Fix or Sell 93 XJ...You decide.

I have a 93 xj country 140,000 miles still runs great.

Needs:
New front and rear bumpers
Sheet metal holes in floor boards driver passenger and rear
fix rust on doors & wheel flares about 5 quarter sized spots

Cant afford a 300.00 per month car payment but can afford to spend 1000.00 per year on keeping "Gretta" running.

1. any suggestions non stock bumpers that dont cost 300-400 dollars?
2. any technics on rust removal or should I buy aftermarket door skins?

What would you do?

you've got years of life left in that Jeep provided it's been maintained
even more if you've been using synthetics
My '93 was running great when I sold it with 230K
I guess it comes down to looks and safety
I would just replace the stock bumpers (ebay $40-50 ea.)
and patch the holes
If you can DIY, even better
My vote is to keep the Jeep

Thanks

thats another 100,000 miles it makes sense. I run mobil 1 and have done regular maintance. I like the jeep because I can fix just about anything I have done the brakes the radiatior the starter and so on... I am confident I can keep it up but would like it to look ok too...

Connor

I agree, see if you can even find a pick n pull near you, I bet you could get bumper for $25.
As far as the rust, grind down the surface rust and have a maaco paintjob done, it's cheap, and won't be the best, but it'll be fine. EIther that or rattle can it flat black.
You can patch the holes in the floorboard, and there's a company called sherman parts that makes replacement floorboards. Do a search on replacing the floorboards, it's been covered many times with pictures.

def. do it yourself with the rust repair - im in the midst of it now, couple big holes in cargo area, and front is totally gone...

it's cheap, but VERY LABOR INTENSIVE, do a search on here, and you'll see what i mean...lots of grinding, cutting, etc...and you'll never get it perfect.

i like maaco for the exterior, cheap and easy.

mine's a '96 and i made the same decision youre struggling with...keep it!!

Put plywood on the floor. Boneyard the bumpers. Then drive her till the wheels fall off. Wood need lots of TLC and money to make her right again.

ha! plywood, that's crazy! just what i did over the metal on my scout to spread the load and reinforce it. i put metal in, then used 3/8 plywood over that. knocks down noise too. for the exterior, search the freebie forums for old bumpers. lots of guys ready to toss the old ones when they put on new. for the doors, POR15 over the rust, then paint it with bedliner. cheaper than a paint shop, not as pretty, but durable. keep the jeep!

Plywood?? I think plywood has a greater stength to weight ratio than just any material made, yes in todays space age materials science, plywood is still used for missile nose cones because of its strength to weight ratio.

BUT, I would think plywood would increase the rust. It not going to conform to the floor boards and there will be gaps, to big to fill with sealers. Water is going to get in there, be trapped and stay there, and cause the wood to rot and metal to rust.

Cut the rust holes back to good metal, grind/sand off and/or treat any other rust and cover the holes with metal. If your going to pop rivet the metal panels, use lots of pop rivets every 1/2-1 inch use good sealer inbetween the panels. Use Auto Seam Sealer, not RTV.

I keep hearing bad things about POR15, people follow the instructions to the letter and still have big sections of the paint flake off. I don't know, I never tried it, but I'd find out more opinions before I spent all the money that POR15 costs.

I agree with the Bedliner, or Herculiner, etc. I'm considering using that on my floor board repair of XJ. Even though I'll probably put the carpet back in over top of it, it seems to me the Bedliner/Herculiner is the toughest stuff out there to seal the floor and keep the water out.

What about the underside? Whats better/tougher at protecting the underside and preventing chips and damage and keeping water out? Regular old Undercoating? OR Bedliner/Herculiner? Has anyone painted the underside of a vehicle with Bedliner/Herculiner instead of Regular Undercoating?

thats a great question - i've only just begun, but i've been spraying the underside with rustoleum metal primer (rusty metal primer on areas that no matter how much grinding will still have a little surface rust).

i've been using clean metal primer on my patches before i screw them in...

hard to reach or unpatchable, or ungrindable areas im treating with rust converter/reformer - then primer....

but i'd also like to know is undercoat the best sealer?

bacelaw said:

thats a great question - i've only just begun, but i've been spraying the underside with rustoleum metal primer (rusty metal primer on areas that no matter how much grinding will still have a little surface rust).

Click to expand...

I did this a year ago just inside my rockers, but I did it with cheap paintbrushes.

I went over the rusty areas with a stiff wire brush and scraper to knock off the loose and semi-loose stuff, then slathered on some rusty metal primer and then a topcoat of semi-gloss black. After it cured, I went over it with a can of 3M rubberized undercoating.

Yesterday I was underneath changing my speedo gear, and looked at the redone sections - still looking good. Maybe laying it on with the brush under there (and going past where I scraped/brushed) made it seal up better, I don't know.

Rob