How to Maintain Your Lifted Jeep for Off-Roading

If you’re an off-road enthusiast, you’ve probably already realized just how much stress your vehicle experiences each time you take it out on the trails — not to mention how dirty it gets. It should quickly become obvious to you just how important it is to maintain your lifted Jeep. Your vehicle will require a bit more attention to ensure that it remains in top condition for all of your off-road adventures, and for many years to come. That’s why we’re here today: to cover some of the key areas you need to address in order to maintain your lifted Jeep for off-roading.

The two most important things to stay on top of when you own any vehicle, but especially when you own a lifted Jeep that you take off-roading, are to get regular inspections and always take care of routine maintenance in a timely manner. That means all of your regularly scheduled services like oil changes, filter replacements, alignment checks and so on, in addition to getting multi-point inspections done at least once a year.

But on top of the multi-point inspections that you should be getting done by a professional each year, it’s important to check your vehicle after every off-road excursion and again before the next time you hit the trails. You should be analyzing your suspension system and full undercarriage for any damage, loose parts or excessive dirt and debris. Tighten any parts that are still in good condition, and replace worn parts as and when needed.

Finally, check your tires and wheels to ensure that they’re not wearing down unevenly, that they haven’t been cut or punctured, that they’re properly inflated for whichever type of driving you’re about to get up to and, finally, that they’re still securely fastened to your wheels.

When you have a lifted Jeep, it often puts additional strain on the steering and alignment components of your vehicle. It’s key to regularly check and adjust your alignment to ensure safe handling of the vehicle and prevent excessive wear and tear on your tires. You should have your alignment checked and adjusted by a professional on a regular basis, and check your different steering components while you’re at it, such as your tie rods, ball joints and steering linkage.

Your brakes and drivetrain are not only crucial to all of the driving that you do, but they can also be put under a lot of extra stress when off-roading. You should regularly check your brake pads, rotors and lines for wear and tear or excessive damage, replacing pads whenever needed. As for your drivetrain, if you know what you’re doing you should check the shafts and u-joints on your own, greasing the latter on a regular basis to reduce friction and wear. You should also check for leaks in your differential fluid and replace it whenever your owner’s manual says you should.

As with any vehicle, you’ll want to make sure you’re maintaining the proper levels on all of your fluids. It sounds trivial, but it can go a long way towards the longevity and performance of your vehicle. Engine oil, transmission and transfer case fluids, coolant, brake fluid and so on are all crucial, including the aforementioned differential fluid.

You should also be changing your filters on a regular basis. Your oil filter should naturally get changed whenever you swap out your oil, but you should also check your cabin and engine air filters according to your owner’s manual as well. While the cabin air filter isn’t all that important to your off-roading career, the engine air filter will help prevent dirt and debris from getting into your engine, so it’s definitely important.

Cleaning your vehicle and applying protective coatings to it is something you can and should do on any vehicle, but once again it can be even more important on an off-road vehicle as you’re constantly exposing your vehicle to mud, water, dirt and other debris. This can lead to rust and corrosion over time, so it’s imperative to keep your vehicle’s exterior and undercarriage clean and coated.

Hopefully, we’ve helped you better understand how important it is to take care of your lifted Jeep before and after taking it off-roading. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us right here at LiftedJeeps.com, we look forward to hearing from you!