winterizing

[revbeard]

I have a 94 80series, and I have recently relocated from Tennessee to New Hampshire. I need tips, tricks, and gurus who can lead me down the road of getting my machine ready for months of ice, sand, salt, and snow. I am a foreigner to these parts and these thoughts. Please help me.

 

[BILT4ME]

I have a 94 80series, and I have recently relocated from Tennessee to New Hampshire. I need tips, tricks, and gurus who can lead me down the road of getting my machine ready for months of ice, sand, salt, and snow. I am a foreigner to these parts and these thoughts. Please help me.

I assume you are looking to DRIVE it, not store it.

If driving, search for "fluid film" and you will find threads with lots of these tips for that area.

Oh, and tires. I happen to like the Goodyear Duratracs (285-75?/16) for snow.

 

[ppc]

Flush your cooling system and refill with a 50/50 coolant/distilled water mix that provides for -34 degree protection. Take into account that there may be trapped water in the block and heater cores that will dilute the protection. Best way is to open the block drain, radiator petcock and disconnect heater lines and blow out any remaining fluid before refilling.

You should also change the engine oil to use the appropriate oil viscosity given the temperature range as listed in the owners manual.

 

[jonheld]

Get in touch with your local TLCA chapter/club. The Yankee Toys are a good bunch and can help with lots of stuff.
I use Fluid Film every October to undercoat the entire truck.
Duratracs work very well in every weather condition.

 

[rolliges]

Buy 2 sets of winter/snow wipers. 10-15 gallons of wiper fluid. Make sure the wiper motor, pump, and nozzles are in great shape.

Learn to drive in snow in a large parking lot. Don't brake and turn at the same time, for example.

Monitor and be cautious of road temps below 32 F & below (0 C & below).

Wash car weekly and/or after a heavy snow when they plough, salt, & sand the road.

Park with windshield facing the morning sun.

 

[ColoradoFJ40]

You will also want additional cup holders for hot liquids.

 

[Seth_O]

Put it in the garage and cover it for four months.

Or move. This is one of the only things I condone about CA.

 

[Aloha Jen]

Or move. This is one of the only things I condone about CA.

CA is still too cold!

Wish I had some winter suggestions for you, but winter here just means bigger waves.
And since your post has no pics, I will help you out with some winter pics.

 

[LS1FJ40]

CA is still too cold!

Wish I had some winter suggestions for you, but winter here just means bigger waves.
And since your post has no pics, I will help you out with some winter pics.
View attachment 1567313

How very G rated of you!

To the OP: Wash it a lot. When you think you are washing it enough, wash it more.

Get two sprinklers. Cut hose and make them in to a “T” that you can Hook to a garden hose. Set them about 5-6’ apart, under your rig. Let the sprinkler run for about 20-30 minutes. Do this 2-3 times per week.

 

[Aloha Jen]

How very G rated of you!

Thank you, it took a lot of restraint from my initial instincts to post winter bikini pics.

 

[Cass007]

Neglect your maintenance until your truck leaks enough oil to coat the entire underside to prevent rust. Meh, maybe not the best idea.

Seriously though, a few of the local car washes here in PA offer an unlimited wash plan for a monthly fee. Find one with a good under carriage blast and that could help. The sprinkler idea wouldn't work well for me below freezing unless I want to turn my driveway into a hockey rink. Luckily, I have a heated garage with a floor drain in one of the bays, so I can wash/rinse vehicles as time permits during the winter and not have them freeze solid overnight.

New wiper blades are always a must for the winter season for me and as far as driving in snow I would suggest practice as mentioned. With the 4WD sometimes giving it gas will get you out of a slide better than trying to apply the brakes, but that is situational of course.

Most important rule of driving in the snow is to get out and enjoy your truck in it. Bonus if you can find a stuck Jeep and offer to pull them out of a ditch or the highway divider (happens A LOT around here).

 

[JOFS]

Fluid film. I coat all my trucks in the spring and fall. Just did my trucks last weekend. Napa seems to have the cheapest fluid film and you can save 10% by ordering online and picking up. If you have one local.
Get the application gun and hose and buy it by the gallon.
I get my truck washed let it dry then apply. Drop the spare when you do it to get up underneath it as well. I bought the higher end spray gun with extension wand and tube for application in the frame.

Then just make sure your antifreeze and wipers are good. I run studded snows and love my nokians.

Good luck.

 

[Seth_O]

CA is still too cold!

Wish I had some winter suggestions for you, but winter here just means bigger waves.
And since your post has no pics, I will help you out with some winter pics.
View attachment 1567313

Unfortunately I can't compete with that. Even w/o alohaJen being in the pic!

 

[eatatjoes]

Thank you, it took a lot of restraint from my initial instincts to post winter bikini pics.

You really should just follow your instincts.

 

[cme4lyt]

You really should just follow your instincts.

Yes, i think we all feel that way !

 

[BILT4ME]

Pull your ABS fuse. Snow complicates ABS.

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

Pull your ABS fuse. Snow complicates ABS.

Agreed I hate the ABS system on the snow

 

[Landseer]

1. Drive slowly in the snow. There are always idiots out there who think they can still do 10 over the speed limit and they will, right up until they end up in a ditch or wedged under the bumper of a semi.

2. Get good tires. If you have bald tires no amount of 4 wheel drive, locking diffs or driver skill is going to save you. A set of dedicated snow tires are best but a good set of all terrain or all season tires will work well enough. The BFG KO2 is actually rated as a snow tire, also a great all around tire.

3. Salt sucks. It will turn your pristine 80 into a rust bucket in no time at all. Lots of good answers here for how to deal with it. There are shops that do undercoatings of various types can be pricy but effective. Alternatively, after an oil change use an old rag so spread the oil oil over everything on the underside of the 80, this is messy, smells bad, and a minor environmental disaster but very effective at preserving the metal.

As far as ABS, its definitely detrimental to an experienced driver in the snow but I think its useful to someone not used to driving in the white stuff. Go experiment with this, its a lot of fun doing donuts in an empty parking lot and it makes you a better driver.

 

[BILT4ME]

1. Drive slowly in the snow. There are always idiots out there who think they can still do 10 over the speed limit and they will, right up until they end up in a ditch or wedged under the bumper of a semi.

2. Get good tires. If you have bald tires no amount of 4 wheel drive, locking diffs or driver skill is going to save you. A set of dedicated snow tires are best but a good set of all terrain or all season tires will work well enough. The BFG KO2 is actually rated as a snow tire, also a great all around tire.

3. Salt sucks. It will turn your pristine 80 into a rust bucket in no time at all. Lots of good answers here for how to deal with it. There are shops that do undercoatings of various types can be pricy but effective. Alternatively, after an oil change use an old rag so spread the oil oil over everything on the underside of the 80, this is messy, smells bad, and a minor environmental disaster but very effective at preserving the metal.

As far as ABS, its definitely detrimental to an experienced driver in the snow but I think its useful to someone not used to driving in the white stuff. Go experiment with this, its a lot of fun doing donuts in an empty parking lot and it makes you a better driver.

I hate ABS in the snow because it will activate and not allow you to stop, even if there is only 1/4" of snow on the ground. Without ABS the tires would bite through just fine, but with it, your stopping distance INCREASES dramatically.

Remember, ABS is designed for CONTROL and STEERING only. It is NOT to reduce your stopping distance. It CAN help with it, (on dry pavement, wet surfaces) but that is NOT the intent.

I taught my oldest son (only 15 at the time) how to drift figure 8's in a Walmart parking lot by using the throttle to control it. It taught him how to throw it into and out of a slide and throttle to control instead of the brake.

He sent me a text this past winter on a particularly bad weather day saying: "Thank you for teaching me how to drive in this s***!"

That made me feel really good!

 

[WanderingFZJ]

I’ll second the Fluid Film suggestion. Had it done last week and aside from the smell of it burning off the exhaust... it’s awesome!