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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.
I have a 99 XJ I had thought I had the thing dialed in until after a recent rain, the floors console top and parts of the dash had puddles of water. never done this before. I poked and prodded around and found the upper gasket surface area had rust just under the rubber trim. It was so bad I could poke through it. It now seams that most of the entire upper windshield seal area is rotted out this is the only area on the jeep that is rusty. Is this typical any known causes. Not sure what to do with it Dosent seem worth the cost to fix it.
It could be fixed by taking out the headliner and windshield. Cutting out the old rusty metal and fabbing in new, or use a section from a rust-free Jeep in a salvage yard.
Either way, it's a lot of work and time. Might be better to sell it as is with disclosure.
Last edited by Firestorm500; 11-15-2015 at 11:41 PM.
I have a 99 XJ I had thought I had the thing dialed in until after a recent rain, the floors console top and parts of the dash had puddles of water. never done this before. I poked and prodded around and found the upper gasket surface area had rust just under the rubber trim. It was so bad I could poke through it. It now seams that most of the entire upper windshield seal area is rotted out this is the only area on the jeep that is rusty. Is this typical any known causes. Not sure what to do with it Dosent seem worth the cost to fix it.
I have a 93 with rust in the same area. I plan on pulling the windshield (and tossing it, cracked all the way across). Cutting out the bad and forming new sheet metal to replace (I like a challenge). Relatively inexpensive if you have the time and tools. There are two parts spot welded together and part of the lower piece is also rusted so will have to be cut out and replaced. Right now, to get it through Winter I have caulked the roof with silicone sealant to keep water from coming in but that won't keep the roof from continuing to rust.
Since my XJ was damaged, it sat for two years before I could get to it. In that two years, the leak accelerated my floor rot due to the carpet retaining the moisture. It went from no visible damage from below to complete rot out. Best thing you can do if you have the leak is check your floors or pull the carpet altogether.
It could be fixed by taking out the headliner and windshield. Cutting out the old rusty metal and fabbing in new, or use a section from a rust-free Jeep in a salvage yard.
Either way, it's a lot of work and time. Might be better to sell it as is with disclosure.
That's what I would do. It's not a collector vehicle.
You are probably right, but my XJ has been my fav for years and if taken care of like aircraft, it will last your lifetime barring an accident. I plan on keeping mine until it is completely useless or until I am.
i had a windshield guy come to my house to replace my cracked windshield, noticed the rot at the top, so he used aluminum tape to fill in the area and used extra sealant when he set the new windshield, then after he put the trim back on, he taped off the area and ran another bead along each side of the trim. he said it would likely only last a couple years but that was maybe 6 years ago.
a friend owns a body shop and does this repair often. he actually uses the same glass guy. lol. he's cheap and mobile.
i say give it a go. you can either do it my way, or it won't cost you much for either the metal or a piece from a donor jeep and weld it in.
Around here there isn't a glass guy that will install a window or reseal over rust. For now I will just have to clean it up and reseal it till my daughter heads off to college next fall.
so i have the same issue with my 97XJ. i pulled the trim off to find this
i took it to a local metal shop that will actually work with rust and they quoted me $950 to cut it out and fab in new metal. thing is, they didn't even really touch or poke around, they just looked at it and worked up a quote. so....i took my quote and went home.
i took a wire brush to it to clean it up and see what i was dealing with. after i cleaned it up it doesn't look to bad. i poked and prodded with a screwdriver to see if it would go through and there isn't anywhere that its completely rusted through, its still solid. can i take the windshield out then take a grinder to it and get down to metal and then prime it and be on my way (with a new windshield installed of course)?
sure, but i would use either a flap disc or a braided wire cup on the grinder, just so you don't burn through the metal.
i would also look into a small can of POR15 to coat that up, just wire brush it and apply to rust. it will never rust again.
11-15-2015, 07:42 PM
Roof rot at upper windshield seal
