as long as she's naked... *PICS*

haha made you look at my problem!

I have this hand-me-down beater 91 Lardo, which has a small mystery roof leak, the seats are blown out, and a couple of other interior problems. So I figured strip it down, R&R the interior problems, then herculine it and put it back together with whatever replacement trim I need.

When I got the carpet out I found a little surface rust up front (not too bad), but I also found this:



That's pretty bad. I can pretty much get the rear left shock removed through that hole. The support metal that goes down to the back seat is also pretty bad (both sides):



...and there are also a couple of smaller holes by the striker (hard to tell with paint spill but there are two holes there):



I talked to my buddy with a body shop and we agree that I should order the replacement rear floorpan from jeep4x4center, cut out the old deck and weld the new one in. Total cost for materials and his time will be less than $1k so it's acceptable, since that is the only major damage. The floorpan is for the later body style but the decking part looks to be the same, so I don't think it will be a problem. Does anybody know if it will work?

I am thinking that since I am here already that I should do some other repairs. For example, we have to drop the old gas tank out to repair the decking, and the gas gauge on this beater does not work correctly, and I'm guesing the fuel pump and whatnot probably needs replacing after 334k miles... so I might as well put in a new tank, pump, sender, the works. I see some mention of 20 gallon tanks, are those an option? Anything I need to take into consideration here?

I am planning to see if I can do a GC heated seat upgrade while I'm messing with this. I'll need to weld in support brackets and will have to sink a couple of new studs and run new wiring so I should probably do all that before I herculiner the floor.

Should I go ahead and replace the heater core while I've got everything out? It's never been replaced and the AC doesn't work so I shouldn't need to discharge anything.

I am planning to swap in an NP242, so should I do that now, or will it not matter?

Should I do any body mods like the rear corner cut-and-fold before I herculiner and primer the repairs? Anything else I should do?

BTW what are the four bolts on the side of the hump for? They are rusted and need to be replaced but I don't want to damage anything.



What should I do while she's naked?

Thanks!

In my opinion, if its a beater I would just use some self tappers and patch those holes in the back with some 20g galvanised steel. With 334k on the clock, it might not be around for long enough to appreciate the 1k price of a new floor pan and having it professionally installed. If you are set on spending the cash, I would by the replacement rear floorpan, buy yourself a cheap welder and learn to do it yourself. That way, you end up with a welder, a solid floorpan and alot of knowledge (plus probably still several hundred dollars in your pocket).

I just did some small patches in the same area as you have. I expect them to last a few years before I completely cut out the rear floorboards and replace it with the same as you posted.

here is a link to my thread. The steel to do the patches cost me $9.00, the self tappers another $2.00 and then $5.00 for a tube of pro-flex. I had a few cans of undercoating and rust primer/stopper around so I won't include those in the price.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=938201&highlight=rust

granted, your rust is a little bit worse than what I had, but not too much different.
For the water leak, look at the crimps behind the stock gutter rails, thats where mine is leaking. I tried using some silicone but ended up just slathering on a bunch of fiberglass resin/catalyst which seems to be working better. It ran into the crimps that were no longer sealed well and has been stopping the water for the last few days. I expect it to last a while longer, too.

Thats noting compared to my 96. I had to replace driver and passenger floor pans and 40%of the back bed area. After i cut every thing out i welded 16 gauge to patch the holes, now its very strong.

With 334k on the clock, it might not be around for long enough to appreciate the 1k price of a new floor pan and having it professionally installed.

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Thanks for the advice, I've been watching your thread and we have similar problems. I'm not worried about the price, $300 is for the floorpan plus shipping, and my guy's time is only going to be about $500 which is reasonable if he will do a professional sealed fix (and I'll save money by him replacing my gas tank muahaha). If there were lots of other problems then I'd probably just hand the title over to the local Jeep junkyard, but it looks like this is the only major structural problem (have to get headliner off still to tell for sure though).

I'm really just trying to figure out what else I should do while it's stripped down.

nevermind, I was thinking of something else.

That is so sad to see a Jeep fall apart like that. It sort of reminds me of my wife. We've been married for 22 years.

rocknxj said:

That is so sad to see a Jeep fall apart like that. It sort of reminds me of my wife. We've been married for 22 years.

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Hahaha!


I assume she doesn't post/read here?



I'd probably go the cheaper patch route on that floor pan, unless you discover that the entire thing is just too rusted through to be useable. That's a ton of work to replace it.

This all depends on how much you want to spend. For the kinda money you are talking you could get a 92-96 with 150,000 miles on it. But if you are going to fix it do It right and you'll be much happier.
Yes there is a bigger gas tank, I have one I have only been able to put in 17.7 after it was run dry. Put all new guts in the tank if you get a new one. There is no point in doing it if your gonna put in the old stuff. Also check all the electrical connectors and the wiring while you have it apart. You'll have an easier time putting in the 242 with everything already out but it shouldn't be too much of a problem if you want to wait. It also depends on if you are going to put new carpet in it. I would do the heater core while I was that far into it. Also do the heater hoses and the radiator hoses. Do those cut and folds before you do and herc. This way you can prep anything at once it will be much quicker than going back and forth. Look for holes in the rear most section of the quarter panel if you have them you might as well do the cut and fold anyways. Be careful when messing with the hatch post. While you have everything apart you should check or replace the following:
Rear shocks
Exhaust pipe over the axle
Rear brake lines
E brake cables and adjuster
Receiver hitch and wiring (mine was routed through the cut and fold area)
Drive shaft
Fuel lines and return
Spring packs and shackles
Sway bar links
Differential fluid
If you do cut out the floor decking and weld in new make sure you use a fire blanket over the brake lines and any other burnable items.
Hit all the bolts and nuts that you can with PB blaster that you can
Lube all the linkage for the tcase if you dont swap it
Thats about all that I can think of for now, I have no Idea what those bots are for but if you look up the tunnel you should be able to tell pretty easy. Good Luckatriot:
Edit:

and my guy's time is only going to be about $500 which is reasonable if he will do a professional sealed fix

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My God that is a rip off! You could have a whole cage welded up for that price. And I wouldn't pay $300 for the floor deck either. You could put something down that would be much stronger than the stock floor for $70.00 bucks. Not to mention that the decking you will buy will be a lighter gage then stock.. hell if you built your own floor you could hinge some acess panels for the shock bolts. I had lots more rust than you and I did my floor for about $500 bucks. That was including the welder I had to replace in the middle of it.

my old 87 XJ rotted out the same way.. and i finally broke it wheeling.. the bulkhead was separated from the floor from the hatch all the way to the drivers seat.. thats ALOT of work involved with a profesional fix.. $500 is a great deal if he really is a profesional.. theres alot of spotwelds back there to be drilled out..
i'd stay away from it myself but good luck!

1985xjlaredo said:

check all the electrical connectors and the wiring while you have it apart.

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electric is all good, but I am going to do some more while the headliner panel is out--will be adding a third brake light and also running wires for hatch lights from the rear dome.

Look for holes in the rear most section of the quarter panel if you have them you might as well do the cut and fold anyways.

Click to expand...

There's no visible outside rust except for a wee little bit right around the fender lip and some dusting in a couple of places up front.

While you have everything apart you should check or replace the following:

Click to expand...

Thanks for the checklist. I am going to replace 90% of that stuff with a lift kit and an engine swap in the next few months. I'll definitely take a look at the stuff while the deck is off though.

I have an 89' and it looks just as bad. I layed down a 44x34 sheet of 16 gauge in the cargo area and sealed it in with foam insulation, the REALLY sticky kind. After I cut most of the cancer out that is...Then tacked it down with 1/2" pop rivets. I am putting down 22 Gauge primered galvinized steel in the floor board area so I can bend it and make it conture to the floor. I also used the foam and pop rivets. I plan on Dur-a-coat bedlining the floors after I get all the rough edges grinded down and what not...I was about to post to see If I could get some PICS and opinions on what flavor to use, Linex, raptor, duracolor/duracoat whatever it is called.
Good luck, you will cuss and hollar just as much as me i am sure...I am about to pay for membership, and will be posting pics soon.

Those four bolts attach the transfercase linkage to the body.

I am currently in the middle of replacing both floorpans in the front from the firewall to the front seats due to the windshield leaking. My rear cargo area luckily is pretty good.

The 4 bolts you refer to on the tranny hump hold the transfer case linkage bracket. Replace them while you are there.

Thanks for the continued info. Re the linkage bracket, will I need to replace that when I go from NP231 to NP242? If so I should probably move that up in the to-do list ahead of herculiner and vinyl flooring.

Same bracket.

ehall,
I recently patched quite a few holes of that size in the floor boards of my '89. The method that i used was to snap off any loose pieces of rust, liberally apply rust converter, and then use fiberglass to patch the holes. I have had no problems with this method and find it very easy and inexpensive.

x4 on the bracket. Just unbolt one and go match it up at your hardware store of choice. If you do them one at a time, the bracket won't move and you won't have to have someone hold it up underneath while you start them all. This is when I converted my rig to 4wd.

Heres the bracket underneath:

Well since this thread has been revived... I bought the rear decking and it's at my buddy's body shop now, along with a new gas tank and pump/sender assembly. I also bought S-10 seats to replace the originals and they are at his shop too, waiting for seat mounts to be fabricated. The Jeep is currently at the AC repair shop next to his getting the new heater core and the AC converted while everything is out and apart. I am going to have the body shop do some fill patches, and prime the whole thing. It's probably going to be in surgery for another two weeks since the buddy rate is in-between-work rate. I don't have a garage or any heavy tools here so I'm not going to try and do much raw metal work myself.