brdhntr Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 today i took the mj out for my first drive in the snow and ice (it's been on the jackstands for a while). i hit the bakes on the highway and was fishtailing all over. the roads were very, very icey, and i don't have the best tires on it, but wow. i just about wound up in the ditch. driving around town, the back brakes lock up pretty easy on the ice. i put some gas in and it got a little better. i hauled a load of furniture and it was fine. i plan on getting some sandbags in the back (i think 250-300 pounds) to help the problem. are the mj's just that light? is the rear brake design poor? i'll see how it goes when i get the new tires, and i knew i'd have to put some weight in back, i just didn't think it would be as much as i do now. anyone else have some trouble on the ice? :huh???: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 your proportioning valve has failed, or you removed it without realizing that there is now full braking power to the rear with half the weight of the front brakes. easily fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69CamaroSS Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 your proportioning valve has failed, or you removed it without realizing that there is now full braking power to the rear with half the weight of the front brakes. easily fixed. huh i have the same problem but i have an xj. good to know. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Definitely look into the prop valve. But they are trucks after all. There's not much over the rear tires so don't expect miracles. Some weight should do you good. :thumbsup: Do make sure that your load is secured. You don't want a minor accident causing anything to come up and greet you. :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco78 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 No worse then any other truck i've driven, is this your first truck? They are all pretty light in the the rear, and all benifit from a little weight in the back if you don't want to use 4wd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLHTAZ Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 No worse then any other truck i've driven, is this your first truck? They are all pretty light in the the rear, and all benifit from a little weight in the back if you don't want to use 4wd. :agree: Exactly what I was going to say. I have driven trucks for years and even the full isze trucks have the same problem. Fortunately I don't have to deal with it here in FL, but in PA I always put weight in the rear to help stabilize it. I built a wood frame and loaded cinder blocks in it right over top of the axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brdhntr Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 No worse then any other truck i've driven, is this your first truck? They are all pretty light in the the rear, and all benifit from a little weight in the back if you don't want to use 4wd. defenitely not my first truck, but probably the lightest. i have thought of the proportioning valve, but since it goes away with weight in the backend, i lean more towards a light rearend issue. i knew i'd have to put a couple sand bags in back like any other pickup i've had without a topper. i just wasn't ready for that light a back end. just wondering, why did you mention 4wd? that only helps for traction to make you go, it does nothing for brakeing (well except in the case of downshifting on a manual tranny). i leave for mayo tomorrow, so i'll put some sandbags in it when i can lift again. i hope that will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Actually, in theory 4wd can help with braking in some situations. The transfercase forces the front and rear driveshafts to rotate at the same speed and that can help keep the rears from locking up without the fronts. In theory. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigd44889 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 :agree: it does make a diff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco78 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Yeah, 4wd does help a bit in braking and fishtailing in some situations. It'll keep your rear tires from locking up before your fronts (well one rear tire and one front tire :P ), so they lock up all at the same time :eek: I've logged many many miles running though wonderfull Michigan lake effect snow, both professionally and non professionally, we usually see over 160" a year up where i'm at. I usually just run a bed full of snow on the MJ with no prop valve, lol, but my gmc has about 200lbs of weight in the bed and its great in the snow, so much more traction in 2wd with just a few pounds of weight. I wouldn't use cinder blocks as they could not feel to good smashing into the back of your head in an accident, but a few bags of sand come in real handy. Especially when you get stuck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLHTAZ Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I wouldn't use cinder blocks as they could not feel to good smashing into the back of your head in an accident,Thus the reason that I built a frame to hold them ;) . Sand bags are good, but inevitably get ripped open and all the sand ends up creating a big mess in the bed of the truck...BUT, I do see the advantage of having it if you are stuck in the slippery stuff too :thumbsup: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Just as long as no one is using bags of salt. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Get a good set of snow tires. Snow tires on my 2wd Ford got me in the snow where any 4wd with all season tires could go. Before the snow tires it was almost impossible to get going, and almost impossible to keep straight once you did get going. I got 4 good snow tires on my Comanche (4wd) and it has laughed at everything I threw at it. Well, almost. 18" of snow that got rained on and refroze on top did make going uphill a bit of work. Had to back up a bit and get some momentum going again a few times. Going through a 3 foot tall snow bank left by a plow took more than one try to get through as well. The only time I had an unintended fish tail was on 2" fluff with solid ice underneath pulling away from a stop sign and turning. never any problem keeping it straight while on the brakes, but I have a 100 pound or so cap on my truck and a bunch of junk in the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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