[Aberro]

I did a search, of course did not find similar question. Happens to be a 97 TJ 4 cyl.

This vehicle is a toy and lives in a garage, only driven occasionally on pretty weekends, never in the dirt, 500-1000 miles/yr.

Well it’s time for the yearly oil change but it’s still clear and I wonder if it’s really necessary. It has 160k miles on it, but does not smoke. (Only leaks a little bit, not enough to need oil added After 1000 miles)

I know the oil does not wear out, only the additives.

Would you change it?

 

[Seakir]

Nah
With low mileage, stored in a garage and weekend pampering in nice weather...I'd just keep checking until you get to maybe 2-3k.
Maybe you might need to do an oil change next year, just to loosen the bolts? 👍

 

[xJoshxx]

Eh long as your warming it up to operating temp every know and then to help boil off any water etc also keeps seals from getting dry etc.

 

[moparado]

You really need to take that Jeep on a long drive at least a couple times a month.
Its best to change the oil per calendar date and not mileage for a semi stored vehicle.

xJoshxx gave one good reason, others are acidic build up in stagnant oil, tires going flat, battery needs long drive charging to keep it healthy and the transmission and Tcase needs a good work out every now and then.

 

[jimntempe]

I did a search, of course did not find similar question. Happens to be a 97 TJ 4 cyl.

This vehicle is a toy and lives in a garage, only driven occasionally on pretty weekends, never in the dirt, 500-1000 miles/yr.

Well it’s time for the yearly oil change but it’s still clear and I wonder if it’s really necessary. It has 160k miles on it, but does not smoke. (Only leaks a little bit, not enough to need oil added After 1000 miles)

I know the oil does not wear out, only the additives.

Would you change it?

If you fully warm it up most of the time when you drive it, I would be fine doing 2 or even 3 year oil changes. It's true the additives wear out/get used up, but just sitting doesn't wear them out. A potential problem is that if you don't drive it for months the oil drains down and leaves the metal and seals bare. That's the theory. On the other hand I bought a 1957 tbird that was only driven 100 miles in the past 10 years and it doesn't seem to have suffered any from such little use.

 

[Seakir]

They don't build engines like they used to

 

[sfrat]

Not a Jeep, but my second vehicle is a 2002 Audi TT that only gets driven ~1,000 miles a year. With so low mileage you really have to factor in time and not miles driven. It takes synthetic oil and I change it every two years so the oil doesn't break down. Being synthetic I could probably go 3 years without issues. I've had the for 10 years, I'm the second owner, and had no issues. It has 81k miles on it.

Jim that Thunderbird sounds amazing. Would you share a picture? 😁

 

[moparado]

Case in point where i stored my old Dodge Neon for a couple years with only starting it allowing it to get to engine operating temperature once or twice a month without driving it.
Keep in mind it had a new battery when initially stored.

After those couple years of storage i found a potential buyer hopefully to finally get rid of it.
Before the buyer arrived to take a look at it, i decided to drive and prep it to make sure all things are a go.

No.1 It had a real hard time starting.
The battery was about dead and wouldn't take a charge. New battery.

No. 2 Once started couldn't back out of my pole barn.
Over those couple years of storage without driving it, the rear drum brakes hopelessly rust welded to the brake shoes.
Had one hell of a time removing the drums. I ended up doing a complete rear brake drum rebuild.

No. 3 The cabin was infested with mouse sh_t and stunk from it and mouse piss.
Had to buy upholstery cleaner for the seats and the rugs then detailed the rest of the cabin and dash.

Finally sold that dam money pit of a Neon at a substantial loss.
The silver lining good news, that dam thing is out of my life forever.

 

[jimntempe]

Not a Jeep, but my second vehicle is a 2002 Audi TT that only gets driven ~1,000 miles a year. With so low mileage you really have to factor in time and not miles driven. It takes synthetic oil and I change it every two years so the oil doesn't break down. Being synthetic I could probably go 3 years without issues. I've had the for 10 years, I'm the second owner, and had no issues. It has 81k miles on it.

Jim that Thunderbird sounds amazing. Would you share a picture? 😁

 

[Seakir]

The T-bird is a beauty. Thanks for sharing. Do you treat her as a Classic status like we have in the UK? (I.e- limited mileage insurance/car shows/no tax required, etc.)

 

[moparado]

The T-bird is a beauty. Thanks for sharing. Do you treat her as a Classic status like we have in the UK? (I.e- limited mileage insurance/car shows/no tax required, etc.)

Don't know about the insurance and taxes but years ago for kicks i asked my State DMV about getting an antique license plate for my XJ.
Seem to remember the vehicle has to be at least 25 years old to legally display the old historic license plates.
From what i understand the vehicle also has to be registered as a collector vehicle with a yearly fee.

Haha, hard to believe but 3 more years and my 2K XJ could be considered an antique?

 

[moparado]

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Jim, thats one nice ride!
Must be the Arizona climate that has treated that T-bird so well over the decades.
Do you still own it?

 

[xJoshxx]

Here in KY only way to keep that thing rust free would be to just have a picture.

 

[jimntempe]

Jim, thats one nice ride!
Must be the Arizona climate that has treated that T-bird so well over the decades.
Do you still own it?

I've had it a year. It was originally delivered to San Jose and spent most of it's life in CA. Was in TX for maybe 4 years before I bought it. It's 99.73% rust free. I found a couple very small holes on the inner quarters below the trunk right at the inner seam. It's the most rust free classic I've owned.

 

[jimntempe]

The T-bird is a beauty. Thanks for sharing. Do you treat her as a Classic status like we have in the UK? (I.e- limited mileage insurance/car shows/no tax required, etc.)

I didn't get classic plates because I wanted personalized plates. But you don't need the plates to get any particular benefit. I forget the exact number but once a car is older than about 40 years you no longer need to get emissions tested. The cost for licensing is very low, it's just considered an old car so about $50 a year. The classic insurance is also pretty cheap compared to a regular newer car. A few hundred a year for declared value. I think there is a 2000 mile a year limit. I was even able to put my 1999 Mustang, which I rarely drive, on my classic car insurance. Cut my yearly insurance cost for that car from over $600 to about $300.

 

[jimntempe]

Not a Jeep, but my second vehicle is a 2002 Audi TT that only gets driven ~1,000 miles a year. With so low mileage you really have to factor in time and not miles driven. It takes synthetic oil and I change it every two years so the oil doesn't break down. Being synthetic I could probably go 3 years without issues. I've had the for 10 years, I'm the second owner, and had no issues. It has 81k miles on it.

Jim that Thunderbird sounds amazing. Would you share a picture? 😁

The TT's look nice. I remember when they first came out. A friend just bought a 2004 350Z which looks similar, only 65K miles on it. Had been owned by a retired guy most of it's life and rarely left the garage.

 

[moparado]

I've had it a year. It was originally delivered to San Jose and spent most of it's life in CA. Was in TX for maybe 4 years before I bought it. It's 99.73% rust free. I found a couple very small holes on the inner quarters below the trunk right at the inner seam. It's the most rust free classic I've owned.

Being in Tempe i assumed it spent its life in AZ.
Cali is just as good far as the rust goes.

 

[sfrat]

Jim,

The TT's look nice. I remember when they first came out. A friend just bought a 2004 350Z which looks similar, only 65K miles on it. Had been owned by a retired guy most of it's life and rarely left the garage.

Jim, thanks for sharing pictures of your Thunderbird. The design is timeless. It's in amazing shape. I'm assuming there's been some restoration work, the interior looks showroom?

Did anyone else see this article last month? It should be interesting to see what companies do. It won't be the same as an original one but still sounded pretty interesting to me. NHTSA Just Created A Huge Opportunity For Vintage Car Lovers

Here's my TT (the silver one).

 

[jimntempe]

TT looks nice. Silver looks good. My 99 GT is almost the same color. On my 57 Tbird I completely redid the interior excluding the Dash Pad.
Found this photo from when my 99 was new. Wow, have digital cameras come a long way. Compared to today's photo's it looks like there was vaseline on the lens! The red one is a friends, a 289K-code manual trans 66.

 

[Seakir]

Drool...