Hi all....
recently transplanted myself along with my 99 Cherokee 4.0. AW4....

She was in pretty good shape before recently moving from the tiny hole in the wall town of Flagstaff AZ to this monstrosity called Houston TX.
She's in a whole new environment down here. as far as cooling, did a heater core flush last summer, then before leaving, new hoses, along with a new larger cooling capacity radiator, and couple years ago when I got her new water pump, t-stat and housing.
My concerns are still wanting to pull DD if I can in this heat. Not sure what else I may need on my list. Only thing I have noticed is a little more surface rust on things like the drive shaft, etc in this humid climate.
Any suggestions recommendations for this kind of climate? She's a clean XJ. And want to keep her around for years to come if I can. So I'm willing to put in the preventative stuff to keep her in the nice condition she's in now. So bring on the modifications that would be good for this new environment and the longevity of my XJ.

Thanks!

 

I moved to SE Oklahoma from Phx AZ a few years back and had to adjust my car maintenance. I have a '99 XJ as well and for cooling I would stick with what you have done to your cooling system. For the higher humidity factor I would highly recommend taking the drain plugs out of your back quarter panel bulkheads, behind the rear wheels, inside the frame rails. Use a pressure washer to help flush out any sediment or dirt. Do the same thing with your rocker panel as best you can and check for any water leaks around windshield, cowl, door seals, roof racks etc. Any moisture that gets under your carpet will rust out the floor quickly. Good luck!

 

To keep the body looking good I'd get busy painting the underside and/or apply fluid film (or a similar product) regularly.

 

The cars in your junkyards are probably cleaner than 75% of the cars on the road here in MN 🧂😭

I would second the idea of applying a film or treating the underside. IF you're willing to keep up with that. I don't know what else you'd be able to do to the underside other than keeping it clean. As far as paint, keep it clean, wax it once in a while, keep it in shade if possible. All to preserve pretty paint.
Just research whatever you're considering doing, thoroughly. For example, people here sometimes destroy their vehicles by putting on rubberized undercoating and it actually expedites the corrosion because it traps moisture/contaminants.

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Fluid Film. Use it.


By the way, my condolences on moving to Houston. I lived there for 9 months.


However, it's not all bad. Good food is plentiful. Texas barbeque is worth a trip there. There is a restaurant called the Rio Ranch, on the west side of town on Westheimer. IF it is still as good as it was 20 years ago, it's worth your time. Their chicken fried steak is what chicken fried steak should be!

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I've heard how good fluid film is....however I wonder how it would hold up to the seemingly endless downpours here that flood the streets. I will be getting wet up underneath probably more often than not. Is there a product that is just as good for that kind of environment? ( I do have a mild lift, but water will still get all over it)
Plus I'd like to halt/limit the additional surface rust if I can too. I know changing climates with vehicles always has that risk. but even more critical with the body config our XJ's have.

 

I'm still going with Fluid Film and Rio Ranch!

 

you think that will hold up to the rains and flooding here? that S isn't cheap. but if it will do the trick I'll get a case and have at it. I love my XJ and want to keep her around for a long time.

 

As well as any oil type of product.

 

Check out Project Farms video about corrosion inhibitors. He test them against water and all kinds of stuff.

 

I grew up in Houston, 22 years there. I don't recall there being any type of special maintenance or undercarriage protection needed. It doesn't snow but once every decade, so you don't have to worry about salt on the road. And the humidity didn't play any kind of roll in rusting out cars that I remember. Take car of your jeep like you normally would and you'll be OK. But feel free to spend money and do whatever you'd like....
And that extra heat is from the humidity. I'm sure flagstaff gets hotter than Houston, or close to it, but the humidity is what blows. But its not like its so humid there that water accumulates in places where you'd need to remove drain plugs hahahaha....

 

Fluid Film is lanolin based and stays when you put it very well, but will wash off over time. I think they make it from the washing of sheep's wool before it's processed into clothing threads. All I know is if you need to work on something where it's been sprayed, it takes brake cleaner to get it off. It's almost as good as Cosmoline but smells better.

If you have some way to spray it, a 1 gallon can is cheaper then buying spray cans. NAPA has it for $39.99 per gallon. That ought it be enough to do the bottom of your jeep twice! It comes in 55 gallon drums for over $1000!

 

Well just sayin' that coming from drier climates like AZ and CO you don't get as much corrosion but since I moved here a few months ago...I've started to notice a little more minor surface rust on parts like drive-shafts, bolt/nut heads, etc. that were not there before....so I was equating it to the new environment.

 

do you think one of those weed sprayers would work? or does it need to be from a compressor?

 

Oh.... I see. It wasnt there before. I thought you were just looking for ideas to prevent rust from starting...
Even at that, I dont recall seeing rust buckets driving around town. Anywho.......