[JeepVirgin1]

Hello fellow Jeepers , first post here!

I recently got my first Jeep , a 99 TJ. It was bought out of a lease and had pretty regular maintenance up untill about 2005 where the receipts pretty much stop. The owner basically told me that it has sat in a garage for about a year before i took it . Mechanics commented it was in great shape but that the fluids are dark and theres a little rust in the brakes.

My main question is.. if someone were to drive a jeep pretty solid for a year or 2 without doing any maintenance at all ( which is what i think im dealing with ) .. is there anything i should look at besides the standard oil/trans fluid changes.

Reading through a lot of posts here i have seen several people mention a radiator flush.. my fluid does look fairly dirty. I did have an inspection done on the vehicle for anything " major " before i bought it. My main interest is preserving my jeep and keeping it in the best condition mechanically as i can.

Thanks much for any suggestions any of you veteran Jeepers can provide!

[hecubus]

brake/clutch fluid flush. It is hydroscopic and by this point has enough water in it to start rotting out your hydrolic system from the inside out. Also do not neglect your coolant, it turnes to a rusty mess or worse yet a gelatin sludge that plugs up your coolant system/heater core if left too long.

[SJP]

Change all fluids, lube the steering linkages, and make sure the brake wheel cylinders aren't leaking.

Also, have the battery load tested; they don't like sitting.

Welcome, and don't forget to fill out your profile.

[SJP]

Even though brake fluid is hygroscopic, it hasn't necessarily taken on enough moisture to rot out the brake lines. This seems to be a little alarmist.

You may choose to flush them when you end up doing a brake job, because it isn't really a bad idea.

[tj99]

I would change the oil and filter now and then again in a couple of weeks. Make sure it's warm before you change it.

I knew a mechanic that would pour a quart of fresh oil through an engine after the oil drained and before he put the drain plug back in to flush the motor out. I did that a few times on an old truck that I bought that had been neglected and it did get more of the junk out.

[JeepVirgin1]

Thanks so much for the responses so far... profile filled!

[djt283]

This is very minor but I do it a lot. While you are under your jeep hit all the control arm joints and engine mounts with some penetrating lube (make sure whatever you use is safe on the rubber bushings). This will stop/prevent those annoying squeaks.

And obviously follow all of the advice given above!

[rmack]

all fluids should be changed and flushed.a full tune up should be done. would also replace all hose and belts at this time as well.

[ErnieG]

get yourself a service manual like Haynes or something similar and just go down the list of maintanence procedures. it will tell you what you what needs to be maintained how to inspect things to see if they need to be changed and how to change if need be. thats the best advice i can give shouldn't be too expensive and probably only take a few days working here and there to complete