Rusty Jimny, rear body mounts / chassis gone

Hi folks, new on here and looking for some inspiration.
Recently bought a jimny (99, 90k) for a bit of fun needing "some" welding in the boot...


For now its project name is the rust bucket.

After removing rear trims and poking around with the grinder...


Boot floor/rear arch junctions are gone down both sides and along the front.


Outer rear arches/back panel are falling apart.


Rear body mounts are no longer attached to the body!
One of the rear chassis to body mounts has rusted through.



Can handle the patching ok but the mounts have me stumped.

Only plan i have at the min is to raise the body and construct some arrangment bracing off the seatbelt cross member and the rear pillars either side of boot door as i wouldnt think any existing metal in the boot area would take the load.

Anyone had to re-attach the rear mounts and like to share their ideas?

Unforunately a truck/tray back end is not an option as id prefer to keep the std body shape.


Cheers Neil

I am following this with interest. Those outriggers are truly a worry.

I saw one guy who replaced all the sill etc. with thick rectangular section tube.

MysticRich wrote: Looks like a trayback build candidate only way to sort that lot out.

I have a better idea - it was something I wanted to do to my SJ but after 22years it was way too good to warrant it.......get a Blitz kit for it. I'd love to do it. :woohoo:

Do you want to repair it to roadworthy standard or for just offroading?

Hoping to get it back on the road. MOT is booked for next Thursday lol.

Got the chassis holes filled with 1.4mm steel then going to reinforce with 3mm plate and angle.
Subframe for the body mounts is almost done, (50x3 box) and ready for trial fit. If anything it should be more robust than it was.

Any thing I should look out for?
I like the idea of a tray back but I want to keep it practical for non off road stuff lol.

Will update with some pics again

The way these things rust is unreal! I was poking about in my boot recently as well and found a few holes too. Are you doing the welding yourself?

irishguy123 wrote: The way these things rust is unreal!

I suppose most users buy them to tackle the ice and snow and so these get a thrashing underneath but even so the standard of metal used is a disgrace.

I keep seeing all these rusty Jimnys on here yet mine has been up to its axles in mud and has next to none, save a bit of surface rust on the chassis.

Maybe my fanatical cleaning underneath has paid off but it often has been put in the garage wet to keep it secure,which I feared would promote rust. Maybe I've just been lucky!

Kirkynut

kirkynut wrote: I keep seeing all these rusty Jimnys on here yet mine has been up to its axles in mud and has next to none, save a bit of surface rust on the chassis. Maybe my fanatical cleaning underneath has paid off
Kirkynut

Yes, some of it is luck of the draw, some must be to do with steel quality for any given year, some to do with weather and suchlike, some with type of use and probably most important blasting the shyte off the underneath now and then.

The guy that made my spare key told me all the Jimnys he had seen prior to mine were in dreadful condition. Go figure.

How did your MOT go? Any pictures yet of your repairs>

Hi thanks for your interest.
Haven't had a minute recently whilst trying to get work done for mot


the welding ain't pretty lol


Subframe trial fit


Unfortunately I found the kingpin bearing on driver side was away so had to cancel the Thursday mot. Was too busy welding in new metal to remember to check the normal stuff lol.

It lived up to its name of rust bucket as all but the brake fastners that had to be undone to replace the king pin bearings disintegrated!
Took a. bout 3hrs of heat, hammering on wrong sized sockets and welding bits of metal to bolt heads to strip the joint then about 30mins to rebuild with new fasteners lol.

Went to MOT last night and failed
Tester was a bit of jobs worth, he hammered a hole in the sill (seemed sturdy enough to me before) and said the chassis is cracked at the rear tie bar mount.
On inspection I can't see a crack, I asked him where to be told "well I'm not sure if it's a crack or not". So I've been told to descale the area make any repairs necessary and then re-test.

Hopefully get use of a ramp this evening and see if I can get it retested for the weekend.
Rather than clog this area I'll maybe start a build thread in appropriate section.
Photos became sparse as I progressed, really slows things down lol

thompo wrote: It lived up to its name of rust bucket

Went to MOT last night and failed

Tester was a bit of jobs worth, he hammered a hole in the sill (seemed sturdy enough to me before) and said the chassis is cracked at the rear tie bar mount.

Seeing the trouble you are having is a bit depressing. :sick:

Don't think I'd be pleased if the MoT took to putting holes in metal with an implement - I could bash a hold with a welder's spatter hammer in most cars!!

My chap marks areas with yellow crayon and tells me what needs doing. I am a bit shocked that you have a cracked chassis; it's the best bit of metal on the vehicle. :whistle:

Hopefully once this is done it should be good to go for a few years.