severe rust. sigh.

So glad this forum exists...now I know this has been discussed in several threads already but after doing some reading I went out to check the 3rd brake light on my KJ for the dreaded rust problem, sure enough I found it was severely rusted. I attached a pic..it also appears that either the previous owner or the dealer I purchased it from attempted to hide it with spraypaint...looks like it was sprayed over everything. Anyone ever seen it this bad? its really rusted through..I could easily push a screwdriver right through it all if I wanted too. Im worried leaks into the cargo area will become a problem soon. Anyone have any good ideas? Obviously at some point soon a visit to the body shop is in order but I'm nervous its going to be a very expensive job

I can't understand why poeple neglect there vehicles,now not saying you did since you just bought it but the PO did.


I have a '02 KJ also and zero signs of any corrosion on any body panels.I also wash it weekly regardless if it's in the middle of a blizzard or even if it's raining,granted I do spend more time washing the undercarriage though.

tjkj2002 said:

I can't understand why poeple neglect there vehicles,now not saying you did since you just bought it but the PO did.

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Yeah I really cant understand it either, for the amount of money a new vehicle costs why not take care of it properly?...this ***** because its in really good mechanical and cosmetic shape other than this rust and on the passenger side below the doors has a hole rusted through it. I actually bought it a little less than 2 years ago, I wish I had know to check sooner and I really wish I had noticed it before because I have washed it religiously especially in the winter because of all the salt here and I wax it every few months but somehow missed it. I have to admit I was so excited when I bought it because I had wanted one for so long that I didn't really go over it as well as I should have.

Same thing with my '05. I didn't notice it until a few months after I bought it. Maybe it wasn't until a few months after I bought it I noticed the paint bubbling.

It wasn't neglect that caused it in my case. A manufacturing defect of the brake like is what caused it. There was a little plastic piece on the light and with the vehicle vibrations it wore away the paint in one spot. I bet you have the same issue. I've read of a few cases of the same issue.

Luckily it wasn't too expensive to fix. The dealer autobody patched in new sheet metal and painted it. The proper way would be to paint the whole roof. I opted to have them blend it at the top of the roof. I think it was only a few hundred dollars.

eradicator006 said:

Same thing with my '05. I didn't notice it until a few months after I bought it. Maybe it wasn't until a few months after I bought it I noticed the paint bubbling.

It wasn't neglect that caused it in my case. A manufacturing defect of the brake like is what caused it. There was a little plastic piece on the light and with the vehicle vibrations it wore away the paint in one spot. I bet you have the same issue. I've read of a few cases of the same issue.

Luckily it wasn't too expensive to fix. The dealer autobody patched in new sheet metal and painted it. The proper way would be to paint the whole roof. I opted to have them blend it at the top of the roof. I think it was only a few hundred dollars.

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Thanks, good to know its not going to be a small fortune to get it fixed. I was hoping someone had a similar experience with getting sheet metal patched in.. I am going to take it to some body shops over the next few weeks and get some quotes

Let us know how you make out, Cape.

Dave

Dave said:

Let us know how you make out, Cape.

Dave

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Will do! hoping I can go get a couple quotes tomorrow

For those interested, I got a quote from a very highly rated body shop not far from me, he wrote me up an estimate right around $650 for everything, cut out rust/weld in new sheet metal, POR15 it all on the inside and then repaint etc. I think its a little high but I am going to check a few more places before I make a decision. My father in law's good friend runs a very reputable body shop so I am going to see what they say when I can get there, only downside is its about 1.5hrs away but they do great work and are long time friends of my wife's family so depending on what they say/think I may go with them.

Just for fun here is a pic of the rocker panel rust on the passenger side I mentioned, its also really rusted through. Drivers side is fine from what I can see..no rust anywhere. Not sure what I'm going to do about this...I did see there is a company that makes a replacement piece that supposedly can be welded in but I'm not even sure if its the right piece, It says slip on? but also says for rust replacement etc..anyone tried this piece? if there's a thread on someone using this specific piece please forgive me, I did try and search for it a bunch of different ways

Jeep Liberty 02-07 Slip-on Rocker Panel 4 Door

I was also considering looking into getting the rusted rocker panel cut off and some square tubing welded in its place...I see its a common fix for the older cherokee with rusted rocker panels but I'm not sure as I'd have to do both sides and I'm not sure which option would be more cost effective. Anyone have any thoughts comments or criticism?

My rocker panel on the passenger side is also starting to bubble. Its got to be a defect from the factory.

The 3rd brake light is also a defect. I caught that early enough before it wore a hole through the paint thanks to this forum.

I thought I caught mine in time (3rd brake light)... (2yrs ago?) I have bubbling now too. Keep your eye on it JJ!

Damn you all are making me nervous. My third tail light is currently caulked to the body of my Jeep because of a leaking problem I had. I'm not getting it off any time soon.

I took mine off again for its twice a year cleaning....no rust!!! I just coat the edge in there with touch up paint. Then once that drys I wipe it down really good with silicone spray.

I'm going to get a couple more quotes next week and definitely go get my brake light problem fixed in 2-3 weeks. It drives me crazy thinking about it rusting out and water leaking back there. With such low miles and great mechanical shape I want to keep the body in good condition as I really love this jeep and don't plan on buying another vehicle until I run this thing into the ground.. I hate car loans and I only have 1 year left on this one until its paid off

I finally got the rust issues taken care of, I'll post some pics up later but due to an unexpected extreme shortage of funds I ended up having a family friend temporarily fix both issues. I know its most likely going to come back in a few short years but for now I'm happy with the results. I used the patch panel from Noram for the rocker panel rust, he cut out all the old rust out and treated the area with por15 and glued the patch on with body adhesive. He was able to patch in a piece of sheetmetal for the rear brake light rust. For a total of $300 to do both and repaint etc it came out pretty good, I plan on making this jeep my "beach/winter/offroad/around town" vehicle in a year or so and getting something small and higher MPG to commute in anyways so if the rust comes back (and it will) I'm not going to fret over it. Ill post some pics up shortly

For those having internal rust issues you may want to take a look at this product from Eastwood - it's an internal frame rust preventer.

A buddy uses it on his farm equipment and its really quite good. Prevents rust from ever getting started. The guy who owns a body shop I use a lot (hey, I have two kids who had their share of "incidents..." :sad72: ) told me that the Eastwood product is one he uses on restorations. He also likes POR-15 over top of the Eastwood product.

I hated hearing this but he said if the 3rd brake light or rocker panel has rust there isn't much to do to cure it - he called rust a cancer that once started just keeps going. Keep up with it as best as you can but eventually it will eat up a body panel.

The best prevention is washing the Jeep - I wish I'd had my Libby since it was new then I wouldn't be as concerned about the 3rd brake light and the rockers. Passenger side is fine but there's a bubble on the driver's side rocker.

Damn

Bob

Did the eastwood internal frame coating myself and it was a pretty painless process. A can and a half will get you there, just make sure you tape off any holes you aren't using... this stuff is thin and fires out of any opening it finds.

It's crazy how minimal rust can look but how bad it can actually be. My rockers had a couple smaller bubbles towards the rear, which made it look like a simple wire brush job. Turns out they rust from the inside and when you see the bubbles, you're in for a lot of metal excavation. For example, I had 2 or three dime sized spots per side and here's what it was looking like partway through the repair process:



I haven't looked at my 3rd brake light, so knowing what the rockers looked like, I'm definitely a little sketched out and will be inspecting the area this weekend!

ebelements said:

Did the eastwood internal frame coating myself and it was a pretty painless process. A can and a half will get you there, just make sure you tape off any holes you aren't using... this stuff is thin and fires out of any opening it finds.

It's crazy how minimal rust can look but how bad it can actually be. My rockers had a couple smaller bubbles towards the rear, which made it look like a simple wire brush job. Turns out they rust from the inside and when you see the bubbles, you're in for a lot of metal excavation. For example, I had 2 or three dime sized spots per side and here's what it was looking like partway through the repair process:

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I haven't looked at my 3rd brake light, so knowing what the rockers looked like, I'm definitely a little sketched out and will be inspecting the area this weekend!

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Last year I had the very same problem.
I dealt with the rust by sanding down my rocker panels beneath the doors and repaired the area.

This year I noticed more surface rust. When I examined it more closely I realized that it was rusted completely through.
With my vehicle inspection coming up I'm going to have to get my rust problem fixed soon.


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Rusty Rocker Panels

LibertyFever said:

Last year I had the very same problem.
I dealt with the rust by sanding down my rocker panels beneath the doors and repaired the area.

This year I noticed more surface rust. When I examined it more closely I realized that it was rusted completely through.
With my vehicle inspection coming up I'm going to have to get my rust problem fixed soon.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

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Hey LibertyFever... I know your post is couple years old, but I'm facing an inspection here in VT and am very concerned about my rockers. Can you tell me how you ended up fixing yours? I havent really dug into mine, but I can tell that I can easily push my finger into the panel below the passenger rear. The driver's side rear flakes pretty easy and the previous owner (ive only had it 6 months) must have sprayed foam in it or something. Thanks for any help!

NEKsport said:

Hey LibertyFever... I know your post is couple years old, but I'm facing an inspection here in VT and am very concerned about my rockers. Can you tell me how you ended up fixing yours? I havent really dug into mine, but I can tell that I can easily push my finger into the panel below the passenger rear. The driver's side rear flakes pretty easy and the previous owner (ive only had it 6 months) must have sprayed foam in it or something. Thanks for any help!

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That spray foam is bad news as it retains water and moisture causing even more problems. Having your rockers replaced entirely would be the correct way. You can pick up a pair of rocker patch panels for decent price online and I know someone local (Newport) that does great work for good price minus paint. You could always tape your doors off and have Sanel's mix you up a couple cans of matching paint after. Let me know if you would like a phone number.