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Rust...advice?

14K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  JeepMe 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello all,
I need some advice for the newly acquired Jeep of mine. It is a 2000 GC Limited 4.7 w/ 133k miles. It has been dealer maintained it's whole life and it running very well. It has lived it's whole life up until 1 month ago in NY and is now here with me in NC. I would like to keep it long term but have been giving it a closer look and have discovered some rust underneath. I would think the rust will slow down now that it is in a milder climate, right? Or should I act on this right away? Or is it ok to just leave it and not run it through car washes with underbody cleaning. Although I am pretty handy (I just changed out the front drive shaft) and I do have past welding experience, it was 25 years ago and I am a little hesitant start relearning on this car. Should I slap on rust converter? Somehow I doubt that will help. I have read about how some folks paint on por-15 but that may be on areas not yet rusted? Here are some pictures. Of the four doors, the front driver is the worst, the passenger front is not as bad. The rear doors are ok. There is rust holes on some areas of the frame on the driver side, the passenger side may also be rusted through, but I have not poked it to find out. Also some of the cross members have rust where they are attached.
Btw, I would not have bought a car like this, it was an inheritance and I guess there is some sentimental desire for me to keep it and maintain it as long as practical especially since it runs so well. Thanks so much for your help!





 
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#2 ·
some of the frame underneath you could clean up with a wire brush and coat really good with undercoating for a quick cosmetic fix. Ypou could also clean it up by cutting out the rot and welding on some nice steel plates and then coating. The door...you could clean them up with a wire brush, prime and paint. automotivetouchup.com offers spray cans of paint to match and cleatcoat. All of this is a do it yourself....or you could visit a bodyshop.
 
#5 ·
Thanks Gus. I plan to weld some plates over the holes and clean up the beginnings of rust. I read that POR-15 is a good protector and I have a quart on order now. Do you think that I should I apply the POR-15 onto the bare metal (after wire brushing)? Is there any other prep or over coat you recommend?
 
#6 ·
I haven't spent a lot of time under jeeps, but the GM rig's I've worked on used a lot of 16 and 18 ga. for non load-bearing. I found that I could drill 3/8" or so sized holes into maybe 3/16" thick plates and pretty easily use the holes to weld onto the thinner stuff. Might also be a great opportunity to add some skid plates or reinforcement.
 
#10 ·
kennzz05, I'm pretty sure he knew that, but why put your chances on watching someone on youtube or googling something when you can come here and get multiple answers and multiple ways of doing things that are a hell of a lot more beneficial.

I'd say either rust converter or POR-15 after cleaned up real good, then you'll be ready to patch 'er up without worrying about any residual corrosion.
 
#11 ·
So I have another follow up question folks. I wirebrushed the bottom inner edge of the three doors, got all the loose rust and dust out off and put two coats of por-15 on them. While I was down there i poked around with a screwdriver to survey extent of the rust under the rocker panels since I am planning to weld metal on and need to take measurements. I was not surprised to see further extent along the rocker bottom, but I also discovered that an outer cross beam leading to the rocker has been pretty extensively rotted on the back side and the bottom. :( Do you think it would be ok to remove some of the badly rusted areas on the back side and the bottom of the cross beam and just leave the remaining good side and minimal remains of the other portions and coat everything with primer/topcoat or an underbody paint? This would be easier than trying to reconstruct it as fabricating pieces will be time consuming for me. How critical is that beam and can it do it's job without some of those surfaces? This is the beam that is under the front door, driver side.
Here are some pics.
Front side of beam:
Front side photo by kam3rad | Photobucket
Bck side of beam:
Back side photo by kam3rad | Photobucket
Thanks!
 
#12 ·
You should be able to clean that up and patch it with bondo, fiberglass, or aluminum sheeting. It looks like it's surface rot. But if it affects structural support, then you'll probably have to do some fab work.
 
#13 ·
Thanks Gus. I had a mechanic that does a lot of restoration look at it and he said the same thing and said it is not too extensive. He plans to cut awaythe rust through areas and weld plates over it and cover the inside and out with por-15.
 
#14 ·
Truthfully, i lost my license for a little over a year so she sat in the yard (didnt have a garage for a while). Looking to bring her back to life and i want to start at the bottom and work my way up. Ive taken a few photos to hopefully get some input on repairs and future rust prevention tips/products (located in NY so its always salty in the winter). Thanks in advance!
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#16 ·
Truthfully, i lost my license for a little over a year so she sat in the yard (didnt have a garage for a while). Looking to bring her back to life and i want to start at the bottom and work my way up. Ive taken a few photos to hopefully get some input on repairs and future rust prevention tips/products (located in NY so its always salty in the winter). Thanks in advance!
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A lot of that looks like fairly severe surface rust. How to stop rust is very simple in statement, remove it and cover the exposed bare metal with something (usually paint). When it's surface rust you can sand it, wire wheel it, sandblast it, etc. Then once it's all gone, paint. If it has gone from surface rust to rot, you will have to cut it out, replace metal, and paint.

You can slow rust by getting some rust inhibitor and spraying over the rust. But that will only slow it down and not stop it. For what you have I would remove it if possible, hit it with a wire wheel, and then paint it.
 
#15 ·
I would have though that a jeep of that age should have been fully dipped when built
What year did jeep start dippong cars to stop rust?
 
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