How to keep my Jeep clean and in shape?

[Titan]

I live in VT, where the roads are insanely hilly, bumpy and we use dirt and salt in the winter. A place known for destroying cars.

Last year I got a '94 Jeep Cherokee with '95k on the engine and not a dot of rust on it anywhere. I paid book, which was still a good deal. it's a 5-speed, sunroof, 4wd, 2-door, I6 engine. And I even like the color.

Last october I went to the guy who's been doing hot oil treatments for longer than I've been alive. Every fall he plastics up his shop and just does oil treatments for a couple months, mine was 125 bucks. He says he's been doing it so long that he knows how to do it so it drains right.

Last December I learn how not to drive manual and 4wd and slide off the road hitting a tree with my front wheel destroying the fender. I take it to a body shop and for 2 grand they put it back together with aftermarket parts: hood, radiator, grill, bumper, right-fender, and get it all painted up right. Hasn't had any problems since.

The interior is grey vinyl and trim, in great shape.

I'm not a total slob, but want some help protecting the metal and interior. I hear people do the oil treatments every 2 years but I may go again this year since I have some new metal. I'm wondering if a rhino lining spray would help on like the rocker panels. I also talked to a kid who worked at the Jeep dealer shop and said he would just get a can of silicone spray and do it himself, something I might want to learn.

I'm wondering how much I should wash it, concerned I may wash out the oil treating? It does get dirty, we have lots of dirt roads around here.

I changed my brakes with a friend and he couldn't believe how clean the metal is for such an old car.

I want it to last at least another 4 years. My commute is 1 mile and I only put 10k on it in one year.

Any care tips?

 

[iamwiz82]

Invest the time and money in POR-15. It's awesome stuff. Be warned, get it on you and it's like a tattoo, it will take weeks to remove.

 

[Titan]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Invest the time and money in POR-15. It's awesome stuff. Be warned, get it on you and it's like a tattoo, it will take weeks to remove.

Cool, thanks. They have a ton of products on their site, which would be the right kind exactly?

 

[iamwiz82]

I used Marine-Clean, followed by Metal Ready, then the POR-15 paint. Afterwards you can add a top coat if you'd like, or keep it black.

 

[LTC8K6]

Real Jeeps are always filthy.

And rusty.

 

[JeepinEd]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Real Jeeps are always filthy.

And rusty.

This.

Jeeps aren't meant to be clean.
They should be dirty, full of trail induced pin stripes, and in a constant state of repair or upgrade.

 

[Titan]

Originally posted by: JeepinEd

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Real Jeeps are always filthy.

And rusty.

This.

Jeeps aren't meant to be clean.
They should be dirty, full of trail induced pin stripes, and in a constant state of repair or upgrade.

I agree to all that, I love exploring mountain trails with this baby. (called class-4 roads in VT) My favorite being the road listed as a "google error" with signs up saying "this is not a road" and I've crossed it, rocks-for-a-road and all; then come home caked in mud. Spent 20 minutes with a car wash pressure hose and still couldn't get all the dirt off.

I just don't want things like my floors, doors and undercarriage to rot out. And after wearing the dirt like a badge on my sleeve, to be able to wash it off without having damaged the metal. Cherokees are a popular car u here so I know I can find parts, I just don't want it to fall into disrepair so I can have funds for upgrades (brush guard, winch, are my next 2).

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: JeepinEd

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Real Jeeps are always filthy.

And rusty.

This.

Jeeps aren't meant to be clean.
They should be dirty, full of trail induced pin stripes, and in a constant state of repair or upgrade.

Absolutely. Even the inside (especially if you have a Wrangler). The best way to achieve this is to plow through a mudhole with all of the windows down and the sunroof open.

 

[LTC8K6]

Bah! You should be able to check out the terrain through the floor...

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Bah! You should be able to check out the terrain through the floor...

My '93 cherokee could almost do that. I abused that thing like you wouldn't believe but one day somebody stole it from in front of my place and crashed it. I got it back 2 feet shorter (I still drove the thing home ) but the engine was overheated to the point where it wasn't salvageable. I parted it out and somebody bought the carpet so they they pulled it out and I found I had a MASSIVE hole through the passanger side footwell. Big enough that you could probably slide through it if you didn't mind getting scraped up from the rusty metal. The only thing separating your feet from the road was carpet.

That jeep came from upstate NY so it was similar to what you'll see in VT. My in laws have one of a similar year that has nothing on the whole underbody. The difference is that they had the factory underbody spray. Apparently it actually did something for the Cherokee.