Just wondering for those who store their car for the winter, what kind of steps do you guys take?
i’m doing the following:
I did the same as you (just had an oil change 1000 km before storage, so no need to do it again), but also the following…
Store the car with a full gas tank, and add fuel stabilizer (keeps fuel from settling to the bottom and therefore helps prevent rusting of the tank)
Steel wool in the muffler tips (so no critters crawl up there to die… this happened to people I know, do it!)
Crack the windows before you unplug the battery. Failing to do so may damage the window seals when you open the doors. Remember, the windows on the Z33 drop slightly when we open the doors, and raise back up on closing them. No battery = no automatic adjusting.
Car cover, for dust!
Put the car in gear, leave the parking brake off (don’t want it to seize)
And for people storing the car on the tires they drive on (like me), drive the tires up on some home insulation to keep from flatspotting.
Give me a sec, I combined a few people’s opinions in a comprehensive post. Leme go find it.
Here it is:
(Courtesy of Gleb)
Before you store it:
-Change ALL fluids
-Wash it inside and out, engine too (make sure everything is dry before locking it up).
-When driving to the place of storage ride the brakes for a bit, you want them dry and hot/warm, so that there is no moisture and rotors will not get rusty and the pads won’t stick.
-Once inside, make sure that everything is off : fan, radio, lights etc.
-Crack couple off windows open, just a bit.
-Do not lift the car off the ground, suspension must be compressed, instead pump your tires up to about 50 psi, this will prevent flat spots, also put some cardboard or sheets of wood under the tires, this will help absorb moisture.
-Do not use the parking brake, leave it in Reverse or Park for the automatic.
-Even indoors use a good quality breathable car cover.
Every 3 weeks or so I visit my baby and let it run for about 4-5 min. If the weather is good, I drive it at hwy. speeds for about 30 min, this way the battery charges and the car gets a workout.
Coutesy of BigD
Overinflate the tires.
Fill up the tank and put in some fuel stabilizer.
Remove the sparkplugs, clean them up, and spray fogging oil into the cylinders. If you can’t find any look harder. If all else fails spray some quality synthetic oil. Next put the car into 5th and push it back and forth until the engine does a dozen complete revolutions. Do NOT use the starter. This will prevent corrosion of the cylinder bores and rings.
Remove the battery and put it on a block of wood.
Put on a car cover and come back in the spring.
DO NOT do the starting it every month thing. I know it feels good but that’s one of the worst things you can do to a car while storing it. If you didn’t put in any fogging oil and you just can’t keep your hands off of it for the winter, then make sure that you also drive it for long enough to ensure the oil reaches operating temperature (if you don’t have an oil temp gauge, just drive for an hour… don’t go by water temp, it means nothing) and drive at varying loads. 5-10 mins of idling or a bit of driving is not enough. You will end up accumulating water in the oil, pistons, cylinder bores and exhaust, and everything will corrode from inside.
http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/sho…=winter+storage
Hope this helps!
–Gabe
good read guys. About the window thing, I follow the instructions in the manual for unplugging the battery, so I dont’ really have to open the windows. plus i’m putting baking soda in the cabin, that should solve any condensation issue within there.
This is the first time I’ve heard of the parking brake thing. Thanks for the tip!
I forgot to mention the full tank of gas thing (i already do it). I’m hesitent about fuel stabilizers though…additives of any kind tend to scare me.
I’m pretty much doing all the above, except I am jacking the car up and placing the jackstands under the control arms to keep suspension compressed.
+1
I did all the above already as well except I left the tank almost empty… figured adding new gas when bringing it out of storage would be better then gas stabilizer… besides, over 3-4 months, I doubt the fuel would settle too much anyways.
I did all the above already as well except I left the tank almost empty… figured adding new gas when bringing it out of storage would be better then gas stabilizer… besides, over 3-4 months, I doubt the fuel would settle too much anyways.
I did all the above already as well except I left the tank almost empty… figured adding new gas when bringing it out of storage would be better then gas stabilizer… besides, over 3-4 months, I doubt the fuel would settle too much anyways.