I mini-pit myself: I hurt the Jeep

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

A few days ago I dissembled the Jeep Wrangler top and cavorted around topless. Then, tired from the wind beneath my wings, I took a late afternoon nap and awoke to find that a sudden, drenching thunderstorm had suddenly, drenchingly, drenched the interior of Jeep.

Wife, pre-nap: “it looks kinda cloudy, should you put the top back on?”
Me, pre-nap: “naw, those are just random clouds, doesn’t look like rain at all.”

Everything has dried out but the driver and passenger carpets, which remain soaked even after I’ve sucked and sucked with the shopvac. I may have also compromised the navsystem and remote-start electronics, but I’m not sharing that info with wife yet.

The Wrangler is the wife’s chief car – it’s a 2014 with just 3,700 miles on it (really!) and I feel very, very bad about being the first one to violate the vehicle :smack:

Thank you for listening to the tale of my criminal negligence.

2

YJs and TJs are ostensibly meant for the same purposes as CJs, and should be ‘immune’ to drenching. My CJ-2As had ‘scuppers’ on the sides to let the water out. While the CJ-2As’ scuppers were open, TJs have plugs in the floor for draining. Since they have the drains, I assume they’re ‘real’ Jeeps.

3

For a second, I thought you were playing badminton and invited Christopher Burr, and its always Christopher Burr, over

4

I’ve looked for drainage plugs under the Jeep and don’t see anything . . . I had a 2001 Wrangler that had drain holes in the floor, but I see nada on this '14 truck. I’ve called dealer service to ask if there’s a secret drain somewhere.

5

Here’s a 2012.

6

The prob I’m having is that the carpet doesn’t come up, it’s “solid state” (I don’t know what the correct term is for it, but think "Honda Accord-style interior carpeting).

7

I have to admit I’ve been unkind to my 1999 Jeep Cherokee. It’s barely been driven since I started driving Priuses in 2008. When your office is 110 miles away, gas mileage counts. In May I put $2,000 into it for a tune-up, lube, new serpentine belt, new front brakes (Grrrrr! :mad: ), new windshield, valve cover gasket, oil filter adapter gasket, and to have a crack in the exhaust manifold welded. (The manifold crack was a common problem with the 4.0 l engine.)

Earlier today I went out and started it up and let it run for ten minutes or so. I may end up giving it to my sister. She won’t maintain it, and run it into the ground, but at least it will get some use before she kills it.

8

This used to be my Jeep. (It also used to be my website.)

9

I could ask my niece if they’d be interested in having fun with an old Jeep. They’re in Oregon but her husband’s from Texas.

10

Wow! I’ve always wanted a Willys! That is one good-looking truck; I’m sorry you had to let it go.

BTW, thanks for your suggestions. I’ve been trolling Wrangler forums and can’t find an exact answer – I’m thinking I’ll take her to be carpet-detailed by a pro.

Another thing I should majorly pit myself for is I ignored the 4-wheel drive recall on my 2007 Grand Cherokee and now she won’t move. I’m having a flatbed tow to the dealer on Monday :frowning:

At least there’s nothing wrong with the BMW this week . . . (cue the transmission to fall out!)

11

And, damn, my friend is looking for a 1999 Cherokee as a hobby restore truck. Too bad you’re on the Left Coast.

12

Although it’s in great condition (especially now), it has about 249,800 miles on it. Also, my sister is poor. (Serially buying junkers doesn’t help.) I just don’t feel like driving from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. My mechanic says you can buy Cherokees like mine for $500 to $3,000. I’d have to ask $3,000. He said he’d buy it in a minute, especially since the ‘Deep Amethyst’ purple is somewhat uncommon. Anyway, given the high mileage and the availability of Cherokees, your sister and her husband could probably find one locally. Thanks for the thought, though. :slight_smile:

13

Fun thought: they live in Eugene. :wink:

14

Firsly, climb down off the ledge. There’s a good fellow.

Secondly, welcome to “It’s a Jeep thing.” If you’re at all using your Wrangler properly (i.e., removing the top, doors, winders, and such and such), it’s gonna get rained in, and you’re gonna get rained on, if you’re atop it when it happens. No big deal.

You have a 2014, so it’s a JK. The main vulnerability to rain is the clockspring - the seam between the dashboardy extension of the steering wheel and the rotatey part of the steering wheel itself. If it gets significantly wet, the steering wheel controls may go wonky, which can affect headlights, wipers, turn signals, radio control, etc etc. If this has happened, it usually fixes itself after a day or two of drying out. If it doesn’t, or if you want to jumpstart the healing, you can disassemble the steering wheel (literally a five-minute job) and dry the contacts out manually. If the spring itself is deeply compromised in the rotatey metal part, you may need a new clockspring, which is about $150ish.

I’m usually topless, have been rained on dozens of times, have had the clockspring go mental four or five times, and in all but one case it’s fixed itself within a day or two. In the last case, it was still wonky by day three, so I took the steering wheel apart and hand-dried the contacts to fix it. And it was then, my friends, when I sat with my Jeep’s airbag in my hand after twenty seconds of work, that I found the solution to all of my financial problems! Those things are worth hundreds on the black market, aren’t they?

Thirdly, yeah, you should have plenty of drain plugs. Four or so on the bottom of the footwell, and a few more on the bed. They’re beneath the carpet, but if you bought your Jeep used, someone may have removed the carpet and coated the floorboards (sounds like it maybe?) with something else. After the second or third time you get raint upon, the smell of the carpet will compel you to take action. (I removed mine and replaced it with artificial grass.)

And fourthly, nice (former) Jeep, Johnny L.A.!

15

Spray the carpet well with Lysol.

16

Don’t feel bad, Jennshark. I got my 2000 Jeep TJ in December 2009 and it had never seen a Canadian winter (the previous owner bought it in Arizona and parked it there every winter) and it looked brand new. It was MINT. It was shiny, beautiful, not a speck of dirt or rust.

Then in the summer of 2010 I took it 4-wheeling. Which would have been not too bad if it hadn’t rained the day before and rained again while we were out there. You can see where this story is going - a stock Jeep in the middle of the forest getting pulled through mud pits halfway up the tires, scratched up by branches, etc. etc.

Long story short, my husband (who told me not to do it and I didn’t listen) says:
“She took a 2000 Jeep that looked like a 2010 and in 4 hours turned it into a 2000.”

Poor thing is a hot mess now, between rust (can’t afford to fix anything aesthetic at the moment), dog hair, and that one off-road adventure.

But eh, she’s mine.

17

I’ve owned many Wranglers. Every single one has gotten drenched inside at some point. Preventing the carpet from stinking is important.

18

I’d be legitimately astonished if a single drenching caused any issues beyond wet carpet & upholstery. I’ve owned Wranglers since 1994, and on average I forget to put the top on and get swamped 2 or 3 times each summer. It’s happened 3 times for far this summer, as a matter of fact. I’ve never had any problems as a result of this, except the musty odor that inevitably inhabits every well-used Jeep Wrangler.

As long as you pull your drain plugs and leave the top down once the sun is shining again, everything should be fine. If, after it’s long-since dried out completely, the nav system is indeed fried, I’d say bring it to the dealership and make them replace it.

19

What everyone else has said, plus this.

You can get proactive on that clockspring dampness thing by spraying some of this stuff in there. Or any brand of contact cleaner really. It uses an alcohol mixture to drive the moisture off the electrical parts.

20

Haha that made me think of when I used to have this old convertible Toyota Celica, one summer I was taking a late geology class and it had a lab after the lecture and actually got out fairly late. Well I had the top down and it was nice and unusually cool out and I felt so tired, so I decided to take a little 30 minute or so nap in my car until class started.

I guess I was a LOT more tired than I thought because I was snapped awake by lightning and pouring rain at like 10 at night, just getting soaked and drenched in rain, apparently I had been sleeping for like 3 hours. Also the mechanics of the convertible were broken, so I had to get out of the car and secure the top.