How do you winter prep your TJ?

psrivats

psrivats

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OK, I did not see a thread on this topic so here goes.

Fall is already here and Winter will be on it's way soon. Those of you who that drive your TJ in the winter (be it in rain as in OR/WA or in snow in the midwest/northeast), what do you to prepare your vehicle for winter? What specific maintenance, if any, do you do pre/during/post winter? For those who live in areas where the roads are salted, how do you keep rust at bay?

I am planning to take my TJ for some road trips in areas in PNW where there will be snow. What things do I need to worry about in terms of vehicle maintanence (not asking about general winter preparedness here, that's a whole different discussion) for my TJ?

Hoping our friends from Colorado like @jjvw and others living in areas that deal with regular snow in the winters can give the rest of us some pointers.
 
I'm an old man and I hate crawling around under a TJ in the cold and wet, so any maintenance that shouldn't wait until spring gets done in the fall. Other than those few things that occasionally crop up, I try to keep the Jeep good to go at all times. Nothing special needs to be done to a TJ that is current on maintenence for a particular season. Now the gear that goes into it changes with the seasons. But that's another discussion for a different thread. Don't even change tires.
 
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StG58 said:
I'm an old man and I hate crawling around under a TJ in the cold and wet, so any maintenance that shouldn't wait until spring gets done in the fall. Other than those few things that occasionally crop up, I try to keep the Jeep good to go at all times. Nothing special needs to be done to a TJ that is current on maintenence for a particular season. Now the gear that goes into it changes with the seasons. But that's another discussion for a different thread. Don't even change tires.
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Good point on the tires. Do folks here run winter tires on their jeeps?

I went with duratracs after a lot of thought. The only winter tires in the 265/75R16 size I saw was the goodyear ultragrip ice WRT and Cooper discover M+S winter tire.
 
psrivats said:
Good point on the tires. Do folks here run winter tires on their jeeps?

I went with duratracs after a lot of thought. The only winter tires in the 265/75R16 size I saw was the goodyear ultragrip ice WRT and Cooper discover M+S winter tire.
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Not around here. KO2'S, Duratracs, whatever all terrain you run the rest of the year. The problem most likely won't be your TJ, it'll be idiots who abandon their cars in the middle of the road in a snowstorm and start walking. Portland is notorious for that. You can make bank when it snows getting people out of the way. You'll be fine almost anywhere in Oregon and western Washington with a normally set up TJ in any weather we're likely to get. Just stay off the road for a few hours when we get a silver thaw. Nobody and nothing with any sense goes out in that. If you walk out the door and fall on your ass, stay put for a little while until it clears up.
 
1.) Power carwash it real good
2.) Run it for a day to dry out
3.) Zerk fittings greased
4.) Oil Change to 5W-30
5.) Spray underbelly with linseed oil
6.) Let it sit out in the back lawn for a week

Then ready for winter.
 
Winter is time for mods and Vacations.
I did not run my Jeep during the winter time.
Assuming you have your TJ maintenance up to date and whit that set of Duratracs you should not have a problems during the winter days. Many fellas around here in OH split the cost and make a Fluid film undercoat party.
 
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StG58 said:
Not around here. KO2'S, Duratracs, whatever all terrain you run the rest of the year. The problem most likely won't be your TJ, it'll be idiots who abandon their cars in the middle of the road in a snowstorm and start walking. Portland is notorious for that. You can make bank when it snows getting people out of the way. You'll be fine almost anywhere in Oregon and western Washington with a normally set up TJ in any weather we're likely to get. Just stay off the road for a few hours when we get a silver thaw. Nobody and nothing with any sense goes out in that. If you walk out the door and fall on your ass, stay put for a little while until it clears up.
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On a trip to Oregon last Feb we were coming back through the mountains on 26 from Cannon Beach to Portland and some toolbox in a lifted f150 was up my ass for several miles. I was doing the speedlimit but it was snowing and conditions were sketchy even in the Subaru I was driving. As soon as it opened up to 2 lanes he sped past. Like 300 yards later I see him begin fishtailing and lose it, crosses into oncoming traffic before over-correcting back to the right and sending it off road to the right FAST. Watching this lifted truck suddenly go bounding offroad for about 100 yards was both terrifying and mesmerizing. I'm sure the suspension was truly fucked afterwards. The driver got out and looked fine so I just kept driving. Karma. Dude was lucky he took it offroad in a location where he had room, it's pretty dense with doug firs through there.
 
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will try and wash out the frame, use a salt neutralizer on it then fluid film...I may not drive it as much this winter as I did last winter and just drive my explorer more....come to think of it if i get real lazy I am just going to leave it in summer mode all winter in the garage.
 
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Oil change and tire rotation, good wax and polish, new wipers (if needed), and usually a good vacuum. Otherwise nothing.
 
psrivats said:
OK, I did not see a thread on this topic so here goes.

Fall is already here and Winter will be on it's way soon. Those of you who that drive your TJ in the winter (be it in rain as in OR/WA or in snow in the midwest/northeast), what do you to prepare your vehicle for winter? What specific maintenance, if any, do you do pre/during/post winter? For those who live in areas where the roads are salted, how do you keep rust at bay?

I am planning to take my TJ for some road trips in areas in PNW where there will be snow. What things do I need to worry about in terms of vehicle maintanence (not asking about general winter preparedness here, that's a whole different discussion) for my TJ?

Hoping our friends from Colorado like @jjvw and others living in areas that deal with regular snow in the winters can give the rest of us some pointers.
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What is this rain or snow you talk of? Here in Southern California its always summer evidently. So for winter prep I turn the A/C down 1 click!
 
The hard doors go on. I also usually put the hard top on, but last year was the first time I ran the soft top so winter. It was fine other than not being able to put groceries the rear in the cold.
 
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I live in Wisconsin and I pull my Tj's in the garage and let them sit all winter long! They are in hibernation and being perfectly preserved!
Winter will KILL your TJ no matter what! If your love your Rig DON'T DRIVE IT IN THE SALT!
 
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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.
 
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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Yes, jodomcfrodo park that TJ. I live around 100 miles from you and our winters aren't all that different, but yes washing the rig will help a bit but you will never get all the salt out of every crack and crevice! I would park the Tj and find a cheap winter beater, that's the only way to keep the Tj from guaranteed destruction and to show the Jeep some love.
 
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Shawn’s TJ said:
Yes, jodomcfrodo park that TJ. I live around 100 miles from you and our winters aren't all that different, but yes washing the rig will help a bit but you will never get all the salt out of every crack and crevice! I would park the Tj and find a cheap winter beater, that's the only way to keep the Tj from guaranteed destruction and to show the Jeep some love.
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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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