SG Mason

I am trying to source parts to do a little rust repair on my 98 XJ. The major rust is on the drivers side quarter, but the passenger side is bad too. While the bumper corners and flares were on I thought maybe I could just do a cut and fold repair. Once I removed them I could see that it was just a little too far gone for that, and on the drivers side the dogleg was rotted out too.

I have been searching for replacement quarters, but so far all I have found are panels for 84-96 XJs. Right now the most affordable repair would be a DS dogleg, and DS and PS lower quarters along with a bit of sheet metal.

It is my understanding that the only difference between the full panels is the missing 3 holes for the bumper corner brackets, but will the doglegs for a 84-96 be interchangeable with the 97-01 too?

Being that I am in Canada and can't seem to find any replacement quarter panels, I have to do a bit of cross border shopping and bite the bullet on brokerage fees so I just want to be sure I am ordering compatible parts.

Thanks
George

SG Mason

Wow, things really move fast here. This was pushed back to the 4th page in less than 24 hours

I don't normally bump threads, but I really need an answer to this. I don't want to drop $300, after shipping and brokerage fees, only to find out the quarters wont fit my 98.

PocketsEmpty

How bad is the rust on your 98? Post pics. Also, I believe those panels will fit right up just the same--but as you pointed out, the brackets aren't there for the 97+ bumper caps. If you have any of it left, you can drill out the rivets holding the brackets on your existing quarter and then bolt/rivet them up to the new panels. Will require some drilling, but hey, you're in for a project anyways. You may also have to drill a hole underneath for the bumper cap, or fabricate a tab to mount it.

I had a rust hole on the passenger side of my '98 and decided against the panels and just patched it with some 16 gauge steel. I didn't do a great job welding but I am new to it and looks didn't matter to me as it was getting covered up eventually anyway.

SG Mason

Thanks for the reply, she is pretty bad

DS dogleg


DS back, it is actually soft above the bracket


PS dogleg, I could fix


PS rear, but not this


I have taken off the flare brackets since these pictures were taken and the rust has eaten away the part of the full lip not in the picture. So cutting out the lip would leave a huge opening.

The inside is eaten away too, but I can fix that with a little body steel. I can get rockers, hoods and fenders up here, but no one carries quarter panels for some reason, and every XJ up here has rust problems on the rockers and quarters.

PocketsEmpty

Ouch! Looks like you have a lot of work ahead of you. And yeah, I feel your pain. My rockers are rusting out again already after I patched them last year. I am going to completely replace them with 2x6 3/16" steel this fall.

Looks like you'll need to source new flare brackets, cut out all the rust and sand and paint that whole quarter area right up to the gas lid after making repairs.

SG Mason

Everything is solid from about 2" above the rear wheel openings, so if I can get full quarters I should be able to put them in without pulling the windows. I have been thinking about just replacing the rockers with a chunk of 2X6, but I am not looking to make an all out offroad machine, just a capable daily driver that doesn't have holes in it

In the long run I may through a 3" lift and 31s on it just to make it easier to get into some of my fishing holes.

PocketsEmpty

Now is a prime time to do that. You could even trim your fenders to help fit some bigger tires and get rid of rust all at the same time. Look into some of the aftermarket flares that are available and believe it or not, 2x6 is the best bang for your buck in rocker replacement. The stock rockers allow water to pass through them via the front fender. A big engineering fail on Chrysler's part. The 2x6, if done right, will be welded shut.

SG Mason

Well I finally found a Canadian supplier for the quarter panels, but they want $237 each

When I am calling around for steel prices I will ask about some 2X6 as well and decide how I am going to go.