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I need to drive my Scrambler!

I feel your pain....bought a scrambler in Dec it's plated and insured but only driven it 100 ft so far.
 
I feel your pain....the roads turned white as soon as I hit Nebraska, during my trip to the Midwest in December.
 
I ain't scared of no salt, so I took mine out last weekend, and will probably drive it again this weekend. I stopped at the gas station and the attendant asked if I was cold driving it. I said "Nah, it ain't that bad". Then I realized my bottle of Pepsi had frozen. I guess 18 degrees is pretty cold after all.
 
scrambler81 said:
I stopped at the gas station and the attendant asked if I was cold driving it.
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I assume you were driving with the top off, or why else would the question be asked if you were cold driving it. Also, I'd like to see pictures of your Jeep, if you've regularly driven it on salt-covered roads since 1986. My '81 only saw about 7 years of Midwestern winter roads, and that was enough to become a problem.
 
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I take my truck to the Irving car wash and get the top of the line wash.
It has the underside sprayer for the first 25 seconds of the wash, so you drive in very slow and get the undercarriage washed out.
I have done that with the last 3 trucks I have owned... so, an extra $50-60 a year and it really cuts down on any rust on the frame/underside.
The current truck is a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 and it gets driven daily.
I had a guy come up to me at D&D this morning with a 2006 and the rockers were completely trashed.
He asked what I do and I told him.

I also keep it in a garage every night... NOW... not in the beginning.
I have seen that most of the ones that keep the snow/salt packed in the rockers and don't clean it out seem to rot out more.
The garage is insulated, so it is generally over 32 degrees, so in the morning all the snow/salt/crap has melted off my truck, whereas the guy from D&D says his stays outside... on the dirt/gravel driveway... also not the greatest for moisture (spring/fall)

I think the inside/outside has a lot to do with it.
You can drive on the salt, you just have to be diligent about cleaning it.

I notice at the dump, when I drive by the area for the snow plow trucks, they have a water sprayer that sprays up under the trucks before they go an get parked... been thinking of how I can do that on my driveway so all cars that come to go to bed in the garage at night have to pass through an undercarriage sprayer.

The biggest issue would be keeping the water from freezing like your Pepsi.

cb
 
MarknessMonster said:
I assume you were driving with the top off, or why else would the question be asked if you were cold driving it. Also, I'd like to see pictures of your Jeep, if you've regularly driven it on salt-covered roads since 1986. My '81 only saw about 7 years of Midwestern winter roads, and that was enough to become a problem.
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My top has been sitting in my shed for years, I almost never use it.
As for my Jeep, its got holes in it. Considering it has lived its whole life in Jersey(27 years with me), and has never seen a body shop, there is no way it could look any other way. I actually fought off the rust for many years, but after my boys were born I got lazy and it got away from me. I have some replacement panels, and someday I'll stop driving it long enough to use them. Or maybe my sons will, after I'm gone.
 
Robert Slone said:
At least where you live you actually get snow. When the weather man mentions snow around here the state spends a few million spreading salt and then it rains.
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That is what they do here now as well. The last two "snow storms" we got the salt was deeper than the dang snow. My cars and my motorcycle get covered, it gets tracked in all over my office, and all you can do is pray for rain to wash it away.
 
i put mine in the shop..never could get the 2150 running right. i dont think they want to give it back...lol. the owner told me he has put some miles on it to make sure its ok..and would drive it around a bit more just to make sure and call me back..:huh:
 
scrambler81 said:
My top has been sitting in my shed for years, I almost never use it.
As for my Jeep, its got holes in it. Considering it has lived its whole life in Jersey(27 years with me), and has never seen a body shop, ... I have some replacement panels...
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I can appreciate what you're writing. Like you, my '81 hasn't had a top on it for at least a decade, nor has the windshield been upright in quite some time. Mine spent the first seven years of its life in northern Illinois salt, but the past 25 years in drier Colorado where I relocated it. It was originally undercoated when new, so that helped a lot and everything underneath is fine. However, I have developed a couple holes in the body here and there. I don't have replacement panels yet, but someday I hope to rebuilt the whole Jeep; its just not near the top of my priority list. There are way too many important things on which to spent time and money.
 
I also park my Jeeps during the winter months due to the salt.:( My daily driver is a 2002 F350 regular cab with the 7.3 PSD and I plow a lot of snow with it... when we get snow.

Anyways, I have a few tricks I use to keep the body clean.

1. Car wash with underbody flush at least once a week when needed or after plowing.
2. I also flush out any salt on the underside by hand with hot water from the shop.
3. It gets parked in the heated shop every night. I also run a dehumidifier in the shop during winter to remove the moisture laden air. When needed, I will warm the shop air to about 75 degrees to dry out any moisture and then open the overhead doors to dump the moisture saturated air.
4. I broom out any water on the shop floor.
5. I also roll down the windows of my truck each night. This allows an opening between the glass and weatherstrip to vent the moisture inside the door. This also helps dry out the condensation that occurs on the cold metal after it is brought into a warm moisture environment.
6. I also use a product called Fluid Film to keep away the rust on the underbody. Oil pans on the 7.3's are known for rusting through, but I have been spraying mine at every oil change since I purchased it new. Fluid Film works great!

I would like to drive my Jeeps during the winter, but it's not worth it up here where they use this much salt. The truck is a great winter substitute and I enjoy using it almost as much as the Jeeps. My truck is by no means in perfect condition, but it does look much better than many of the plow trucks out on our roads.
 
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Ha, as soon as I started reading your plow truck description, I thought about your oil pan! I had never heard that this was such an issue until about two months ago. As a matter of fact, it turns out that is was such an issue that the new trucks have plastic oil pans. Apparently, the old correct fix/replacement required removing the engine from the truck at a shop expense of about $2K. In CO, I'm fortunate that my '97 pan doesn't have a spot of rust, and that's after over 325K road miles. Colorado is pretty nice on vehicles.
 
Darn that salt. After bragging about how this township doesn't use (can't afford) salt, I saw some suspicious melting places on the road - no choice since the front axle on the pickup is still apart. Now there are little rusty places here and there from dings and old repairs... :( They felt an emergency need and came up with some salt since the new road guy doesn't get get out of bed as early or work as late as the previous guy.
 
6-12" of snow starts tomorrow.

Scrambler's battery on the charger.

Cherokee junk moved out from on/under it.

Keys ready.

:fingerscrossed: :headbang:
 
This is the first time in year that any Jeep that I owned has been drivable in the winter time... and of course its the year we get the most snow we've had in years (still not that much). frigen salt... :banghead:
 
We're supposed to get 12" more snow, I finally fixed the wipers, and I'm 4 hours away!
 
That is what they are saying up here as well... heavy wet snow, so a lot of salt is going on the roads... I don't think I will be taking any Jeeps out, although the CJ5 that I am returning to stockish appearance is ready to roll for the most part. I need to adjust the clutch... hmmmm, decisions decisions.

cb
 
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