Fogging cylinders for winter storage

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When storing a car for the winter does anyone fog the cylinders?

I store my MX5 in an unheated garage in a cold part of the country. It will be untouched from about now until Mid-May. I've stored it for a number of years without trouble but have always fogged the cylinders as part of the winterization process. Is this a waste of time? Do others not do this and also have trouble-free springs? Any value or just a placebo?

Thanks!
 
People do this with boats to fight corrosion from moisture. Has your Mazda seen much water?
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Not sure how to add the fogging spray on a fuel injected engine other than removing the spark plug and giving them a spray.

I would add some fuel stabilizer and run the engine on the highway and until hot and call it good.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
I would add some fuel stabilizer and run the engine on the highway and until hot and call it good.


I would do the same. I'd top off the tank with gas on the way home and connect it to a battery maintainer as well.
 
Done the full tank, gas stabilizer and long run before storage. Battery is removed and stored in a heated basement. And yes, fogging the cylinders involves removing spark plugs and spraying into the cylinders. Not a ton of work, just not sure I'm accomplishing anything worthwhile.

Not a lot of moisture exposure. Well, except it was out in a brief rain shower in August...
 
fogging spray on a car is overkill IMHO. A liberal dose of fuel stabilizer in your fuel is easily enough to accomplish the desired upper lubricant your looking for.

Usually you'll know you've added enough stabilizer, when there's a noticeable difference in performance (less power).
 
I worked for a guy once that tried to fog a 3208 Cat with Marvel Mystery Oil. Thing took off on him. He stuffed a pillow from the sofa in the boat into the air intake to stop it.
 
Originally Posted By: NYEngineer
I worked for a guy once that tried to fog a 3208 Cat with Marvel Mystery Oil. Thing took off on him. He stuffed a pillow from the sofa in the boat into the air intake to stop it.


Fogging a diesel !
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Boats typically get fogged through the carb often with 2 cans of stabilizer at once. The goal is to stall the engine.

I could see the fogging oil not being good for a cat in the car.
 
What I've done in lieu of fogging the engine in my son's car prior to his deployments is have him pour in a quart of MMO along with a few ounces of Stabil Marine in the gas tank at the gas station and fill it up. Then drive to where it is going to be parked, park it and do any final preparation. It will not foul plugs, and it won't kill the cat converter. It will leave a residual film of MMO on the cylinder walls.

You can also do it with TCW3 which would probably leave a better film, although I'm not sure of a safe dose. I'd probably use a pint to a 20 gallon tank of gas for storage purposes. We've used TCW3 for this purpose in 4 cycle boat engines with good results, I'd have to check with my brother on the dose.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Boats typically get fogged through the carb often with 2 cans of stabilizer at once. The goal is to stall the engine.

I could see the fogging oil not being good for a cat in the car.



The idea here (per the aerosol can) is to introduce fogging spray with the engine off and cold, leaving an anti-corrosion coating on the surfaces of the cylinder and piston rings. But maybe this is already taken care of with residual engine oil.

Don't think this method would have any effect on the cat, but may not do any good either.
 
ok my question is why would you fog it then run it until its hot and burn off the fogging oil ??????

I have always fogged when shut down pull the plugs spray your fogging agent into the cylinders and rotate a few turns to ensure even coating and put the plugs back in or am I doing something wrong here for the last 35 years of storing small engines and summer cars
 
Originally Posted By: Nitronoise
ok my question is why would you fog it then run it until its hot and burn off the fogging oil ??????

I have always fogged when shut down pull the plugs spray your fogging agent into the cylinders and rotate a few turns to ensure even coating and put the plugs back in or am I doing something wrong here for the last 35 years of storing small engines and summer cars


I don't run after fogging, it's the last step in the process just as you have been doing.
 
Originally Posted By: Nitronoise
ok my question is why would you fog it then run it until its hot and burn off the fogging oil ??????

I have always fogged when shut down pull the plugs spray your fogging agent into the cylinders and rotate a few turns to ensure even coating and put the plugs back in or am I doing something wrong here for the last 35 years of storing small engines and summer cars


Exactly. After you fog it don't start it, you want that fogging oil to remain not burn it off. I fog small engines exactly the same way as you do. IMO you're not doing anything wrong.
 
I don't know if you should fog or not. I will say this, people with boats (even fresh water boats) fog. And tbh, the environment of a inboard motor on a boat is really no different than that of your car. The moisture levels inside the engine bay are very similar (your car drives through rain storms...right?). So either the boat people are un-necessarily fogging or the car people are not fogging enough.

On my boat I used to fog by spraying fogging oil in the carb. About 20 seconds and then shut it down. One year I pulled the plugs and sprayed directly. I think the idea of using 2 stroke oil is pretty good except I don't want to pollute a full take of gas with it. I would do it with an almost empty tank, run it, shut it off, then fill the tank with clean gas.
 
Fog it and fogget about it! lol.
I sprayed fogging oil thru the spark plug hole for 10 seconds, per can direction. Turned the ignition to cycle the cylinder for 1 second with spark plugs out. Put the plugs back and store it.
For over 20 years, I fogged and not fogged my motorcycle. Didn't see any difference.
 
Fogging started out for boats that sat in the water during the winter lay up. The main reason was moisture, rust, control. I've winterized a ba-zillion mercruisers that sat out of the water and have never fogged them. It's only 6-7 months. The one thing I'd recommend is get non-ethanol fuel, add stabilizer, run it for a while and then park it. Your real main worry would be rodentia getting into your car.
 
Agree, mice and other rodents are more of a concern than moisture getting into the combustion chambers. I always run the car well before turning it off for storage. Also, tires flat-spotting can be a bit of a problem for long term storage.
 
Thanks for the comments. Used non-ethanol fuel and stabilizer. Inflated tires to 45psi to minimize flat-spotting. Mouse barriers (aluminum flashing attached to 2x4s) in place around perimeter of car and steel wool in exhausts. Vinyl sheeting on concrete floor under car to minimize water vapors. And I decided to go ahead and fog: about 30 minutes and no lost bits or damaged pieces.

I've been doing this for a number of years and (knock wood) have had no problems other than very rusty brake rotors in the spring.
 
Originally Posted By: Schmoe
The one thing I'd recommend is get non-ethanol fuel, add stabilizer, run it for a while and then park it. Your real main worry would be rodentia getting into your car.


I've sat my Mustang for five or six months every year since 2003. This is what I do.
 
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