Putting the old girl to bed for the winter. Was just gonna warm the engine up every now and again to keep battery charged etc. Anything i should or should not be doin while she is sat for a few months. Don't wanna get her out of hibernation and find she ain't running right cos i have overlooked to do something. Never stored a car before so a bit of a virgin in this department !

cheeRS in advance

 

Get yourself a battery conditioner that plugs into the mains ,low output that keeps the battery topped up so will always start ,also give the car a wash down underneath and then take for a quick drive to remove excess water .

 

i hear you should also drain the brake fluid as this will absorb water over time, take air out of the tyres or even better keep on axle stands do a search on keeping cars stored plenty of information out their

 

Ford advise this is done every 2 years. The fluid absorbs water and corrodes the brake pipes from the inside. Should be ok though

 

No No No don't take air out of tyres all you'll end up doing is ruining the side walls. Take the wheels off and store them in a dry place and get a set of axle stands for the car. I also leave one of my windows open a wee bit to let some air circulate around inside of car so doesn't get all stale smelling. Try and leave it with as little petrol in it as you can.


SMG

 

Ive heard to leave a full tank of petrol in it so the moisture doesnt corode the inside of the tank?

 

Also you should tape up the end of the exhaust and also where the air enters the metering head under the air filter.This is to stop moisture getting into the engine and rusting the cylinder bores.Regards Micky

 

I heard that too!

Get it an electric blanket

 

just open up your front window and bring it inside

 

Cheers guys. Some useful info there.

 

Some guy actually did this with his esc cos. Ive seen it on a max power dvd. I think he had his esc cos and a saff in his dining room and a 3dr outside! Crazy

 

That is crazy ! He should have had the 3 door in the dining room and the saff outside !

 

s1_turbo, think i saw that too a good while ago actually!!!

 

i would also fire her up once a week, let her run up to tempreature and then switch her off to just keep everything sweet and less chance of seizure

 

I think its the other way around!

 

If you leave a tank full in it will protect the inside of the tank......BUT it will go stale and the car will run Badly until its used up [never drive it hard with stale petrol!!]

To be honest I store my car every winter and for the sake of 3/4 months I really wouldn't worry about it too much

The inside of you fuel tank isn't going to rust.....your cylinder bores aren't going to rust and your engine sieze...your tyres aren't going to fuck up.

All I do every year is make sure the underside of the car is dry when I put it away [usually by driving the car really hard to get the exhaust up to temp which helps dry the underside]. Uncouple the battery, leave no fuel in it, make sure the tyres are at correct pressure and leave a window open a bit. I also start it at least every 2 months.

 

Mine is stored for 5 months every year for 5 years in a row now.
Nothing special is done, only the battery is charged a few times and the windows left open just a tiny bit.

No probs whatsoever. It starts straight away after 5 months storage.

 

Mine has been stored in the garage every winter for the past 6 years,as previous battery out,dry underneath,etc etc no probs

 

S2 Kev - my S1 sits for months without being started and she's sound. You also shouldn't just run her up in the garage and switch her off as when she cools you'll get condensation. If you do run her up make sure it's a dry day, no damp in the air and bring her out the garage to do it. Let her warm up then leave her outside with the fresh air to cool down before putting her away. If I start my s1 up that's what I do. You should also on a dry day open the garage door and get some fresh air inside. The damp air needs to be got shot of on a regular basis.

Either pump the tyres up rock hard so they don't flat spot or ideally get a shite set of rims with badgers arse bald tyres for her to sit on. Don't put her on axle stands as the suspension will drop and when you lower the car and drive her again it will squeak like a bastard. Get a CarCoon if you can afford one. Trust me, they work. If you can't get a decent indoor cover and as has been suggested, leave a window open a bit. I leave the rear opening 1/4 open.

When you bring her out after the winter, run her up and change the oil straight away. If you use synthetic it'll be OK but change as good practice. Wouldn't hurt to change the brake fluid as it's hydroscopic (absorbs water) so the pedal feel may well be spongy. As for a full tank of petrol I can see the logic but you wll loose a load due to evaporation anyway. That said, it would help on start up as the more pterol the less sediment in the tank will be dragged up.

Think that's about it for the moment.......

 

[quote="Mr S1"]S2 Kev - my S1 sits for months without being started and she's sound. You also shouldn't just run her up in the garage and switch her off as when she cools you'll get condensation. If you do run her up make sure it's a dry day, no damp in the air and bring her out the garage to do it. Let her warm up then leave her outside with the fresh air to cool down before putting her away. If I start my s1 up that's what I do. You should also on a dry day open the garage door and get some fresh air inside. The damp air needs to be got shot of on a regular basis. [/quote

thats what i meant, but if u leave it to stand for too long the oil will end up inheriting some condensation as only nature has it and this in turn will cause pitting in your head, block, bores, etc

 

Yeah that's fair comment - but as long as you change the oil when taking her out of hibernation that shouldn't be an issue. Starting her up and running up once or twice should be OK. If the car is started once a week then that's different.....................

 

just use it over the winter.







full tank of juice,if you do this,use a petrol stabalizer.

tyres,if you jack your car up ,then thats fine,if not,park it on bits of old carpet,this stops the concrete floor sucking the moisture out of the tyres and causing them to crack and perish.

librelly spray your engine bay with wd-40

or even better ,get some ACF-50,aircraft anti-corrosion protection,and spray all your perishable parts.it lasts for 12months.

battery optimizer(optimate/actimate) to keep her amps up.(75quid for a decent battery,50 for the charger/conditioner.)

leave two windows open a few millimeters for airflow,shut all the air vents(stops insects )

 

Cheers guys. Will prob take her for a warm up run about once a week. I can take her out on private land which will have no salt on and she is garaged there too. Will only take her out on a dry day though. Think this will be the way to go. Some interesting (and contradicting lol) points there

 

All the above are super tips

Here are my:

Leave the hand brake off

Full tank of petrol

Use a petrol stabalizer

http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8233

Use a Battery Conditioner

http://www.airflow-uk.com/battery-conditioner.htm

Leave window/sunroof open an few cm

 

get a dehumidifier in your garage and that will take the moisture out of the air and in effect reduce the chances of it rusting