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07-22-2018, 01:30 AM

SSB.E

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Model: Cherokee (XJ)

Need help.

Went over a tire and got this hole under my 97 cherokee, don't know much about cars. Im wondering if it's serious and if it can be fix easily. The hole seems to be near the passenger seat. Thanks.

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07-22-2018, 01:57 AM

nickfancher1

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Year: 1996

Model: Cherokee

Engine: 4.0L

Rusty hole, the right way of fixing it is a shop will need to weld in some new sheet metal. Could be worse in other places. Crawl underneath with a screwdriver and start poking spots that might be soft, then you'll know how bad the rust might be.

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07-23-2018, 10:21 AM

PatHenry

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Year: 1995

Model: Cherokee(XJ)

Engine: I6 4.0L

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickfancher1

x2

That spot doesn't -look- too bad. However, "look" being the operative word. Rust is sneaky and things can appear to be not so bad, but once you start poking with a screwdriver you may discover things are worse than they appear.

The passenger side floors are usually the first to go on an XJ (due to the heat from the exhaust burning off the undercoating).

You can save some labor cost at the body shop by removing as much stuff as you can around the area to be worked. This would include: trim panels, carpet, seats, etc. All of those are removable with common hand tools and just take time that at around $100/hr of labor is worth doing yourself, even if you have the shop do the actual welding. Bear in mind that they have to cut back to the point of good metal, so assume a larger area than it appears, even after you've knocked away all the rotten metal with the screwdriver.