How do you winter prep your TJ?

jodomcfrodo said:
I'm parking my Jeep for the winters here in Chicago. It isn't worth the hassle of dealing with rust. Too much road salt. I don't need the Jeep that badly.

But, if you must drive through road salt in the winters, washing the Jeep is the best way to prevent rust. Spend a good long while at the car wash each week. That'll do more in terms of rust than anything you can put on it now. Remember to get inside the frame.
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Winter is actually pretty easy where I am. Colorado doesn't use nearly the amount of salt as the upper midwest does. In the winter, I'll swing through the self serve car wash about once a week to hose off the Jeep. It's probably cleaner in the winter than it is in the summer.
 
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jodomcfrodo said:
You don't have to tell me twice! My new frame is going in sometime in the next few weeks :(. Luckily I'm in College so I don't really need the Jeep at all. If I needed a daily driver, I'd have to seriously consider finding a cheap beater. These things just rust too damn easily! But with the amount of salt that they use here, you could probably rust plastic through :D
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Ha ha. Yeah really, it seems like the salt kills everything!
 
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I'll be throwing a fresh Heater Core in next month and possibly some heated seats!
 
NorCal is a bit different story. We get all 4 seasons up here. Hard top goes on. Coat of wax and just the normal general maintenance you would normally do to a rig with 160K+ miles on the clock. Probably going to tackle the evap core and heater core sometime before next summer.
 
Nathan Stanfield said:
I usually toss a tow rope in the back.
Wyoming winters are usually loads of wind and blowing snow, but at least we don’t use salt here.
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One of my more exciting drives through Wyoming was the morning after a heavy wet snow. A few vehicles had driven the lonely road the night before the freeze happened. By the time I got to this section, the deep snow ruts had become deep ice ruts for the next 30 miles. I didn't need to steer very much. The road did that for me.
 
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I make sure I have an ice scraper/snow brush. Snow shovel, insulated coveralls, boots, gloves, knit cap. I am responsible for a fleet that has to go out so many days it is up early to help chain them up if we have had freezing rain or a lot of snow. Both my parents and my in laws just turned 90, so I try to make it to their places to do the walks. My folks are still 10 miles out of town on the farm, so that is why the warm clothing in the jeep. Given how it handled in the snow and ice last year I am getting a set of chains for the freezing rain this year. Very light in the back and as short as it is it can get away from you quick.

B
 
jjvw said:
One of my more exciting drives through Wyoming was the morning after a heavy wet snow. A few vehicles had driven the lonely road the night before the freeze happened. By the time I got to this section, the deep snow ruts had become deep ice ruts for the next 30 miles. I didn't need to steer very much. The road did that for me.
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You just described my drive to work the day after it snows.
I usually leave the house before snow plows hit the road and the first two miles from my house to the paved road doesn’t get plowed. It’s always a blast.
It wouldn’t be so bad if it were plowed but I’m convinced that the plow drivers are part of some union that says they don’t have to work if it’s snowing. When they do show up they mostly just make the roads worse.
 
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Frequent car washes that spray your underbody are probably the best way to protect your car during the winter. I've done nothing but that and have gotten through 3 Minnesota winters and 2 in Colorado with very minimal surface rust. This year, I've decided to stop being such a lazy-ass and tackle the rust that has accumulated. Most of it was easy enough to remove with a simple rust treatment spray (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BKC25K/?tag=wranglerorg-20) although, I did have to grind out a few small stubborn spots with a wire brush.

To try and prevent recurrences in many spots this year, I'm using an undercoating spray from 3m (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002NUO5Q/?tag=wranglerorg-20). A nice side effect is that this made my gas tank skid plate look a lot nicer.

However, one thing I learned the hard way is that if you use a tire cover, you can easily trap melted snow and water in with your rim, which made for some heavy rust on my spare. I plan on replacing this soon when I upgrade wheels and tires, but this was the worst rust I encountered so far. I poured some more heavy duty gel (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00067ZQGK/?tag=wranglerorg-20) in the spot where all the water sat and it cleared up all the stuff I couldn't reach, although the surface is still warped pretty badly since it got so severe.
 
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I just bought a very nice 1999 TJ, Forest Green, 47,000 original miles from the original since new owner.
I live in North Pole, Alaska, this will be my 6th Jeep, all Jeeps, previous one was an original 46 Willys wagon. Winter here is 9 months, and my TJ has been winterized including pan heater, battery trickle charger, and heater on transmission 5 speed manual. I also have a set of Blizzak tires for it as these are great tires at 40 to 60 below zero.
My fluids have all been set for arctic conditions including the antifreeze for minus 80. The truck heater is flushed and works well. My Jeep has a hard top and I'm considering an aftermarket insulator blankets for the roof. Also going to install moose lights front and rear, LED type lights and maybe replacement LED headlights.
Survival kit in rear storage area.
That's winter in the far north.

Lt. Mike
 
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Just bought an 05 LJR last month and am sad that I live in Illinois. My last jeep was a 95 yj 4.0 that was a hoot to drive in the snow. I bought it in 2013 and was excited to try the 4wd. Deep snow in the back yard that didn't stand a chance. I didn't realize it until weeks later that the 4wd wasn't working. So much salt on roads here. Grrr, I want to take it out for rescue missions but hate the thought of exposing to salt. LJR is rust free, having lived in Atlanta most of its life.
 
Nathan Stanfield said:
I usually toss a tow rope in the back.
Wyoming winters are usually loads of wind and blowing snow, but at least we don’t use salt here.
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People underestimate the wind/snow in Wyoming. Ground blizzards are in fact a real thing!

I drove from Laramie to Casper late one night (like 2am after a work trip), and I literally couldnt see a damn thing except white from the headlights. I was going 15 mph, and could only use the reflector poles to navigate.
 
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