Hello Everyone,

Just a brief back story. On Xmas eve here in Virginia it rained like crazy. I had only owned my Jeep since late October and had not noticed any water issues at all. I never thought to pull up my carpet and check for damage. Well that Xmas eve I saw water standing on my floor liners on my passenger side. Not good. I then discovered about 2 inches of standing water in the rear passenger foot wells. Terrible. I got it into my garage and ran the dehumidifier inside the vehicle. After 2 days it seemed bone dry to the touch. but with an odd oder.

I got all my sockets, PB Blaster, screw drivers etc. and this is what I found after I pulled up my pristine looking carpet.





The drivers side is pristine but the passenger side is terrible. The sheet metal is very thin. You can almost push your hand through it. Sorry the pics are kind of dark. I’ll post some more tomorrow.
‘I broke the housing around both the 4wheel and gear selector. I was trying so hard to be as delicate as possible but they just snapped. I think I can salvage them with some glue. Getting the handle off the gear selector was challenging. I’ve got my dehumidifier back inside and it is currently drying it out.

I have completely removed my seats, center console and saturated carpet. I found years of loose change. Lots of bicentennial quarters!



I have some questions:
1. What was supposed to be mounted directly under the seat?




2. Why are there patches of dynamat material? Is this factory installed? There are approximately 5 large pieces. I am doubtful they are factory because they cover over the drain plugs in a few areas.



3. To prep the sheet metal: after it is completely dry.
‘A. Wire brush on grinding wheel?
B. Sand where necessary?
C. Weld on patches or plates as needed after I expose all the bare metal?
D. Coat with Por15 and then bed line entire floor.

4. Stop leaks around cowl and blower motor?

if anyone has any questions I am happy to help, you guys have been extremely helpful to me and I greatly appreciate it!

Thanks
Clint

 

That silver stuff is simply factory sound deadener. It's not Dynamat.

If the floor is thin enough that you can almost push through it then it needs cut out and replaced. A good test is jab with a screw driver. Dont be bashful. If it goes through then it obviously needs patched in that area.

different people use different techniques. I stab with a screw driver to find the weakest points and start from there and work my way out with a wire wheel on a drill. Get the paint and crap off and get it down to bare metal. Work my way out to clean solid metal. Then cut the bad out and cut panels to replace it with. Weld in then clean and seal it up.

there are several common leak areas in XJs. Good place to start looking is the blower motor as you mentioned.

 

[QUOTEI have some questions:
1. What was supposed to be mounted directly under the seat?
][/QUOTE]

That was the air bag controller. It was moved in a factory recall to the hump under the console.
I had heard it was because there was too much chance of moisture getting to the controller under the seat..........go figure!
You might want to make sure you find and fix the leak before doing extensive repairs, cause if you miss any leaks you will have more work to do!

I took my 99 XJ to the automated car wash to get rid of the gravel road dirt I had picked up on a recent trip. Did not notice any leaks, but I will check my floor pans again to make sure.

 

Thanks for the info on what was bolted under the drivers seat. Instead of an air bag controller it should have been a Bluetooth floorboard moisture sensor. I will have to patent my idea. This would help save many vehicles.
I am bummed about what I found but I am glad to have caught it in time.

Question:

Does anyone know what fastens the drivers side kick plate near the emergency brake pull? There is an access hole but I cannot tell what it is because it is deep.



thanks
Clint

 

Mine had a 1/4-20 push nut in there.
7/16 nutdriver.

 

Thanks very much

 

I'll share some of the things I learned about corrosion control and prevention.

Corrosion is stopped by removal of oxygen and electrolyte. It does take work
Rust, iron oxide, can be chemically converted to iron phosphate then sealed to prevent moisture intrusion. Any metal to be coated or painted should be first be dried to remove latent moisture from surfaces pores so that it is not sealed in.

Very low humidity environments, controlled application of heat and chemical washing are three techniques to remove embedded surface moisture. ( electrolyte )
For on site work and for us DIY types, washing or rinsing the part or panel with 100% isopropyl (paint and hardware stores) or acetone then coating or priming within ten to twenty minutes of evaporation is an effective, cheap and easy way to dry out surface pores.

Rust Mort, Ospho, Rust-Oleum fish oil primer, Epoxy, Linseed oil, Bituminous coating, POR 15, Corban 35 have all worked for me. When used properly everyone's favorites work.

Others here will probably be along in a bit to share thier list of favorites, useful tips and success stories.

​​​​​​​

 

Thanks for the responses.

I found that some people use an air scaler to remove rust. I don’t have one of those but I do have a compressor.

Any of you guys use this approach to knock down flaky rust? Will it damage the sheet metal as it hits it? Seems like it might be better for more solid metal. But I have never done this severe of a restoration project. So I don’t know.

Thanks

 

Needle scalers hit hard and the energy is fairly focused. I've used them to bust weld slag and for "poor mans shot peen".

I've had good luck taking off flake with a spatula, putty knife and wire wheels and brushes.

Are you going clean metal/prime & paint or chemical conversion prime/paint ?

 

Great questions.

I don’t know yet just how I am going to proceed. Since I was unaware of my rotted floor pan, I had just replaced the headliner, so I am not keen on dusting that up. I think I am going to have to remove it before I start kicking up sparks and dust. I had pondered rigging up something to cover it and leave it in place, but that seems like more trouble.

I am still running the fan and dehumidifier in it today and it should be completely dry tomorrow.

I think I’m going to try to get out all the bad spots that I can. If the process reveals potential holes because the sheet metal is so thin then I might have to go with replacing the passenger side floor pan. I have never welded, nor do I have a welder. I would have to get some tools first. I see some folks have riveted the floor pan, don’t have a riveter either. I suppose that to take this to a shop would be pricey. It’s just the passenger side. Any thoughts on what this might run? Buying tools and doing it myself will probably be the way I go because if I get them now, then I’ll be able to fix the drivers side when that one goes.