I saw a thread the other day about rust so I wanted to check mine out to see if I needed to be concerned about it. Here is what I found. This Jeep has (as far as I know) been in the south, but it could have been to Florida and got all that ocean salt or whatever underneath it. Here in Alabama if we get snow and they salt the roads, I will spray it off.
the areas you pictured dont matter as much, whats really important is the frame. most common problem areas are where the skid meets the frame and the control arm mounts.
in order to really see the area between the frame and skid, you'll need to lower the skid some. i think yours looks pretty good. the solid control arms would concern me more, but its a good thing to check and help prevent
IMO that is a lot of rust and some of it looks fairly extensive. I would pass. Here is a Florida/southern Jeep, mine: There is very little rust, this is what I expect of a southern/Florida Jeep.
I didn't know Jeeps could look that good underneath. Haha.
But seriously I've had the Jeep since 2012 so the only thing I can do is fix it if needed. I'm not sure if it has just been in the south. I'm just assuming that since the original owners were from Georgia, and I bought it from a guy in Alabama.
Some are saying not so bad some are saying very bad so what can I do to make this Jeep last a long time? I haven't even clicked 100,000 on it yet so I want it to last a while. Just the things that were mentioned earlier?
That is a lot of rust, and like others have said, a good look at the frame and some other places would be what is needed to know more. Here is a jeep with more rust and how I deal with it.
If you want to get an idea for how the frame is actually faring, take a hammer and bang on the bottom and sides of the frame. If its still solid it shouldn't do anything. If it goes right through, you have some issues.
It will be hard to really know how the rust is because the part where the skid plate bolts to the frame is the most likely spot to be rotten, but stick your finger in the holes by the upper and real control arms mounts and actually feel to see if you have a lot of flaking and build up of rust inside the frame.
That does not look like a lot of rust to me. Perhaps for a Southern jeep it's more than usual, but from those two images I would think you're ok.
some people have never dealt with rust, others would look at the rust you posted as nothing to worry about. just needs a little TLC, but nothing serious. yes, we all wish we never had to deal with rust, but some surface rust on your exhaust is so far down the list of normal rust issues its forgotten about. the bit of surface rust on your axles and driveshafts can be cleaned and painted over with no ill affect. if you dont have any other rust issues, a tiny bit of prevention and your frame will likely outlast the motor
that would be a very sought after vehicle up here in the north, unless there are some major things you arent getting in the pics. how are the frame side control arm mounts and the area where the skid hits the frame. also, can you take any pics through the bigger openings of the frame?
Don't know where you are OP, but that would be considered "near new" in New Jersey! How is the actual frame, itself? Take some pics of that, if you can, and come back...that surface rust can be taken down with a drill and wire wheel. Cleaned up and POR-15 'd. No issues....
you have nothing to worry about. personally, i'd do some preventative work on the frame with eastwoods internal frame coating. you can clean up and paint the axles and driveshafts as well
I know 2010's with more rust than that. I wish things here were like down south where they never have to use cutting torches cause the nuts rust weld themselves onto bolts
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