Help: how bad is this rust?

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MDarius

MDarius

I break stuff.
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Location
Bountiful, UT
I'm looking at buying a replacement Cruiser. I'm not familiar with rust and dealing with it and what to expect from it, other than I know it gets worse. Please take a look at these undercarriage pics of the rig I'm considering and let me know your thoughts on "Buy", "It's fixable", or "Run". It's been in the Great lakes area and it will be moving to Utah. Thanks.

https://goo.gl/photos/ZWUy66tHHdWQANe77
 
uuuhhh, i've never seen a rusty birfield joint ball, that's a bit scary... wonder how well it can seal rusty...
 
Mine got a thin layer of rust from sitting unused for several days. Maybe mine are dry to, but it didn't startle me. Maybe it should have...
 
One problem with rust is breaking bolts when trying to remove them.

From the under carriage pic its not too bad. I would more worry about rocker panned, fender area and tailgate rust. This is the rust you need to worry about.

The under carriage rust is on thick metal parts and usually can be removed or treated and covered with products like POR15.

If its under market price I wouldn't mine that rust. My 80 is from WI where they salt the roads to the point that your vehicle is white. Just spray with bolts with some rust buster stuff many weeks or months before you plan on removing bolts and nuts.
 
landtoy80 said:
One problem with rust is breaking bolts when trying to remove them.

From the under carriage pic its not too bad. I would more worry about rocker panned, fender area and tailgate rust. This is the rust you need to worry about.

The under carriage rust is on thick metal parts and usually can be removed or treated and covered with products like POR15.

If its under market price I wouldn't mine that rust. My 80 is from WI where they salt the roads to the point that your vehicle is white. Just spray with bolts with some rust buster stuff many weeks or months before you plan on removing bolts and nuts.
Click to expand...

also rust around any windows, that's terrible...

but to echo others, it doesn't look too bad... i hadn't seen a birfield ball like that, but your exhaust is nearly gauranteed to be rusted... i've got a southern car and mine's pretty rusty...

the surface rust on my frame and rear axle doesn't scare me one bit...
 
The body looks great. It is an Lx450, so there could be something under the plastic cladding I suppose.
 
it's not great by SW standards but maybe not so bad by rust belt standards (guessing). It's not like it's thickly covered everywhere. If I didn't have access to a sunbelt vehicle I would consider it for the right price.
Btw, rust will not get worse if you deal with it properly. No oxygen, no rust. But yes, there will have been some steel loss. And it's work. And you have to keep an eye out for new rust. Light surface rust does not bother me. Heavily corroded fasteners do. I would walk away if there is evidence of serious metal loss on the frame.

And yes, the Birfs are short on grease and there is likely an oil seal problem too. Not too bad to fix the latter. Former is trivial.
 
As for "under market", it's got a good lift, good tires, ARB front bumper, interior is pretty good, and right about NADA. But NADA doesn't really reflect "market" on these. My '95 has a high book of $16k, but a 97 has a high book at $8,100. Go figure.
 
Yes, oil seal was replaced last year, but it is leaking again. He's got it into the mechanic that did the work originally, not sure what the status will be at the time of sale.
 
Is that a snapped abs sensor bolt in the pic?

Also to echo others. The swivel ball clearly shows level of grease to be way low. Look where rust stops and soupy grease starts. So it needs an knuckle refresh/reseal at min. From the few pics it doesn't look terrible. I'd still try anywhere but Great Lakes region if possible.
 
jonheld said:
I don't see any rust in these pictures.
Click to expand...


Says the fellow from New Yook. :)

Probably so considering what you are used to having fall in your eyes on a creeper......:grinpimp:
 
jfz80 said:
Is that a snapped abs sensor bolt in the pic?

Also to echo others. The swivel ball clearly shows level of grease to be way low. Look where rust stops and soupy grease starts. So it needs an knuckle refresh/reseal at min. From the few pics it doesn't look terrible. I'd still try anywhere but Great Lakes region if possible.
Click to expand...

A SW cruiser in similar overall condition is running 30% more $$. If the rust isn't a show stopper I feel like it's a reasonable price, except for the birf service that's right around the corner. Hmmm...

And yes, that's a broken bolt on the ABS sensor. It's not perfect, but I don't think his asking price is for a perfect truck.
 
Kidding aside those knuckles have got to be very dry. I wouldn't be surprised it it rattles some.
 
What I'm finding is a sliding scale of price compared to issues. No surprise there, but it's unusually consistent. For <$6k you get high miles, and/or abused, and/or no mods but no maintenance records either. For $6k to $9k, you get a vehicle that is going to need some $2k repair in the next year. For $10k and up you get a fairly finished product, maintenance is up to date, mileage is higher with lockers and lower without. It seems pretty consistent.
 
I don't think it looks that bad.

Then again, I'm looking for another 80 and have a very limited budget so I've lowered my standards to "closing time and the girl in the corner has a heartbeat".
 
Hell yeah! It'll be a bigger gutless wonder than a 3FE but it'll look cool as s***!
 
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