Family summer vacation, road trip, adventure, whatever you want to call it prep took place last weekend for me. With a roughly 3,000 mile trip nearing, I wanted to completely go through the Jeep, inspecting as much as I could. It may be a bit OCD, but after my experiences with my motorcycles, I felt it necessary to at least do a once over. And in fact, I found a ground that was missing a nut in the engine compartment and the Jeep only has 10k on it. Tires were rotated, pressures, fluids, and electrical connections checked, brakes inspected...I literally spent a complete day with the Jeep looking everything over. A synthetic oil change was performed about 1k miles ago, so I didn't feel it was necessary prior to the trip. It will be changed once I get back.
You may recall my post from last fall, where
I discussed spraying Fluid Film on the undercarriage. This stuff provides a barrier for rust and corrosion and I feel its almost a necessity for those of us in the rust belt or those who live near a body of saltwater. I was very surprised when I pulled a wheel off and could tell EXACTLY where I sprayed and didn't spray. I'm grateful for a friend who turned me on to Fluid Film.
Before spraying, I took the power washer to the undercarriage, spraying everything I could. I didn't use any cleaners because I didn't want to remove the film that was left from the last coating. High pressure water did a great job cleaning, and I figured it's how we cleaned vehicles in the Marine Corps, why not my own. It then air dried for several hours. (basically, I sprayed first, then checked the vehicle over, applying Fluid Film last)
One can will do an entire frame, axles and undercarriage but leaves you with nothing left. Having 2 cans on hand probably isn't a bad idea, but I only needed one can each time I coated the Jeep. In the fall, I will do another coat but also spray the floor pans and such from underneath, so two cans will be necessary. I found that several light coats is best, as a thick coat just creates pooling of the film. One more thing; this stuff has a very toxic smell to it so be sure to do it outdoors or in a very well ventilated garage.
You can find this stuff at Lowes.
Here are some before and after photos.
After power washing the undercarriage, before coating; Also note the difference in where I was and wasn't able to spray last fall. I didn't pull the wheels/tires off the last time as I did this time and it is very clear to me that I should have.
View attachment 350178
Photobomb!
View attachment 350179
This is a cool pic, I thought
View attachment 350180
After application
View attachment 350181
