Transmission Crossmember Rusting.

I have a 2007 Grand Cherokee Laredo 3.7 and the transmission crossmember (skidplate?) is rusting. It's the salt on the roads in NYS, blah. Where can I find one? I've been to our local You Pull It yards but none to be found. Help! Thank you!

 

If you could find one in the local yards it might be just as rusty. Try some online sites that sell jeep parts https://www.mymoparparts.com/v-2007...lex/body-sheet-metal-except-doors--floor-pans Post some pics of the part in question so we ca help you determine whether its a crossmember or skid plate as they are different parts. If the crossmember is as rusty as you state there may be more critical rust areas that should be evaluated.

 

Thank you. I will post a photo after work.

 

I'm sorry for the duplicate photos. They kept disappearing from my phone screen and then when I posted they were all there twice or three times. Ugh!

 

Wow you ain’t kidding. That cross member needs to be replaced soon. With a floor jack and some other supports this could be a diy task if you got the tools, time and basic skills. Annual road salt baths have definitely taken its toll on your Jeep. Be sure to check other critical areas

 

Yes my tenant is my mechanic so it's really just a matter of me finding the crossmember part.

 

Thank you for your help. I found the part on the Mopar website and it should be arriving in a few more days. A new muffler, tailpipe, wipers and battery and we'll be ready for Upstate NY winter. Thanks again. You helped when no one else could and I appreciate it.

 

Same Jeep. I add 1 quart of oil every Sunday morning as it's burning oil not leaking. I can see the exhaust is a little blue. What can I do about it? Someone suggested head gaskets.

 

A blown head gasket you would be getting white smoke. Burning Anti-freeze. Blue smoke is oil. Burning oil is usually bad piston rings. How many miles on your GC? I'd start by pulling your spark plugs and examine them for burnt oil make sure they are not wet with oil. You can also drain the oil to make sure there's no (water) anti-freeze.

A quart a week is alot of oil to be burning. I'd be very concerned.

 

That's not likely to be a head gasket. It's oil burning. When is it smoking? On startup? On every startup, or only when it's been sitting a bit? How long does it smoke?
Honestly, from the look of that undercarriage, I'd be a bit surprised if it wasn't burning oil AND leaking some.

 

Well the only time I notice any blue exhaust is when the wind blows it up around to the front and that was only occasionally. I don't see any oil marks or stains on the driveway. I'll talk to my mechanic about it. He can do all my repairs after he gets my Chevy S10 fixed so I have something to drive. Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

She has 205,000 miles.
The smoke is only on the first start up of the day and then just for a moment. I use it every day so there's no sitting. Lol.

 

It's probably time to rebuild that engine, or at least overhaul it. Do a compression check and a leak down test. I'll wager your valve seals and/or piston rings are shot.

 

Thanks for the ideas. I'll talk to him about doing that. I bought Lucas Stop Leak to put in this Sunday. I've been using the regular Lucas about once a month. Maybe I should find a good used motor and replace it.

 

How do you find a "good used motor" to replace it with? For all you know, that 50,000 mile, carefully maintained, never abused used engine that ran perfectly when they pulled it is actually a 300,000 mile engine that had two oil changes in it's life.
Unless you've tossed a rod right through the block, I honestly think you'd be better off overhauling or rebuilding the engine you've got. Pull it, remove the oil pan and heads and inspect it. If there's nothing else really wrong, I'd replace the crank bearings, the rings, valve seals and the various gaskets and put it back. It's still a 200,000 mile motor, but you KNOW that it's a good one. If you do find other issues, strip it it bare and rebuild it. Now you have a NEW engine. And a chance to repair is a chance to upgrade. So when you rebuild it, you have the chance to free up a few ponies.

 

All very valid points! The trick will be to find someone to do the work. That's the problem everywhere these days. I think I will stick with the devil I know rather than the devil I don't. Keep babying it along and see if my mechanic will tackle it next year when the weather is nicer. Thank you for all your input and ideas.

 

My mechanic put the new transmission crossmember on just in time. He said the original one broke as he was it taking out. It will be interesting to see how long this one lasts now that NY is using brine for the winter roads. That stuff eats Everything! He also replaced my muffler. Now he has to do the knock sensors. Pretty soon it will be a new Jeep. Thanks again everyone. I love this forum.

 

Take it back out. Give it a heavy coating of POR-15 or similar. Then put it back. While you're at it, spray that stuff over everything you can get to under there.

 

There may be several holes in the crossmember to spray some fluid film or similar products into the crevices.