Quick question about rust...

So as my search for a 96-99 sub 100k xj continues, my main concern is rust. I would rather have a higher mileage xj with no rust vs. less miles with a rusted drivetrain. But my question is, how many miles or length of time should i become concerned with too much rust from a car from up north?
E.G. a car with 20k miles up north or 2 years up north or what?
Thanks in advance for the help.

You'd have to look. I don't think there's any set-in-stone timeline for Rust.

Don't worry about mileage though, as XJ's with the 4.0 and AW4 seem to last 300k and beyond.

Yes i was aware of the 300k plus mileage xj's can get, i was just not wanting to deal with rust. I bought a car a few years back from new york and it was a HUGE PITA to work on. I was just wondering if it took like one year or two years on salted roads for it to really become a factor. Anyone with experience care to share???

The Jeep I have came from New York. The floorboards WERE pretty rusty.

I would keep my '96 XJ forever...except it has spent 11 years in the northeast...My advice is to take a rubber mallet with you when you look at vehicles, and ask the seller if you can tap lightly on the floorboards from underneath the vehicle.

You're in NC, why not purchase one from a bit farther south, or west from an online source? the online seller would probably jack it up and take a few pictures of the undercarraige for you.

not enough of us up here wash the road salt off every week, you can really tell the ones that have though. Some 2005 trucks are showing rust, but my 74 Charger is really clean from all the baths it got from the owners over the years. It is a car to car thing based on how lazy the owner was.

depends on area you buy it from. Look under carpet and under rig. Most rust from the inside out due to leaky seals and such. Also some areas more salt and snow then the rest.

i talked to the state department and found out what they use for rust prevention on bridges etc in NH. boiled linseed oil. my dad put it on his rubicon 2 yrs ago and its a dd not a spot of rust on it. he put it in a garden sprayer and just hosed the entire underbody down. works amazing.

Boiled linseed oil was used for decades to corrosion-proof the tubing of which aircraft were construced.

Bob

they are all different i was looking at only 2000's and 2001' im in chicago area. i saw a 2000 that had a bunch of rust78,000(they usually show the signs of rust a the bottom inside of the doors all of them..(design flaw, or poor design on purpose..) i saw a 2001 with like no rust around 102,000
i bought a 2000 with pretty much no rust (very little) that had 86,000 on it..
i can say its a design flaw because they know how to make cars not rust.
the late 80's - early 90's mustang had the same issue from 79-89 the doors would rust at the seam under the door inside(same as cherokee) in 1990 they "double sealed" the seam down there and after 90 they never had an issue with doors rusting out. i have a 91 with 130,000 there is not 1 spec of rust on the car, and no i dont wash it constantly it was my dd even in winter till a couple years ago.
so its a design issue. beside you cant tell me after 20 years they couldnt figure out something was wrong they prob start rusting the day they were new.

Depending on where you live rust is just inevitable, but something i found that helps a lot is knowing someone with an even rustyer vehicle. Sometimes i get discouraged when working on my jeep, but i just spend a while under my brother's yota and mine looks 10 times better.

nrl06 said:

Depending on where you live rust is just inevitable, but something i found that helps a lot is knowing someone with an even rustyer vehicle. Sometimes i get discouraged when working on my jeep, but i just spend a while under my brother's yota and mine looks 10 times better.

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Yep, Misery :bawl:does love company! :laugh:

Rust is not much of a problem here in houston, but drive 50 miles to Galveston and its rust city at the beach.