between welded sheetmetal and welded floorpans, seeing as the floorpans are really just sheetmetal? Would it be beneficial to maybe add some box steel bracing across where I'm patching to regain structural strength? Just a thought...