I was so lucky to inherit a commuters daily driven from 2001-2011black jeep TJ from the wonderful 4/12 months of the year salted highways and roads of Ontario.
The jeep was blessed enough to have gotten an oil change when needed if it was lucky, but no care for anything on the undercarriage.
Fast forward its 2014, the Jeep hasn't been driven for 2 years. I stick a new battery and voila she turns and vrooms down the road, pop goes the rear brake line.
So taking a co-op in a mechanic shop for a year in highschool, I bend me some new rear lines, double flare, new fittings, new conjunctions. She works!
I wire wheel and sand the body, painted her up, and enjoyed a summer of topless cruising. She has some dead play in the steering, and a loud scratching noise from the front left wheel as it drives along, no biggy "ill get to it later"
Come September she loses the front line, and my exhaust welds that hold the muffler up rusted away.. muffler falls off, I managed to save it.
The reason i didn't do the front lines in the first place comes back to haunt me..
The front tires lugs, and tires are completely seized, the bleeder valves have become one with the caliper itself. I've still got no idea what to do with the muffler, or even getting these tires off.
I want to see how well she'll hold up 4x4 in the snow with stock rusted everything.
Pictures and Video incomming of my first car.
This Jeep sounds like it is rusted beyond repair and you should not be on the road in it endangering your life or others sharing the road. Get it fixed right before you even test the 4wd in snowy conditions. Please post pics..
Oh stop with that. I feel like I see people saying "endangering your life and others on the road" all the time.
You people that don't experience salt or rust don't get it. You do what you can with what you got. A little rust never hurt anybody
A 50:50 mix of ATF and Acetone is a MUCH better penetrating fluid than PB blaster or Kroil. It was recommended to me by a mechanic. Then I found this on-line (first post in the thread): Penetrating Oil Showdown!!! | The H.A.M.B.
I painted my very rusted, recalcitrant broken sway bar links' nuts and bolts once or twice a day for a week. What would not move with a breaker bar, and a pipe wrench the Saturday before, was rendered removable the Saturday following application. Try to avoid getting it on anything that's not metal.
My jeep has a nasty underside as well. My frame is disgusting. But everything else is so beautiful. I would say to just replace/fix as many parts as you physically can. And you should be fine. Once you get the jeep in working condition that is...
+1 on the atf and acetone. Sounds like it would be worth doing a full brake job lines and all, there are companies that sell complete brake line kits and rather than screwing around with fittings and lines on rusted calipers go ahead and buy some loaded rebuilt ones. Never sieze is your new best friend use it. You may have to trash the wheels getting them off but there are lots of used ones out there...
So using that recommended acetone atf worked on a couple of the lugs, ended up sledging on a smaller socket and cranking them off.
Getting to see the rotors made me LOL, my drivers front rotor was only half the width, it lost the other half of the thickness of that rotor, eating away at a breakpad it was so bad.
Going to replace the calipers, and rotors for both wheels, as the bleeder valves where rust welded. Also replace the front lines.
However I got a video of what really is bugging me out right now on the right front wheel, there is the joint that connects the wheel to axel? U-joint?
Anyways heres the video
If I were you I'd replace the whole knuckle with ball joints, u-joints, tie rods (inner and outer) and sway bar links...Doing this will make your jeep so much safer for you and you'll be way happier with how it drives. Doing your brake lines, pads, calipers, and rotors will complete your front end rebuild. While doing that you should check your upper and lower control arms and mounts that tie into the frame. The mounts usually rot out along the frame rail leading to a control arm mount having a chance to separate completely from your frame. They sell kits to patch that area up and you can have welded in.
I know its a lot but its all insurance for you in the long run.
Your u joint is about to fail, do not drive the vehicle until you get everything up front fixed.
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