Hey guys, I'm a TJ owner and I'm over on the sister TJ Forum, and I'm contemplating dipping my toe into the JK world. That's why I haven't filled out my profile yet, as I'm asking for help from the JK experts here.
A friend has a 2012 Sahara Unlimited that his family outgrew, his kids don't want, and he never drives it because he has another car, a work truck, and a couple of motorcycles. It's just sits in his driveway, he wants it gone at this point. It has 115,000 miles, he's the 2nd owner.
I spent a couple of hours looking at it yesterday, easily an hour plus underneath looking at every single bolt, nook and cranny, the frame, spring perches, etc...
The body and floors are immaculate, as is the interior itself, so I have no concerns there at all. I was shocked. The gas tank skid plate, however, needs to be replaced. No biggie.
The owner prior to him installed a 4" lift. From my eyeballing it, it looks like a Quadratec kit, a Terraflex. I'd guess it's 3" suspension and a 1' body lift, as the body mount pucks looked big.
The underside of the jeep has been neglected, and I'm up in the northeast, so salt and rust. The frame has a moderate amount of surface rust, but no scaling/flaking or rot, and the internal frame seem good. I stuck my fingers in every hole, I didn't feel any chunks or rust inside at all, just smooth frame. I was pleasantly surprised, especially after looking at an '05 Rubicon the other day which had a "decent" frame according to the owner, but I pushed my finger through it. I figure a good wire brushing, and a full coating of Rust Reformer or similar on the outside, a power washing of the internal frame then a coating of Fluid Film, and I think it'll be as close to perfect as a northern Jeep frame can get.
The suspension that was put on by the previous owner, however, it's just covered in surface rust. It's gross, I'll replace it with new Rancho shocks. I'll remove the springs, sand them down, paint them up fresh and reinstall those. The spring perches, bumpstop cups/receivers look good.
Similar with the steering linkage with surface rust, and I was thinking of swapping in the RJ CurrectLync system with a Rancho stabilizer. He is starting to get the death wobble, so it needs replacing anyway. I'll probably throw new U Joints on up front, too.
Control Arms and Track Bars look similar, lots of surface rust, probably replace those too with a decent set of adjustables.
Dana 44 rear geared at 3.21according to the spec sheet(but I'll verify), and a Dana 30 up front, with an automatic transmission.
Also, the check engine light came on recently, I pulled the codes, there were 3 of them, all stemming from the same issue. Codes were P0300, P0301, P0335, which are general misfire, cylinder 1 misfire, and CPS Sensor malfunction. I know these sensors go bad, and are an easy swap on a TJ, so I'm assuming that it's similar for the JK.
Also needs new hard top weatherstripping, as he said that water is getting in during heavy rain.
I'm having a hard time putting a value/price on this, as I'm a TJ guy, and I neither want to screw over my buddy or be underwater on the thing, in case I wind up selling it later. And I'm not sure if I should deduct dollar for dollar the upgrades/restoration that I plan.
Knowing all that, what would you guys say is a fair price to pay?
Any questions, send them my way. It might take me a bit to get back to you guys, as I'll be outside working on the TJ. I have the rear end pulled right now, prepping it for new spring perches and a track bar bracket to be welded on. So of course there's new U Joints and an axle cleaning/painting happening, too. I fell down the rabbit hole with that one.
Thanks for any help and/or advice!!!
A friend has a 2012 Sahara Unlimited that his family outgrew, his kids don't want, and he never drives it because he has another car, a work truck, and a couple of motorcycles. It's just sits in his driveway, he wants it gone at this point. It has 115,000 miles, he's the 2nd owner.
I spent a couple of hours looking at it yesterday, easily an hour plus underneath looking at every single bolt, nook and cranny, the frame, spring perches, etc...
The body and floors are immaculate, as is the interior itself, so I have no concerns there at all. I was shocked. The gas tank skid plate, however, needs to be replaced. No biggie.
The owner prior to him installed a 4" lift. From my eyeballing it, it looks like a Quadratec kit, a Terraflex. I'd guess it's 3" suspension and a 1' body lift, as the body mount pucks looked big.
The underside of the jeep has been neglected, and I'm up in the northeast, so salt and rust. The frame has a moderate amount of surface rust, but no scaling/flaking or rot, and the internal frame seem good. I stuck my fingers in every hole, I didn't feel any chunks or rust inside at all, just smooth frame. I was pleasantly surprised, especially after looking at an '05 Rubicon the other day which had a "decent" frame according to the owner, but I pushed my finger through it. I figure a good wire brushing, and a full coating of Rust Reformer or similar on the outside, a power washing of the internal frame then a coating of Fluid Film, and I think it'll be as close to perfect as a northern Jeep frame can get.
The suspension that was put on by the previous owner, however, it's just covered in surface rust. It's gross, I'll replace it with new Rancho shocks. I'll remove the springs, sand them down, paint them up fresh and reinstall those. The spring perches, bumpstop cups/receivers look good.
Similar with the steering linkage with surface rust, and I was thinking of swapping in the RJ CurrectLync system with a Rancho stabilizer. He is starting to get the death wobble, so it needs replacing anyway. I'll probably throw new U Joints on up front, too.
Control Arms and Track Bars look similar, lots of surface rust, probably replace those too with a decent set of adjustables.
Dana 44 rear geared at 3.21according to the spec sheet(but I'll verify), and a Dana 30 up front, with an automatic transmission.
Also, the check engine light came on recently, I pulled the codes, there were 3 of them, all stemming from the same issue. Codes were P0300, P0301, P0335, which are general misfire, cylinder 1 misfire, and CPS Sensor malfunction. I know these sensors go bad, and are an easy swap on a TJ, so I'm assuming that it's similar for the JK.
Also needs new hard top weatherstripping, as he said that water is getting in during heavy rain.
I'm having a hard time putting a value/price on this, as I'm a TJ guy, and I neither want to screw over my buddy or be underwater on the thing, in case I wind up selling it later. And I'm not sure if I should deduct dollar for dollar the upgrades/restoration that I plan.
Knowing all that, what would you guys say is a fair price to pay?
Any questions, send them my way. It might take me a bit to get back to you guys, as I'll be outside working on the TJ. I have the rear end pulled right now, prepping it for new spring perches and a track bar bracket to be welded on. So of course there's new U Joints and an axle cleaning/painting happening, too. I fell down the rabbit hole with that one.
Thanks for any help and/or advice!!!
