Rust on suspension components

[mazterofpupetz]

Hey Forum,

So, my suspension parts have some rust on them. Was hoping to get some suggestions from other Jeep owners on best course of action.

I took some pictures of the front driver suspension

There are no holes anywhere but the rust is flaking in spots.

Also, as you can see in the last few pictures my front transfer case has a slow leak. What have others paid to have the leak repaired?

 

[tjkj2002]

Gotta love that salt and neglect from not washing the undercarriage at least once every 2 weeks during the winter.


There is nothing you can do at this point with that much corrosion unless you replace everything.



Oh and that is your front diff leaking,the left output seal is the problem and normally is a easy fix but with all that corrosion you have it will be a pain in the rear and may end up costing you alot more $$$ from seiezed/broken parts to access that seal to replace.It will not be the shops fault for other broken parts due to neglect on your part,sorry but the way it is.

 

[mazterofpupetz]

Gotta love that salt and neglect from not washing the undercarriage at least once every 2 weeks during the winter.


There is nothing you can do at this point with that much corrosion unless you replace everything.



Oh and that is your front diff leaking,the left output seal is the problem and normally is a easy fix but with all that corrosion you have it will be a pain in the rear and may end up costing you alot more $$$ from seiezed/broken parts to access that seal to replace.It will not be the shops fault for other broken parts due to neglect on your part,sorry but the way it is.

So it isn't my fault it is like this. I recently just purchased the vehicle. I am the second owner and am trying to be a little more proactive about this stuff than the previous owner.

The parts themselves are not that expensive. It seems like 250-350 dollars would cover almost every single rusted part. Do you think replacing everything is necessary? Any sort of coating that will prevent further rust?

 

[hectikart]

yea that *****...if it were me, I would POR15 everything with surface rust that can be salvaged. Paint right over the rust...and as TJKJ said, replace everything else. time for a new suspension...good excuse to lift it.

 

[hectikart]

don't bother replacing shocks/springs with OEM stuff...if you're going to do it, upgrade it. Do something like OME, Frankenlift, or Ironman. jeepinbyal.com will have everything you need and they're great to deal with. The stock suspension is crap after about 40,000 miles. I was sitting almost 2" lower than stock at 84,000 miles. Did an ironman lift and the difference is unbelievable. Highly recommend it. The parts were around $600, and I had a local shop do the install.

 

[tommudd]

As rusty as everything is most places wouldn't even want to touch it .
Not even sure you could ever align it, I mean look at the rust on the adjusters. Those bolts alone are like 40 bucks each times 4 there's 160 plus 3-4 hours ( at least) labor cutting and beating them out.
To do it right you'd have to replace everything or I would.
Now if the front looks like that I'm sure the rear is just as bad or even worse
Check the frame right in front of the rear lower control arms I'll bet its rusted bad there as well
250-300 bucks would only get you started and that's not even touching the springs and shocks

 

[theroofable]

All the rubber pieces look like they are in great shape though! Thats amazing!

 

[tommudd]

Wouldn't trust any of the rubber parts either. Salt etc works on those parts just like it does metal.

 

[andrewkoller]

Try this stuff, works pretty good. I hit all the rust spots once a year
Fluid Film® | Corrosion Preventative, Lubricant and Rust Inhibitor
http://www.theruststore.com/Fluid-Film-C67.aspx

 

[tommudd]

Might work before rust gets that bad, but his has a good hold on there, with parts rusted badly / deteriorated

 

[mazterofpupetz]

Wouldn't trust any of the rubber parts either. Salt etc works on those parts just like it does metal.

So thanks everyone for responding and reading my thread but it doesn't seem anyone has any suggestions from this point. My mechanic said despite the rust everything is solid and the leak is so minor that not to worry about it just check the fluid level every few months.

I asked about replacing all of the rusted components and he said sure you could do that but they aren't a hazard and even though there is heavy rust they haven't damaged any of the parts.

I replaced the brake lines, rotors, brakes, and U-joint so far. I think I will try and apply a coat of something to the rusted parts to help prevent more rust from spreading so quickly.

I mean, if money was not an issue, what are some possibilities for me to do if I wanted to keep this jeep for another 4 or 5 years?

 

[JeepJeepster]

Personally I would just sand everything down very well and put a good primer on it with a couple coats of paint. No reason why that won't last you many years. Good wire brush on a drill and/or angle grinder will fix that right up.

 

[Marlon_JB2]

 

[mazterofpupetz]

Personally I would just sand everything down very well and put a good primer on it with a couple coats of paint. No reason why that won't last you many years. Good wire brush on a drill and/or angle grinder will fix that right up.

I think I will do this. Should I go all the way and use Por 15 or since it is already rusted perhaps something cheaper/less work intensive?

 

[tommudd]

POR will work somewhat better since it soaks in some
Its rusted so bad nothing is going to completely stop it or make it better than what it is right now
Best you can hope for is to slow it down and never need an alignment etc

 

[mazterofpupetz]

POR will work somewhat better since it soaks in some
Its rusted so bad nothing is going to completely stop it or make it better than what it is right now
Best you can hope for is to slow it down and never need an alignment etc

I did my brakes/rotors/brake lines and I was looking at the sway bar and I think it can be replaced without much trouble. It is rusted but I brushed away most of the rust and used a whole bottle of PB blaster of the bolts. I really think they could replace those parts and I think I'll ask my mechanic to give it a shot removing them. The other stuff I'm a little iffy on trying to remove just because of how fast the bill could snow ball...