I just moved to Minnesota and now that winter is approaching I did not know if there was any preventative maintenance that I needed to do.

Currently I am running synthetic engine oil and have the washer fluid that contains de-icer.

But what about antifreeze and front/ rear diff fluid?
Can anyone backup why I should switch to synthetic diff. fluid or a particular brand of "extreme cold" antifreeze.

Also today's start was rough sounding at 15 degrees what should I do when its -20 !?

Thanks in advance.
Adam

 

Really nothing more than that, just make sure your battery is good. I also like to put winter blades on because the regular wiper blades get frozen real quick and don't wipe good then.

Don't get wierded out from all the odd creeks, rattles and groans a ice cold Jeep or any truck or car has when its that cold.

Have fun,

Mike

 

I wouldnt worry at all, jeep shouldnt have any problems, it got down to -25 with wind chill last night and wife took jeep to doctor this morning and started up fine.

she wasnt too happy I forgot to pull it in last night, but owell.

 

Sounds to me you got it covered! Diffs should be fine if you just serviced them. Synthetic oil for winter is great especially in the colder climates. Like someone mentioned above...battery is important, just make sure she is good if it's not get a good cold cranking amps battery.

Do you have a block heater? Helps to have it plugged in for a few hours before startup on those bitter cold days!

 

Thanks for the info!

I haven't serviced the diffs YET there is just shy of 41k on the odometer.

Is the synthetic diff fluid worth it just for cold temps? I understand the other benefits but those can wait till spring if there is no real big cold weather advantage.

No block heater :(

 

Synthetics get you better milage as they do not turn to glue like dino fluids.
If you have a stick, you can really feel the difference.

Also, you may want to look at the Mopar seat heaters.
They make winter soooo much more bearable.

Also make sure you have a good coat of wax on the JK to keep the salt and stone damage down.

With all the ethanol in today's fuel, you don't have to worry about water in the tank.

Spray a bit of silicone preservative on the rubber door seals to keep them from sticking.

After a couple days, check the tire pressure. Winter can take them down 2=3 lbs and negatively affect handling.

 

Agreed on SYntheric making a huge difference in the gears. You can totally feel the difference in the manual transmission, and the same thing is happening in the Differentials and transfer case.

Fuzzy memory from school, but I think the Dino oil's molecules curl up in the cold, causing them to not slide past each other anymore and instead to hook onto each other. They may even shear into smaller molecule chains, reducing your viscosity and protection from high stress loading.

Whereas the Synthetic molecules don't do that until a much lower temperature.

I remember one of my old vehicles I could hear the difference in the motor on startup between Dino oil and Synthetic. I'm totally sold on Synth for Minnesota winters

 

A block heater would help alot. (we just got down to -40 with the windchill! )

 

Welcome to MN, First thing, de-icer winshield fluid is a good choice in it will only prevent the lines from freezing, worked wonders on my TJ. With antifreeze in extreme colds the best advice is to let the truck warm up. Try not to get in and hit the freeway, windchills at 65-70 can reach -90 to -110 and can freeze the radiator.

I just took a job in Roch, if you see a silver rubicon. I'll be the driver wavin!!

 

I'm with the others, if you don't have a block heater, get one installed.

you'll want to check your ANTIFREEZE and make sure that it is mixed to an appropriate temperature. I mix to -40.

The coldest I've started my JK has been -38 without windchill. Let it warm up and drive real slow until the transmission and drivetrain warm up. Steel breaks like glass in the extreme cold. I've been fine for 3 Winnipeg winters with regular fluids, take it easy and you'll be fine