Your thoughts on winter vehicle storage

[RudeRED]

Hello All,
Looking for your experiences and suggestions on winter vehicle storage.
After performing a coolant change, oil change and Stabil in the topped-off gas tank, should I run the motor every few weeks??? Pull the battery out and just leave the car alone until spring??? Concerned with brakes seizing, drivetrain seals remaining plyable etc...
The car is stored in my attached garage under a cover.
Thank you,

 

[stevejones]

I have stored my '08 Pontiac every winter since I bought it new, also in my attached garage. Here's my pre-storage & storage routine: I change the oil before parking it.



Some things don't need overthought....

 

[jmaster]

-full tank of gas, stabilizer of your choice
-parking brake off
-inflate tires to maximum psi rating on sidewall to reduce flat spotting of tires
-before starting in spring disable fuel injectors and turn over engine to get oil to top end if it sits for a few months just to be safe


more involved
-park on top of a plastic sheet to block moisture
-fogging oil in cylinders
-jack tires off the ground

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted By: jmaster

more involved

-jack tires off the ground


No, no, and NO. This is not 1965. This old myth is unnecessary for your tires and even harmful to the suspension.

Everyone, PLEASE STOP perpetuating this myth.

 

[cat843]

If you start the engine you need to bring the engine and exhaust to an operating temp. to drive out moisture. I would not fill the gas tank. Stabilize what is there and leave room for adding some high test gas in the spring. Battery can stay in the vehicle but keep it on a temp. compensated float charger. Storing over the winter is not a big deal.

 

[widman]

Comments so far are right on. DON'T start it regularly.

 

[RudeRED]

Well thank all of you for the quick replies and advice!
It's old school carburated engine, so I'm going to pull out the battery and leave it alone.
Thanks also for the parking brake tip, hadn't considered it.

 

[Trav]

Get some mesh bags and put mothballs in them, hang a couple in the engine compartment, air cleaner box, one up each tail pipe to keep rodents out. You can also put plastic cling film over the vent intakes so they don't get into the heater and fan.

Do no start the engine, it does more harm than good. Don't unload the suspension the bushings can become deformed from their normally neutral position.

 

[fdcg27]

Depends upon who you ask.
Most folks here will tell you to fill the tank, drive the car into the garage, put it on a float charger and leave it alone until you intend to get it out and actually use it in the spring.
This is what I do. If the oil is reasonable fresh, like less than a couple of K, I leave it in the engine.
After all, acids don't accrue in an engine not being run and the oil has TBN to take care of any combustion products from when it was last run.
OTOH, a couple of manufacturers of which you may have heard beg to differ.
The OM of my BMW recommends that the oil and filter be changed prior to storage and then again when the car is returned to use.
BMW further recommends that tires be inflated to 60 psi and that the AC should be run at least once a month, which of course requires running the engine, with the engine being to be run until it reaches normal operating temperature on the coolant gauge, which will take a while idling in the driveway.
I do none of this and the car runs great every spring and the AC still works well.
In the OM of our E350, Ford recommends that the engine be idled to normal operating temperature every fifteen days and that the vehicle be moved at least twenty five feet as well as shifted through all ranges of the slushbox.
I instead let the thing sit with a fullish tank of fuel, sometimes for months at a time, with no issues.
If you're talking about six or seven months of storage, as I think you are, no heroic measured are needed.
A maintainer, float charger or a charge of the battery once a month or so is vital unless you want to buy a new one in the spring.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

The OM of my BMW recommends that the oil and filter be changed prior to storage and then again when the car is returned to use.


Eh? Surely even a BMW can't actually knacker its oil and filter just sitting there?

I suppose they fear condensation accumulating in the oil, but in the filter??

Isn't it just going to boil off when restarted anyway?

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

The OM of my BMW recommends that the oil and filter be changed prior to storage and then again when the car is returned to use.


Yes they did but that's long gone now, they use to sell a winter storage oil that was basically cheap dino with no additive.
I stopped seeing that sold around 1997 or so. I can see changing it before storage because over a long period the contaminants may drop out but not when you return it to service.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: fdcg27

The OM of my BMW recommends that the oil and filter be changed prior to storage and then again when the car is returned to use.


Eh? Surely even a BMW can't actually knacker its oil and filter just sitting there?

I suppose they fear condensation accumulating in the oil, but in the filter??

Isn't it just going to boil off when restarted anyway?



Exactly what I think.
The first decent drive will evaporate any moisture from the oil.
Nonetheless, the first item under "Restoring car to use"
is "Change engine oil and the oil filter element while the engine is at normal operating temperature."
The second item under "Vehicle laid up and out of use" (for more than three months) reads "Change the engine oil and oil filter element while engine is at normal operating temperature."
I don't follow these directives, since they're obviously unnecessary and are pure waste, even though I can do an oil change on this car with oils in the grades recommended by BMW with an Austrian made Mahle oil filter for well under ten bucks.
However, that is what the OM says.

 

[jmaster]

i don't condone doing it. if someone was crazy enough to do it they would keep the suspension loaded, but even then it will be a partial load. tires today won't permanently be flat spotted but can be flat spotted for a few hundred miles depending on the brand. filling the tires up to the max psi rating thats on the sidewall will be good enough.

so yes, i agree don't do it. pump up your tires.

 

[eljefino]

I just put my mercedes 300D up:

I put Hobbs fuel stabilizer/ anti-gel in the diesel and filled the tank. Not that I plan to run it, but I could need to start it due to an emergency.

I drove the rear wheels onto 6x6 pressure treated blocks, then jacked up the front and stuffed solid concrete pavers under the front wheels. No e-brake.

The car is parked outside, sadly. I parked a firebird in this spot a couple years ago and had flash rusting underneath. I hope the extra six inches of height let it "breathe" better underneath and stay dry. It's on pavement but I'm on the wrong (shady) side of a hill, and snow/ ice never leave between December and April.

I could and should cover the intake to keep critters out, but probably won't. A steel wool chore boy pad might be good.

With the key off, the only load is a tiny analog clock and its aftermarket radio. I expect its bus-sized battery to make it through unscathed.

 

[JHZR2]

I have vehicles that sit long durations all the time. Nothing to it.

- change what fluids you desire
- wash/wax/dry if you like
-fill up fuel tank and stabilize with tcw-3 and/or other stabilizer as you like
-drive the vehicle fully hot. I'd say 30 miles minimum. Operate everything including heat and more importantly AC (it should run the whole time)
-park, and if in a decently ventilated space, put a float charger in the battery.
-when you want to drive again, disconnect the charger, start up, and drive gently until warm. Run through all the fuel in the tank before refueling if you can.

 

[Bluestream]

DO not fill the tank if using E10

 

[Jarlaxle]

Storage routine for my Caddy and my wife's Grand National:

Gas tank full and a bottle of Sta-bil.
Battery on a maintainer.
Tires off the ground-jackstands under the rear axles and front LCA's to load the suspension normally. I usually put a ring of grease around the stands and on the battery charger cords so mice can't climb them.
Hoods propped with broom handles. (Have to be open for the maintainers.)
Fresh oil & filter.
Air intake & tailpipes plugged with steel wool.
Pipe insulation on the wipers.