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HELP! Should I buy or not? Rust?

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WranglerTJ1

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hello all, I'm just about sold on a 2002 TJ that has 83,000 miles on it. It has sat around a while and when started up, the pistons cracked. The current owner, a good friend, currently has the jeep in the shop getting new pistons done to it and that would i assume include new gaskets and stuff. The mechanics said the engine is in terrific shape otherwise-- there was no gunk or anything in the engine and the transmission was just serviced at 60k. The tub of the jeep is in almost pristine condition, with the regular scratches here and there. It is bone stock with brand new tires and fairly new brakes. The interior looks like the jeep has never been sat in. It has a hard top and soft top, which are both in good condition. My only concern is there is some rust on the frame. It does not seem to go through, but is flaking a little. He's willing to sell to me for $5400 after everything (engine wise) is fixed. Here are some pictures of the frame. Is this just surface rust and fixable? and how much does it usually cost to fix rust like this? Thanks so much for the responses, hope to hear some soon!
P.s. I did push around the frame and hit around the areas with a closed fist pretty hard and it didn't seem to affect the frame.I havn't had the time to use a hammer on it.
 

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#3 ·
I say buy it, hardtop alone is worth over 1k. Rust looks a bit bad but try and take a screwdriver and chip away to see how deep it is, it's in the chassis itself by the looks of it. That Jeep is a steal for 5400. I say buy it, scrape the bugger and paint on some rustoleom, I would buy it. For 5400 you can get a YJ with rust, so 5400 for a barely used TJ along with both types of tops is amazing, take it for a spin to see if that problematic 4 speed tranny paired with the 2.5l gives any trouble.
Good luck
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
Donkerz said:
I say buy it, hardtop alone is worth over 1k. Rust looks a bit bad but try and take a screwdriver and chip away to see how deep it is, it's in the chassis itself by the looks of it. That Jeep is a steal for 5400. I say buy it, scrape the bugger and paint on some rustoleom, I would buy it. For 5400 you can get a YJ with rust, so 5400 for a barely used TJ along with both types of tops is amazing, take it for a spin to see if that problematic 4 speed tranny paired with the 2.5l gives any trouble.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Thank you. I thought the same thing, I mean at its worst spot (I thought) it doesn't seem to go much deeper than the paint on the frame. I was told the best and only way to fix this is to sandblast it and repaint it. Any idea how much a shop would cost to sandblast these areas and repaint?
 
#6 ·
Id take a screwdriver or a hammer to the rust spots. If they don't go though id get it. An afternoon with a wire brush and some paint or linseed oil will clean that frame up and you'll be good to go.
If it goes through then you have got some rot and will probably end up having to weld the frame in the future.
 
#7 ·
Absolutely looks like surface rust. My 97 was much worse when I bought it and looks like new today. Key is as everyone else has said it poke around with a screwdriver and hammer and make sure nothing is rusted through. It does not look like it is. You can fix this all yourself. I used an air chisel and got all the loose stuff off that hit it with a wire wheel. I then used POR 15 and recoated the frame then cover that in a good chassis black paint. Then I tackled the inside, sucking all the loose rust particles out with compressed air and a shop vac. I then coated the inside of the frame with the Eastwood frame interior coating. I know I will get another 20 years out of that frame now for sure. The rest of the Jeep sounds great, I would go for it if the motor / piston rebuild turns out good.

Before and after.
 

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#8 ·
Check the inside of the frame!!! They rust bad inside there are holes you can feel inside for rust underneath the doors and just in front of the back tires. I had a 98 that the frame looked perfect outside however the inside was aweful!
 
#18 ·
I don't know, that looks to be a lot of rust in unusual places. If it's that bad there, I'd be worried about the usual places like the skid plate. If you are willing to do a frame restore it could be a solid buy but then there's that motor thing lurking too. If you do get it I'd work on the frame immediately to stop the corrosion. POR15 the outside and Eastwood the inside.
 
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