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The prep required depends on how long the cars are going to be put away. When I put my cars away for the winter I do the following.
Pick them up off the and put them on jack stands so they are not resting on the tires.
Get a box of steel wool and put one in the exhaust pipe and intake. This will prevent little critters from invading your car during the winter.
Buy a Can of Seafoam and dump it in the tank then drive the car for a few miles.
Change the oil and filter.
IF you know what you are doing remove each of the spark plugs and spray a small amount of Sta-Bile fogging oil into each cylinder. This will prevent rust in the cylinders.
Hook up the battery tender.
Placing a box of baking soda inside the car will help collect moisture. Just be sure you put it on a plate so it doesn't stain the carpet.
Whatever you do... DO NOT start the car and let it run for a few minutes. If the car is started it needs to be driven about 15 miles to get everything hot.
Seriously, if you're not going to run the engine till the oil is hot (20 minutes-ish, depending on how cold it is that could be past 30 minutes... note, OIL temp, not water/coolant) then don't start the engine. You're doing more damage than anything else when you just start a vehicle and let it idle.
My comment of running the car was to drive it. Not just idle.
We are snow birds and end up leaving one of our vehicles in the garage in NJ for several months of the year. I was told to get a battery trickle charger to keep the battery fresh instead of pulling the battery cable (which I had been previously doing). I was also told to put some "gasoline stabilizer" in the tank. I have checked several auto stores and searched online looking for gas stabilizer. There are all kinds of additives (the guy at Advanced Auto said to use a bottle of Gum Out), but none I could identify as a stabilizer.
Suggestions?
NONE of the auto parts stores knew that Stabil was??!!!! IDIOTS!!!
As was said a couple times, yes. But life is about managed risk. The risk is very small, and IMHO not to worry about.
It draws about .5 amp of electricity, it's no more of a risk than leaving a phone charger plugged in. Should I start unplugging my alarm clock every day? Lol......
Oh well, as any forum post you will end up with contradictory onions.
I'll just toss mine in, as we used to store most of cars in our much colder country over the winter for 4-5 months.
1. you need to have tires off the ground. Otherwise, they will develop minor flat spots.
2. You MUST run oil through the engine once in a while. Thing is, oil lubricates not just moving parts but, also, cylinder walls. Otherwise, you will start having oxidized cylinder wall buildup that will kill your piston rings and such. You do not really have to start the engine, but giving it a few quick spins with starter does the job. Disable ignition by a method applicable to your vehicle (I'd say, fuel pump fuse) and simply crank it for 5-10 seconds. You do not care about battery drained as you have trickle charger (needs to be disconnected for the cranks)
3. Thing is, every modern car has some sort of hydraulic lifters, minding proper gap between camshaft and valve stems. When engine is not run, oil drains out of them and you end up with hydraulic pressure loss at the 1st start. Also, any seals and such will start drying out.
4. Ideally, car needs to be moved, not just started. There are A LOT of moving parts in any car, that are being lubricated from rotational moment. They do not move - metal is exposed and starts oxidizing. AKA, rust.
5. If you decide to start engine, vs cranking it, you must come up with exhaust evacuation system.
I'd say, look at it this way. Sit in a chair in a VERY comfortable position. Now, stop moving and freeze in that position for as long as you can tolerate it. Now, stand up. Feel it? Your car will feel quite close to this. Stiff joints and such.
tmozer,
Lots of good advice above and some that is extreme, imo...
Fwiw, we have been leaving a car in the garage for the past 8 winter seasons, as we migrate to Naples also.
I do run a Battery Tender, but I plug it in via an old fashioned mechanical appliance timer, and have it 'come on' about twice a week for 12+ hours. Don't feel the Tender needs to be on/'floating' 24/7, for months. My m'cycles get the same treatment. If done securely, I don't give a thought to a mouse knocking it loose...One can't control every aspect of any situ.
I add the rec'd amount of Stabil to the gas tank, drive it to nearest gas station, fill it, drive home and top off tank with a tad more Stabil. I see several kinds of Stabil on the store shelves, but the listed ingredients look identical to my eye, as do the MSDS sheets.
I stuff something in the tailpipes just to keep the mice out. As for the interior/under the hood, I have tried moth balls, Fabreeze sheets, Swifter sheets, peppermint, etc. Nothing gets 'in' the interior, but I have found evidence under the hood occasionally, and the peppermint candies eaten.
I do not get wheels/tires off the ground; I do inflate tires to 40+, and have never had a flat spot problem on 3 different cars.
Upon return, I reverse the 'process', check tire pressure, turn the key, and whatever car was stored, fires on first turn. I drive it for awhile after starting and top off with fresh gas.
This is not nuclear physics and I am pretty certain you aren't doing more than half a year+ storage...
My 50Cts.
GL, mD
Well, several months is NOT a long time to let a car sit.........6 months or a year is something else. We have lots of snowbirds here in Florida who regularly leave their cars here sitting for 6 months and a simple trickle charger and a dose of Stabil (the marine one that handles ethanol ) or Startron by Starbrite will keep the fuel from getting bad.
My Son has two cars he only drives one or twice a year, a T bucket and a Corvette. He keeps a trickle charger on them and Startron in the tanks, and never has an issue. My own hot rod sits for months sometimes and I don't even use stabilizer and never have had an issue.
When you put the stabilizer in let the car run for a while to get it circulated in the system, and when you come back you might want to change the oil as acids will form from contact with the engine block, but that is only if it is laid up over 3 months or more. With the short period you are talking about you will not have any issues. Oh, and do not disconnect the battery, no need to.
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