Brill

Hoping for some opinions about the extent of the rust on my Jeep and whether or not it's worth trying to repair. The most urgent issue appears to be half of the driver side floor pan that is completely rusted through.

Daily driver. 130k miles. Sound mechanically. Other than the rust underneath the Jeep is clean inside and out. Had plans to put on a lift and swap out the front axle assembly due to rust but unsure if I should drop that money into it or move on and find something rust free that I can build upon.

I currently have neither the knowledge nor the equipment to weld. My kids ride in this long distance so any "duct tape fixes" are out of the question.

Opinions?

Cheddarnut

If you are planning to do more it would be good to find another to build up. The rust in the pics is already into the unibody and its deep into things you would not replace when doing a lift. Rust is a battle for all of us, but better to start clean if you can. Find another and then sell yours on to someone who doesn't care about lifting it...or keep it and use it as a parts donor for the next one.

Brill

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Brill

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chipmaker

I say you cut your losses too. Damn shame that a lower mileage Heep has such rust. I don't see how you northern boys do it. Id go crazy with paranoia thinking about rust. Here in the south terminal rust is pretty much unheard of in cars that aren't 50 years old.

ehall

I've seen a lot worse than that. The only thing that looks urgent is the rear leaf hangar (broken?). All of it is fixable. If you build new axles you'll replace half the stuff. Unirails can be addressed with frame stiffeners.

If you just want something to take you fishing then buy another

HEAP of JEEP

I have a 1996 that is rusted to hell, and I have been trying to save it... almost no knowledge going in... a $100 welder from Harbor Freight, a lot of time watching videos on welding, and a lot of practice, and a ton of scrap metal that I have collected for the repairs... and its coming along.

I also have a 1990 that was a Florida Jeep and is a totally different world to work on... no major rust... nuts and bolts tend to come off much more easily... and I get to focus on mechanical repairs and upgrades, rather than just trying to save the thing.

Two different perspectives, and I love them both, and wouldn't trade either one. If you decide to take the challenge of repairing rust, it will be a nightmare that, at times, you will feel like you never awaken from, but in the end, it is extremely fulfilling. It just depends on how much time and effort you want to put in to "saving" rather than "building"

Rail

If u decide to try to fix her I highly recommend raybuck for floor pans. They r solid and raybuck doesn't play around when it comes to getting their product to u. I ordered my floor pans Wednesday at lunch and by Thursday at lunch time they were sitting on my porch.

jbsjunk

It actually don't look that bad. The worst is the drivers front floorpan and they make them every day. I did mine, and it's pretty clean aside from that.

Fix it.

andrewmp6

Some of those rust spots look like they are deep and some of it looks like just surface rust.And yeah it looks like you have a broken rear shackle on it too.

jbsjunk

Shackle looks fine. The paint is thick and is flaking off. Seen it many times. Normal.

Cheddarnut

I hope you can see by the variety of responses that you certainly have options. While some folks think you should ditch it, others say fight the rust etc. My advice to move on was based on your comment about not welding and taking the position that you would need to seek professional help to attack the problems. When you spend to have areal body shop cut and weld the pans, then a mechanic to go through the suspension and address what they find(shocks, springs, ball joints, exhaust) you may actually spend more than the jeep is worth. I just want to share that I've had my Cherokee for twenty years and I have spent money on it like that time and time again because I love it. So dropping a few grand on repairs, parts or upgrades has always been worth it to me. Now I'm a tinkerer with a garage and it's not my daily driver now, so parked for projects is ok. When it was my DD, I lived in an apartment with no garage and had to pretty much pay for anything I wanted done or get evicted ( my leases always included some pretty mean language about outdoor auto repair). I still took care of it and gave it some love. I would say if you love it and want to save it then you'll need to spend to keep it safe. If you like it and don't have the money or want to spend it, then find another with less or no rust. They are out there even in the northeast. Let's us know what you decide..interested in your thoughts.

Jeep Driver

Move on.

peep

That's not rust, on a Cherokee that's patena.
It's a matter of perspective.
Foremost, replace the broken rear shackle. That is a significant problem!
If you do nothing else, do that!
Much of the photo rust is surface, wire brush, scraper, and a good brand rust paint will extend the life.
Photo of drivers side floor didn't look too bad. Perhaps it's worse than photo shows. Undercoating often captures water and hides the real issues. Use paint, after any repairs, not the undercoat.
If holes become large, to do the floors right you will need a welder and time.
So you have to select further investment, or alternate vehicle.
Since it runs well you'll have no problem selling to someone with the equipment to resolve.
Cherokee's are not a plug and play vehicle. Investment is standard fare.

SteveMongr

What we are seeing in those pictures is likely rust originating from the other side of sheetmatal. It will be worse inside the rockers, body panels and under carpet.
My opinion, move on if you plan on building up this rig.