[4xTroy]

Hate to ask, but I'm gonna do it anyways...

2005 SLT / 4.7 / 545RFE / 4WD / 115k

Body and interior look incredible for a 13yo truck. Engine sounds good. Coolant and radiator hoses look to be original, so one can assume no overheating (which killed the 4.7 in my Jeep @ ~250k).

Here's a few pics of stuff I looked at today. I come across this white crap from time to time, and I'm curious as to what it is. Is this a Northerner thing? The truck is originally from NJ, so I dunno. I've had my WJ for 16 years here in VA and it's never had crud like this.

I'm also wondering about this bit of surface rust (there's another patch of it on the other side). Is this indicative of any major chassis issues or suggest some other areas that need to be explicitly checked out? If I decide to move forward, I will have them put it on a lift so I can check out the undercarriage.

Nothing to see here... probably need a new exhaust before too long, but the rest doesn't seem to look too bad.

Thanks for any thoughts you may have!

 

[RXT]

Yup it's a northern thing. The truck has been exposed to road salt and/or maybe sea salt. That white stuff appears to be aluminum oxide, the rest has surface rust. Personally I avoid these like the plague because within about 5 yrs you'll be battling rust holes…But all is not lost, if you address it effectively and aggressively, you can prolong the life of this truck. What would I do? I'd start applying a rust encapsulating paint like POR15 to the worse areas and I'd spray oil all over everything else, then reapply often.

Ed

 

[FaceDeAce]

The white crust powder is aluminum oxide. In other words, aluminum rust.
You will find patches of paint flake and rust. Likely under those fender flares especially. As can be expected. Easy to deal with unless you are ocd-type over paint finish.
Other items you need to consider on the truck and to put on your “will not be surprised” list ....

- spark plugs replacement
- shocks condition, replacement
- brakes condition, replacement
- upper and lower ball joint condition, replacement
- wheel alignment and balancing
- driveshaft and front CV joints, universal joints, condition and replacement
- Fluids replacement. ALL. So you have a zero reference to go from. Engine oil, coolant, brake fluid lines flush, transmission fluid changeout, power steering fluid changeout.
- battery condition, load test, replacement.

All of those need to be on your inspections check and be prepared to repair/replace list. Add those up and include them in your purchase budget. If any of them are deemed not required then great you’re under budget. If all of them become necessary, then you are not surprised and budget ready.

Hope that helps!

 

[WestCoastKevin]

The Wheel wells are probably rotting from the inside.
Like others said. If you buy it, you want to start treating all of the rust with Ospho or a similar product. Look for the hidden areas.