Winterizing

[Sazabi19]

So as it starts to get a bit cooler out I think it's time to start looking into winterizing my JLR. As this is the first one I purchased rather than leased I should probably do a few more things to it to keep it in great condition. I wanted to see what all you guys do for yours.

I plan on getting Woolwax and coating the underneath of my Jeep but I'm not sure what all I should coat. Just the dark steel on the outer parts of the frame? All the undercarriage but look out for the engine/exhaust system? I already sprayed high heat spray on my muffler and exhaust pipe, but should I go further up than the muffler?

I only have a soft top so I'm looking into what to do as far as taking care of that this winter. My JT has a hard top so never had to do anything special. I was thinking of getting some 303 cleaner and sealer and hope that works well. I know I'm not supposed to do much with the plastic windows in the back to not scratch them, but is there anything else?

I've got my slush mats in already and I'm thinking of maybe some Rockblokz and hinge covers, though I'm not sure I'll really need either. I'm on stock tires/wheels and have my Barricade tube rock sliders on.

Anyone else do anything different other than topping up fluids, making sure jumper packs are charged, or anything else?

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[Reinen]

My Jeep has a major transition between Winter/Summer.

For winter prep I use Fluid Film, spraying everything metal that doesn't get hot. Doing it once per year right before winter has prevented all rust for me so far.

i also applied a DIY ceramic coating (Avalon King). In winter I seldom have time to wash beyond rubbing some snow on it. The ceramic coating is 2 years in and still works great.

I'm not sure how your rock sliders change things but you may want to get front Rokblokz for winter. The stock fender will allow a swoosh of winter road slush to come up the doors and collect on the door handle. It's annoying, making it impossible to open the door without having to wipe your hands. Even if your rock sliders do prevent that, having salty road slush splashing on steel rock sliders is probably not harmless.

I also swap out my KO2s for winter tires (Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT3s). Huge difference in winter road traction. People say KO2s are good in winter, but only for an AT tire. A mediocre winter tire is significantly better than the best AT tire on winter roads. Especially in stopping distance (which 3PMSF doesn't even test). I'd say that's far more important than acceleration in snow (the only thing 3PMSF actually tests).

Also storage boxes & rotopax come off, ski rack goes on. Slide out kitchen & fridge come out, rear seat goes back in. Spare packable down jackets, winter gloves, hats and blankets get stashed.

Topping off fluids, recharging jumper packs happens year round so I don't really do that. I tend to be in much more remote places (no cell service) in summer. In winter I'm much more likely to be in cell range.

 

[Sazabi19]

My Jeep has a major transition between Winter/Summer.

For winter prep I use Fluid Film, spraying everything metal that doesn't get hot. Doing it once per year right before winter has prevented all rust for me so far.

i also applied a DIY ceramic coating (Avalon King). In winter I seldom have time to wash beyond rubbing some snow on it. The ceramic coating is 2 years in and still works great.

I'm not sure how your rock sliders change things but you may want to get front Rokblokz for winter. The stock fender will allow a swoosh of winter road slush to come up the doors and collect on the door handle. It's annoying, making it impossible to open the door without having to wipe your hands. Even if your rock sliders do prevent that, having salty road slush splashing on steel rock sliders is probably not harmless.

I also swap out my KO2s for winter tires (Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT3s). Huge difference in winter road traction. People say KO2s are good in winter, but only for an AT tire. A mediocre winter tire is significantly better than the best AT tire on winter roads. Especially in stopping distance (which 3PMSF doesn't even test). I'd say that's far more important than acceleration in snow (the only thing 3PMSF actually tests).

Also storage boxes & rotopax come off, ski rack goes on. Slide out kitchen & fridge come out, rear seat goes back in. Spare packable down jackets, winter gloves, hats and blankets get stashed.

Topping off fluids, recharging jumper packs happens year round so I don't really do that. I tend to be in much more remote places (no cell service) in summer. In winter I'm much more likely to be in cell range.

Nice. The sliders were mentioned because it can help block some of the crap that can come up from front tires, though not as much as I'd like probably.

Do you put your rear seats in for possible stranded people or what? I thought about ceramic coating but I've got a pass for the car wash here that I can hit whenever I want. Maybe someday I will get dedicated snow tires but I'm not there yet, the KO2s will be more than enough for me.

 

[Twisted Patriot]

I've heard of fluid film too.. we have this place called Krown coating here that I'm thinking of trying this year.. once a year and they give a warranty on it I guess.. anyone have experience with it??

 

[Sazabi19]

There was a large thread on here (somewhere) that asked people what products they used to prevent rust in the winter. The 2 biggest responses were FF and WW. It sounds pretty easy. Get under and spray lol.

 

[Reinen]

Nice. The sliders were mentioned because it can help block some of the crap that can come up from front tires, though not as much as I'd like probably.

Do you put your rear seats in for possible stranded people or what? I thought about ceramic coating but I've got a pass for the car wash here that I can hit whenever I want. Maybe someday I will get dedicated snow tires but I'm not there yet, the KO2s will be more than enough for me.

The rear seats go in because I don't need my full slide-out kitchen and fridge in the winter, the tailgate shelf is more than sufficient then. Parking is an issue where I ski so it's fairly common for me to give people rides to/from the mountain. I actually have extra passengers then. On my summer excursions it's only my wife and I. Anyone else is in their own vehicle.

 

[Reinen]

There was a large thread on here (somewhere) that asked people what products they used to prevent rust in the winter. The 2 biggest responses were FF and WW. It sounds pretty easy. Get under and spray lol.

It is pretty easy. At least FF is, never used WW.
I got a cheap undercoating spray gun, similar to a HVLP sprayer and hook it up to a compressor. Glop some FF in it from a gallon can and slide under the Jeep spraying everything metal, including frame holes. Takes about 10-15 minutes to apply.

 

[m3reno]

There is a new product that beats both FF and WW. It's Blaster Surface Shield. From what I've read it stays on the longest and will not wash off.

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