im leaving next week for about 6 months and i was wondering the best way to store a car. its going to be left outside (i dont have access to a garage) any ideas?
best way to store car...
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if i was leaving it in washington i would just leave it at my parents houseNOFX said:
but i cantthanks for the offer anyway
jack stands, and fill the gas tank.
SeaFoam is your friend.
It will stabilize the gasoline. Gasoline loses it's light fractions over time and becomes varnish.
you can use the DeepCreep aerosol version of SeaFoam to fog the cylinders.
If you don't put it on stands, park on some plywood squares. It'll wick the moisture away from the tires.
Change the oil.
For 6 months, a regular cover will do fine. Make sure it's breathable though otherwise you are just trapping moisture under it for 6 mos.
If you can, get a 1/2 amp trickle charger to maintain the battery. maybe one of those solar chargers. Your stereo memory and ECU etc... are drawing a couple of milliamps. That's not much but over time it will kill your battery.
Have a safe trip!
It will stabilize the gasoline. Gasoline loses it's light fractions over time and becomes varnish.
you can use the DeepCreep aerosol version of SeaFoam to fog the cylinders.
If you don't put it on stands, park on some plywood squares. It'll wick the moisture away from the tires.
Change the oil.
For 6 months, a regular cover will do fine. Make sure it's breathable though otherwise you are just trapping moisture under it for 6 mos.
If you can, get a 1/2 amp trickle charger to maintain the battery. maybe one of those solar chargers. Your stereo memory and ECU etc... are drawing a couple of milliamps. That's not much but over time it will kill your battery.
Have a safe trip!
If anything, def get a car cover. Or put up some sunshades in the front and back to give your interior a break from the sunlight. Is there anyone that you can leave keys with to run the car once a week for a few minutes?
Mr. Lin said:
No!
You want to add SeaFoam then fill the tank with gas.
Air in an empty tank will allow condensation to form. That condensation will rust the inside of the tank or run down into the gas.
Don't overfill the tank. Allow for a little expansion, but the less bare metal in the tank exposed to air the better.
A few minutes isn't going to help. It'll just make it worse. Water and acids are normal by-products of combustion. Under normal operation, the oil gets above 212 degrees Farenheit and these nasty little by-products in the oil burn off. Running it for just a few minutes just creates more acids and water in the oil and will damage nice smooth bearing surfaces and cylinder walls.96greencivic said:
CAR COVER all the way. For many reasons........ Some of them are:
Protects you car from fading paint and interior due to sunlight
Attracks the least attention from thiefs or bypassers
and definetely buy 4 stands and jack it up becasue in 6 months withouht driving the car would most definetely deform the tires.
But if you do not have or do not want to buy 4 stands, you could always put on cheap standard/original wheels on it.
And tell someone to check it eveyday for you... Just to have your mind of of it!
Protects you car from fading paint and interior due to sunlight
Attracks the least attention from thiefs or bypassers
and definetely buy 4 stands and jack it up becasue in 6 months withouht driving the car would most definetely deform the tires.
But if you do not have or do not want to buy 4 stands, you could always put on cheap standard/original wheels on it.
And tell someone to check it eveyday for you... Just to have your mind of of it!
By the way telling a person you trust (that's important) to drive the car for at least 15mins once a week woudn't be a bad idea becasue the car needs to run, it needs to get it's fluids going lol, just like us human beings!
I do not know where Norcal is but how are the crime rates? If they are quite high over there I will most definetely try to find a garage to put it in there.
I do not know where Norcal is but how are the crime rates? If they are quite high over there I will most definetely try to find a garage to put it in there.
if you dont have access to a garage, it would almost be worth it to rent one of those rental shed things big enough to keep a car in, then throw down some plywood for the tires, or put it on jack stands and leave it inside that storage shed where it'll be out of the elements, etc. etc.
Again, 15 minutes is not long enough to allow the oil to get and stay hot enough to burn all the acids and water out of your oil that will end up etching the bearing faces, cylinder walls, ...etc....Jipstar said:
You are better off changing the oil and then just parking it.