What's next?

So now that the jeep is running and is drive able, what's next? The jeep is stock and it will need shocks prob struts as well but before I go into that I need to know what's best to get. It will be used for winter on back roads some of which are very steep. My job is at a mountain and the whole reason the wife allowed me to have this project is so that I can be home no matter what road conditions are due to the fact that we are expecting a lil one late winter. Any input will be appreciated, you guys have been of great help already!

No struts in an XJ--front coil springs, rear leaves, shocks on all four corners.

Well, TIRES, snow-rated, chains, a winter kit, good wipers, a new battery.

How come new battery?

Because unless you know the battery is in good shape, cold snowy weather can have a detrimental effect on a marginal battery, and you want to get home every night driving on back roads that are very steep at night.

Ok. How about stock height? I rather not lift it.

JeepNovice said:

Ok. How about stock height? I rather not lift it.

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Leave it stock.

Chains are a pain, a real pain. If I was using it for trips up and down the mountain I'd get studded tires. Depending on whether your state allows them or not (mine doesn't, though I've ignored that law on occasion). Studs have there down side, they can get a little squirrely on dry roads and most places a studded tire has an upper speed limit the same as towing a trailer.

Ice is your biggest enemy. I always put my XJ on the brake machine before winter. Unequal braking gets way magnified on ice and snow, ABS is a plus if you have it.

If you use chains, try them on before the snow hits and check for clearance. 235 X 60 R 15 and chains aren't going to clear when you hit a bump. And definitely won't clear the LCA of you decide front chains is a better option.

I actually bought an extra set of rear tires and keep chains already mounted. I found a small floor jack and a battery impact wrench to be easier and faster than mounting chains and getting them tight (with half frozen fingers). I use 225 fronts, 215 rears with chains, with a 242 transfer and it works well. I make a bunch of trips up the mountain to my hunting lease in the winter to check out the wildlife. Half the trip is interstate, the other half mountain driving. I've had enough close calls and one catastrophic accident (blew out both knees), to make me really careful about my setup.

A thinner tire with soft compound works better on ice, but the chains will tear up the tires. A harder compound like Michelin or Dunlop is usually better if you use chains.

A little tip, bed springs. If you find an old bed frame with the springs, get them all and put them in a small bag. Tensioning the chains with springs works better than having to stop and re tension them periodically. The only way I've found, beside letting some air our of the tire and then refilling it with the chains on, to keep them tight, is with springs. Practice is almost mandatory, the first time you wrap a set of chains around the inner part of the axle, in a foot of snow in below freezing temperatures, you'll really wish you avoided the incident instead of having to deal with it. A chain repair kit is also a must, if you use them often.

Studs make a lot more sense and are much easier if you do a lot of ice driving. And four wheel studs brake well.

Low speeds and practice are your best bet for survival. I once took a hundred and fifty yard toboggan ride down the side of a mountain, with a lake at the bottom, in my XJ. I made it without going swimming. All instinct, a little luck and experience. One up side to an automatic, is you have reverse there to help a little with braking (and steering), if you really need it.

8Mud said:

One up side to an automatic, is you have reverse there to help a little with braking (and steering), if you really need it.

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Living in a desert climate, this is a new technique to me, could you please explain it a bit.
Do you actually use reverse when driving down a snowy hill?

lazyxj said:

Living in a desert climate, this is a new technique to me, could you please explain it a bit.
Do you actually use reverse when driving down a snowy hill?

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On snow you often get pretty good traction, on sheet ice you get very little, if any. On sheet ice the steering goes, ABS helps some. The problems start when you build up excessive momentum. you can use the gas to help you change directions (but this adds to momentum), the brakes don't help much with this, using reverse to help you change direction is one way to get the front going in a new direction without adding to momentum.

If you have ever driven on sheet ice down a hill, any little fold or rough spot can be your savior. Or just getting the front pointed in the right direction and then gassing it into the ditch. You have to check out the slope of the road and other factors, you are pretty much at the mercy of gravity, with some small inputs for direction. You aren't usually stopping unless you find a rough spot.

The tires are often locked (or turning very slowly with ABS), steering is gone, you are at the mercy of gravity, you can turn the wheel and gas it to change directions or turn the wheel and throw it in reverse then gas it to change directions. But one thing to keep in mind is you often go the opposite direction as the tires are pointed in reverse. It depends on what angle you have when trying reverse as a last resort.

Sheet ice often hides under the snow and is the snow melt from the warmer part of the day, the water freezes again under the snow when the temperature drops again at night. Or when you get rain on top of frozen ground, but this is usually a different kind of ice and you can get some traction, unless it has been melted smooth by the car and truck tires passing over it before you. Coming down the mountain in the evening after work is a good time to discover the spots prone to sheet ice. Sometimes the roads don't drain well and will drain across the road in spots and this often washes away salt or sand, a classic spot to go over the side or kiss a guard rail.

I learned the technique while driving M-60 main battle tanks in Germany. Picture a fifty two ton toboggan.

I think stock height or 3 inch lift is a good place to keep it. I also think putting POR15 on the bottom of the car is great for rust prevention. Check fuel pump, lights, any and all basic maintenance so your not stuck with frozen hands during the winter.

Where is "Gardner"

ParadiseXJ said:

Where is "Gardner"

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Gardner is mowing?

I think these responses are overkill. Be smart and have good tires. That's all you need. In highschool I had an 81 mustang in the catskills and made it through the winters with 2 bags of sand in the trunk. Everyone is getting all alaska ice truckers meets zombie apocalypse.

My advice:

1. Good tires
2. Don't rush
3. Good tires
4. Make sure your defrosters and heat work
5. Good wipers
6. Pump brakes if you dont have abs
7. 4 wheel is your friend. I think XJ's are light in the tail end and spin out easy but you wont have issues with it in 4hi.
8. Good tires
9. Don't rush
10. As mentioned above: a decent battery that is rated for what the temps (cold cranking amps) go down to in your area so you're not stuck with a dead/sluggish battery that won't turn over your vehicle.

ZoranZ said:

I think these responses are overkill. Be smart and have good tires. That's all you need. In highschool I had an 81 mustang in the catskills and made it through the winters with 2 bags of sand in the trunk. Everyone is getting all alaska ice truckers meets zombie apocalypse.

My advice:

1. Good tires
2. Don't rush
3. Good tires
4. Make sure your defrosters and heat work
5. Good wipers
6. Pump brakes if you dont have abs
7. 4 wheel is your friend. I think XJ's are light in the tail end and spin out easy but you wont have issues with it in 4hi.
8. Good tires
9. Don't rush
10. As mentioned above: a decent battery that is rated for what the temps (cold cranking amps) go down to in your area so you're not stuck with a dead/sluggish battery that won't turn over your vehicle.

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Maybe your right, I was thinking it was the Gardner I know around 7000 ft. elevation and he said he was going up the mountain from there. Snow varies from a few inches in the valleys to around 30 feet deep in the mountains. I have some sphincter clenching memories of my last trip down highway 50.

8Mud said:

I have some sphincter clenching memories of my last trip down highway 50.

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I have nightmares about that road, mostly from the morons that try to push you down the hill faster than what's safe. The skiing at Tahoe almost makes it worth it .

lazyxj said:

I have nightmares about that road, mostly from the morons that try to push you down the hill faster than what's safe. The skiing at Tahoe almost makes it worth it .

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Avoid WA state--when it snows they think they are in a NASCAR race.

joe_peters said:

Gardner is mowing?

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Lol it's in mass

alexgalexg said:

I think stock height or 3 inch lift is a good place to keep it. I also think putting POR15 on the bottom of the car is great for rust prevention. Check fuel pump, lights, any and all basic maintenance so your not stuck with frozen hands during the winter.

Click to expand...

If I lift it it ll b 2". What does a lift that height entails? I'm looking to replace shocks soon and I was looking at bastard lifts.

For snow and anything that purports to be a public road, you really don't need a lift. A stock XJ will carry you elegantly up to the point where you ground out the trailer hitch. If you regularly scrape the bottoms of bumpers or the trailer hitch, a lift is required. Otherwise, relax unless you just like it anyway. As others say, get really good tires, proper snow, not just all season. Cooper Explorers are pretty nice. If you're a cheapskate, Firestone Winterforce give good traction, but they're a bit louder than some. A stocker can run happily on 235/75/15 tires, which will give it a slight lift without anything but rubber. The speedometer, at least post 91 or so, was about 4 miles over on stock rubber, and exactly correct on 235's, so watch your speed if you're used to a margin of error.

Part time four wheel drive will not save you on ice, and the general wisdom is that it won't improve your braking, but in fact it will even it out some. If you have any problems with the rear locking up prematurely, 4WD will ease that a bit.

As 8Mud points out, on sheet ice and really horrible roads, look for folds, rough spots, and shoulders. I've taken a few vehicles down utterly undriveable roads by driving half in the gravel shoulder. Before it's all covered with snow and ice, look at your road and know where you can and cannot go.

When I was helping my stepson learn to drive on Vermont roads, one thing I did (in an XJ by the way, but in 2wd) was take him out into a field. I told him to horse it around until he lost control a little, and then regain it. You can oversteer, lock the brakes, and whatnot at safely low speeds. I think it helped him to get a feel for what happens and how, and how to recover without having to think too long. Play on gravel and fields now, and it will help when you hit the snow. You will soon get the idea of how to steer your way out of a skid, which people describe in different ways that can confuse.

JeepNovice said:

If I lift it it ll b 2". What does a lift that height entails? I'm looking to replace shocks soon and I was looking at bastard lifts.

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The only reason to lift it is to clear bigger tires. You are gonna get half (actually less) more axle clearance with bigger tires which isn't really gonna help much if any in the snow. I've run my XJ through snow so deep it packed the radiator with snow and I started to overheat. A couple/few inches really isn't gonna help much and just raises your center of gravity which actually detracts from stability. The higher the center of gravity the worse it is gonna handle in the snow. The only plus to bigger tires is ramp angle of the tire and a little more clearance on the chassis.

You have to go way wide on the tire to get any floatation, thinner tires help you find the bottom better and give you more PSI on the tire contact patch (traction).

IMO you'd be better off studying your anticipated road conditions and trying to get the best tire match you can for the conditions. If you are gonna need to use chains you are gonna need a stock tire (size) anyway to clear.

I tried chains on my 9.50 X 30 tires front and rear, both ends rubbed. The fronts were almost catastrophic when the chain caught on the LCA.

I've got about an inch and half of lift in the back and an inch in the front. HD rear springs with a full length add a leafs in the rear and fresh HD fronts with a 3/4 inch spacer in my 88. Works well in the mud. My stock 96 works better in the ice and snow with 225 X 60 X 16 Goodrich AT's, Bilstein shocks. I have another set of tires for the rear with chains already installed, I throw in the back when things start looking bad. Chains will tear up your tires if you use them often.

Massachusetts allows studs which really help on icy roads.

One thing a lot of people forget is 4X will sure enough get you farther in inclimate weather, but 4X sure doesn't help you stop (brake) any better. You see it all the time, people get emboldened with the extra traction of 4X and forget about the braking distances. The ratio around here is about 4 to 1, regular cars and trucks and 4 X's. You see about about a fifty fifty split on who kisses the guardrail first in the snow. Short wheelbase 4X's tend to do worse than longer wheelbase 4X's, by my count and observations, they tend to swap ends easier when the drivers get in over their heads and forget bout their brake pedal and only think about the gas pedal.

A good set of shocks and good front sway bar links are a real plus, sway doesn't help any in ice and snow.

I've had one fender bender in 50 plus years of ice and snow driving. And that was driving off the highway on purpose dodging a semi truck and trailer who lost control. I must be doing something right. Thats not saying I haven't had some butt clenching moments, but I always managed to get out of them without catastrophe.