Winter storage tips, tricks and suggestions needed

I have stored cars over the winter inside a garage but this is the first year I have to keep a vehicle outside.

I purchased a Covercraft Noah all season cover. I plan to put some store-n-start in, fill the gas tank, pump the tires up to 40 and start every couple of weeks.

Any other thoughts? This could become a good tech article for the longroof webpage....

1. Don't start it. Just leave it be.
2. Take the battery out and keep it in a nice warm dry basement.
3. Have the underside of the car oil-sprayed before you store it.
4. Parking on concrete or asphalt is best.
5. Make sure it's as far away from salted roads as possible.
6. A good wash and wax will help too.
7. Stored cars outside develop humidity on the inside. Every month or so, let the car air out. You can either open all the doors on a nice day, or put the battery in it, turn the ignition on (don't start it), and turn the blower on high for 10 minutes or so.
8. I like to manually roll the car a few inches every month or so to prevent putting flat spots in the tires and divots in asphalt.
9. put steel wool in the tailpipes to keep any critters out.
10. When spring comes around, I pull the fuel pump relay and crank it until it starts. This allows oil pressure to build before the motor fires. I don't know if this is actually beneficial to the motor or not; maybe others can chime in.

Do not start it until the spring. I agree with everything that Joel says. You don't really need to roll it around, especially if it has 15" tires. Any flat spotting will come out with heat from driving. I don't crank it to build pressure - I just put the battery back in, and start. Haven't had a problem in over 20 years of doing this (wow, I am getting old) on both my old carb cars, and my FI cars.

Jason, who is getting depressed that winter is coming.

I also agree with the above but with a couple of caveats:

1. After adding the Stabil, run the engine till it comes up to temps, then "fog" it out (2 stroke motor oil is good) for a few minutes and then stall it out using the fogging oil. This does two things. First it allows the treated fuel to get into everything preventing varnish build up and second it coats all of the intake system, upper cylinders and ring lands with a protective oil barrier. The first tank full in the spring should be double dosed with fuel injector cleaner to clean up any residual build up.

2. In the spring, pull all the plugs and the fuel pump relay and crank the engine till you get oil pressure. This assures you get full oil coverage to all the bearings and by pulling the plugs, it assures you are not putting any appreciable load on the bearings until they have oil. Over the winter the oil will drain off the bearing surfaces meaning the first start in the spring will be a dry one. The above will mitigate that to some extent.

Unless you intend on letting the engine warm up completely, don't start it until the spring. You have to get the engine warm enough to get rid of all the condensation, both in the crankcase and the exhaust plus any moisture build up in the oil.

We used to block up the wheels to get the pressure off the tires but that was back in the days of bias ply tires (hows that for dating myself?) but the newer tires are not as susceptable to flat spots. Just keep them inflated properly and never store a car on grass unless you put a tarp down first. Make sure your car cover is made of a breathable material, otherwise the buildup of condensation will cause problems.

Bill (never mind dreading winter...I'm planning my escape)

Hey Convert-

I had never heard of the fogging process you were talking about in step 1 there, could you go into a little more detail on just how you do this?

Just make sure to fog downstream of the MAF otherwise that will be a royal mess to clean.

RoadMattster wrote:

Hey Convert-

I had never heard of the fogging process you were talking about in step 1 there, could you go into a little more detail on just how you do this?

Just use the same process that you do with "Sea Foam" except I use 2 stroke motor oil. Just remove the vacumm line from the power brake booster and while the engine is running, slowly pour oil into the vacumm hose until someone calls the fire department then shut her down for the winter. This coats all the upper cylinders, intake valves and exhaust with a thin film of oil. It will smoke a bit in the spring until it clears and by using the 2 stroke oil, it shouldn't have any effect on the O2s or cats. Just give the car an Italian tune up first thing in the spring.

Bill

My dear fellow Rochestarian,

The jury is still out on the cover being beneficial. Lat year I stored Shammoo outside under two covers. The first was a custom cut canvas cover that came with the car, and I put a heavy Grey tarp over the top of that. After five months of being pounded by the wind the paint took a beating, particularly the roof got the hell slapped out it.

It's going in the garage this year.


You are likely to to required by town ordinances to cover the car IF you take the plates off of it.
MY suggestion is that although you may be tempted to cancel ALL the the insurance on it, but make sure you keep the comprehensive and glass coverage on it. You don't need collision when it's in the driveway. Doing that saved me the cost of a new windshield this spring, when I took the cover off and found a cracked windshield. Geico paid for it.

well i winterised an lt1 engine 2 yrs ago by covering it with a cheapy tarp and some bungy cords, and you all mostly know what kinda winters we get,. the motor was buried for 3 mos each year,. its now in the blue wagon and purring away happily,. after i carefully drained the oil and water out of the pan,.

Nick

lakeffect wrote:

My dear fellow Rochestarian,

The jury is still out on the cover being beneficial. Lat year I stored Shammoo outside under two covers. The first was a custom cut canvas cover that came with the car, and I put a heavy Grey tarp over the top of that. After five months of being pounded by the wind the paint took a beating, particularly the roof got the hell slapped out it.

It's going in the garage this year.


You are likely to to required by town ordinances to cover the car IF you take the plates off of it.
MY suggestion is that although you may be tempted to cancel ALL the the insurance on it, but make sure you keep the comprehensive and glass coverage on it. You don't need collision when it's in the driveway. Doing that saved me the cost of a new windshield this spring, when I took the cover off and found a cracked windshield. Geico paid for it.

I have always taken the cars off the road and kept the liability with glass coverage on it.

I also purchased a Noah car cover for her . It is a breathable, all season cover. I plan to stick her by my shed, cover her up, and wait until spring to wake up the sleeping bear

Thanks for all the help guys!

[quote=I plan to stick her by my shed, cover her up, [/quote]


I would discourage keeping it on the grass,just picturing your shed being in the backyard.Its awful hard on floors and frames.

Winter storage for me is.....................uh, wait, There isnt a "winter" in FL.

Acme Racer wrote:

Winter storage for me is.....................uh, wait, There isnt a "winter" in FL.

I feel you, I had to google "winter"... not sure what it was

there are two people on this thread that should be forced to experience a North Bay Ontario winter.....

lornejay1 wrote:

I would discourage keeping it on the grass,just picturing your shed being in the backyard.Its awful hard on floors and frames.

Even with a heavy duty tarp underneath? What if I put stone down?

buickestate wrote:

there are two people on this thread that should be forced to experience a North Bay Ontario winter.....

takes a tough diposition to survive southern ontario winters,.they tax the body worse than colder northern area's, the dampness, and slush are interminably aggravating, easier to live where it stays cold and frozen and ultimately drier, I,ve lived and worked in northern manitoba/sakatchewan/alberta regions, and its easier to deal with,. something that soft southerners know nothing about,..

a simple trick for preserving the car thru storage is to buy wd40 in cans,. lay on your back and spray it all over underneath using the little red tube to get in all the crevices and especially drivers side frame rail front to back where all the brake lines sit,. for $50 worth of wd40 you can soak a cars underneath and inner fenders,underneath hood wiring, door jambs, hood latch, etc,. wd repels water. You're better off putting down some sheets of plywood rather than a tarp,. the tarp creates condensation,.
JM2C
YRMV
NWEOI
PDCC

Nick

buickestate wrote:

there are two people on this thread that should be forced to experience a North Bay Ontario winter.....

Hi Pat
I think I'm one of the 2 guys Pat is referring to. I spent many winters in Chicago, and that was bad enough. With my health the way it is now, I couldnt take a long cold winter like the ones that you have there. Thats why I now live in "hurricane country".

Larry

I'ts a bummer that you have to store it outside. For me, California car covers are the best out there. I agree on the not starting it thing.

For what it's worth, I store mine over the winter here in Calgary from early November to about late April, early May. It has the custom cover on it, in a semi enclosed secure parkade (Ceiling, wall on three sides you know the sort...).

Agree on filling the tank, putting Stabil into it, then running for 10 mins.

I have the tyres to 40psi, but since I am paranoid about flat spots, I have 4 axle stands under the frame to 'just' take the weight off the tyres. Oddly, seems when its -40F up here, it seems to make the tyres lose pressure more quickly.... :S

Could it be an option to rent someone's garage or rent a condo persons spare heated underground space? Thats my next upgrade.