Good morning, all,
Just took part in a spirited debate over how one should manage a car that's going to be sitting for a while. No prep was discussed, just what you should and should not do during the course of the storage, of maybe a couple of months. A battery tender was a popular piece of advice to the people who believe they must start the car periodically to charge the battery. That myth was quickly debunked, in favor of a battery tender.
But then the discussion moved into the overall health of the engine if you 1.) Crank it and let it run for a few minutes, or 2.) Just leave it alone. This is where (I think) the conversation took a bad turn. I have a lot of respect for the collective knowledge in this group, so I'd love your input. I'm in the camp "leave it alone, unless you're going to take it for a drive long enough to get the oil up to operating temperature". I made the statement, which I fully believe, that you should just leave it alone, rather than run it for 5 minutes.
Naturally, the armchair mechanics, who claim to be real mechanics, started asserting that everything I believe is false, along with the usual belittlement that I'm not a mechanic, blah blah blah. Condensation! You must start it occasionally to remove condensation! More blah blah blah. I asked politely how they feel condensation is getting inside the engine if its never cranked. The replies continued to get worse, so I removed myself from the group.
What say you on this issue? If your car is going to be sitting for a while, do you crank it and let it run for a few minutes, or do you leave it alone?
Just took part in a spirited debate over how one should manage a car that's going to be sitting for a while. No prep was discussed, just what you should and should not do during the course of the storage, of maybe a couple of months. A battery tender was a popular piece of advice to the people who believe they must start the car periodically to charge the battery. That myth was quickly debunked, in favor of a battery tender.
But then the discussion moved into the overall health of the engine if you 1.) Crank it and let it run for a few minutes, or 2.) Just leave it alone. This is where (I think) the conversation took a bad turn. I have a lot of respect for the collective knowledge in this group, so I'd love your input. I'm in the camp "leave it alone, unless you're going to take it for a drive long enough to get the oil up to operating temperature". I made the statement, which I fully believe, that you should just leave it alone, rather than run it for 5 minutes.
Naturally, the armchair mechanics, who claim to be real mechanics, started asserting that everything I believe is false, along with the usual belittlement that I'm not a mechanic, blah blah blah. Condensation! You must start it occasionally to remove condensation! More blah blah blah. I asked politely how they feel condensation is getting inside the engine if its never cranked. The replies continued to get worse, so I removed myself from the group.
What say you on this issue? If your car is going to be sitting for a while, do you crank it and let it run for a few minutes, or do you leave it alone?
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