Car Storage How 2
10-10-06, 02:55 AM
#1
Car Storage How 2
Some collected wisdom i have found, sprinkled with a bit of my personal RX tips.
Bit wordy and not all applies to us, but hope you find it useful...
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
CAR STORAGE: WINTER AND LONGER-TERM
PLACEMENT:
There are a number of steps that you can take to insure that your car isn't damaged by winter storage. Some of them are just common sense but others are perhaps a little more difficult to get reliable information on. The following will, I hope, be a good guide for both short tern and long term storage problems.
First off, don't just drive the car into the garage, turn off the ignition and walk away. You might think that a months stay with no preparation isn't going to hurt the car but you are playing with dice that are loaded against you.
Ideally you want to store the car in warm, heated, dry storage, but for 99% of the population this is just not possible.
-If it is in a garage, put cardboard on the floor first. Toward spring when the floor is still cold, humidity will condense on the bare concrete causing a 100% humidity condition under the car for several weeks. Not Good! Here is what you do. If you have storage with a concrete or earthen floor you have to put a barrier between the car and the floor. Sheets of plywood can also be used but are more expensive. -
I use a sheet of heavy plastic (like construction-grade 6 mil) you buy in rolls at Home Depot. My toy sits outside all winter under a cloth cover on gravel, so the plastic vapor barrier underneath is really valuable. NOTE: Make sure the barrier doesn’t extend too far BEYOND the edges of the car or rain/snow will collect there and run up under the car!
CAR EXTERIOR:
Wax it before storage! And wash as much of the undercarriage as you can get at. Idea is NOT to have clumps off dirt (which traps moisture long term) up in there creating a friendly environment for rust.
No is the time to get on the ground and eyeball any tar or sap or other gooie crud stuck to the panels. Why let it fossilize till next spring when you'll need a jack-hammer to remove it? Best cleaner I have found to remove this stuff:
Turtle Wax Bug and Tar remover!
CAR COVER:
Even inside you need some sort of car cover. Unless you want to use a cover OUTside too, in the summer, which I do, then an "indoor-type " dust cover will do the trick. A good one isn't really much cheaper than the good outdoor ones. They are about $140-200 for a custom-fit model. CoverCraft makes some nice ones. As long as it is a proper breathable cover (not plastic or a tarp!!!) then most any will do for winter indoors. The generic-fit models are cheaper if you don't mind the baggy fit. I have bought one of these on ebay for about $30 and it does an OK job of keeping the bugs and tree droppings off it outside in the summer.
Indoors, even a plain old bed sheet is better than nothing! DO NOT cover a car in a high-wind environment! The cover will beat your paint to death!
SUSPENSION:
You can put the car on blocks or stands to take weight off the tires - especially if you won't be inspecting periodically for flats - careful, cement blocks sometimes break unexpectedly while holding up cars.
Jack the car up is a good idea, but supporting it on its frame is a bad one. If you want to get the car off its tires, put the jack stands under the axles and suspension. This insures that the proper loading is maintained on the suspension. If you hang it up in the air on the frame with all of the suspension components dangling at full extension you will put stress on the parts that they were not designed to tolerate.
I don't do this but that's just me. I have no hard level floor, just gravel outside….
If your vehicle has radial tires be sure the air pressure is still at maximum. Radial tires don't flat spot if properly maintained in storage.
FUEL:
You will not usually want to empty out the fuel system but what you can do to prevent the accumulation of moisture in your tank and the forming of shellacs through your carb. Fill the tank right up to the top with gas. This disallows a lot of the condensation that will form in the gas tank rotting the tank. You can add some alcohol as well which will bind any water already present. Next put in a gas stabilizer
Sta-Bil brand
which can be obtained from automotive supply stores. Wynns makes a good one which I use and which seems to do the job although any name brand will probably work just as effectively.
Put this in and run the motor to insure that the stabilizer reaches all throughout the system and is present in the carb float bowl. The instructions will indicate for how long you will need to idle the car. ( I add it at the gas station when I top off the car for storage) You can also dump a half can of Seafoam (Marvel Mystery Oil works too) into the carb it at a fast idle, then shut it off - this will coat the valves and upper cylinder with lubricant - is this necessary? I don't know, but it can't hurt and it's cheap - it just makes the exhaust smoke while dumping it down the carb.
Personally I will pour about a pint of oil, evenly divided between chambers, down the carb throats then dry crank the motor 2 or 3 times to spread the oil around the chambers. Smokes something awful the first few minutes of start-up next spring ( your neighbors will NOT be happy!) but gets everything nicely protected for the Duration.
OR:
You can remove the plugs and spray in
Pennzoil Marine Fogging Oil in then dry crank as above…
NOTE: you need to be able to cut off the fuel supply to do this otherwise it all gets diluted/mixed with gas. In my RX I have a manual switch wired in that shuts off the fuel pump. You might be able to do the same thing by pulling a fuse… (To disconnect the fuel pump: harness connection located under the rear, left metal cover behind driver seat)
ENGINE:
Change the oil and filter!! No use having oil with contaminants (and moisture!! Really!) sitting in all winter. Cheapest insurance you can do for the car. On my summer-only RX7 this means essentially a once-a-yr. oil change, since the oil is good to go next spring. I use Mobil 1 synth in all vehicles except RX - that I use Castrol GTX just 'cause they don't recommend synth in rotaries…
After engine is oil treated and cooled down, remove the air cleaner and place a plastic bag over the intake of the carburator. (Can do likelwise on aircleaner inlet inside the air filter on a fuelie too) I use heavier plastic that won’t tear or fail if left on for many months. Use a heavy elastic band or other means to tie the plastic tightly. You want to prevent moisture from entering the engine. !!
EXHAUST:
Do the same for the exhaust pipes: seal off with plastic.
REMEMBER TO REMOVE THESE BEFORE THE SPRING START-UP!!
COOLING SYSTEM:
I just leave the coolant (assuming correct mix for your coldest local winter temps) in the car, but:
Draining the cooling: Before you do make sure that the coolant in the motor is strong enough to survive minus forty degree temperatures. This is just in case you don't manage to drain it all. Drain the coolant fluid from the bottom of the radiator by either opening the bottom petcock or by removing the lower rad hose. The rad hose is messier but doesn't take as long. An important warning here. You must clean up any spill because antifreeze tastes sweet but is very toxic. Less than an ounce can kill the family dog and dogs will often be quite happy to lap up more than this, especially puppies. Wildlife will be similarly affected so don't leave uncovered containers laying around.
BATTERY:
Last, remove your battery or at the very least remove one terminalIf you loose the charge in your battery it can freeze which means that it is just a heavy chunk of garbage. First be sure to remember to charge the battery every four to six weeks so it won't got flat, or sulphate up.
You can purchase small chargers called battery minders which go on and off as required during the winter. They are not expensive and seem to me to be a really good idea. (Here in the US we have a charging device called “BatteryTender”: $60US. Attach to the battery all winter and it maintains a charge without over charging the battery. It plugs into the wall. I have killed too many batteries "forgetting" to maintain the charge over the winter! The "BatteryTender" pays for itself on the FIRST winter's storage!
NOTE: unless your battery is a “sealed-for-life” type, you will need to top up the individual cells with DISTILLED WATER every few months, otherwise normal evaporation will dry out the cells = dead battery
INTERIOR:
If you are in an area where mild winter temps (ie chinooks) might mean warmer air and CONDENSATION then you will want to CRACK OPEN THE WINDOWS!!!!!! Trapped moisture inside means MOLD and FUNGUS!! And the smell! -ask me how I found this out!
DON'T use mothballs Inside the car. Smell will kill you-
If you want to be sure. Put in a fresh, opened box of BAKING SODA to absorb odor. To eliminate moisture
http://www.sta-dri.com/home.html
This company sells re-useable packets that pull moisture out of the air in the car…
BRAKES:
Below is brake info. Frankly, I just make a habit of completely flushing the brakes EVERY TWO YEARS!! I bought a great product called SPEED BLEEDERS
www.speedbleeder.com
That make bleeding a quick, one man job.
Lastly your brakes should be looked after. In cars without hydraulic systems there is not much of a problem and little needs be done aside from a standard check in the spring but hydraulic systems are not fond of winter storage.
Once again water, in the form of condensation, is the problem. Brake fluid absorbs water and when a system is in use it will usually stay in suspension because of the agitation and increases and decreases in pressure. When a system is at rest the moisture will start to leave the suspension and it will sit under the hydraulic fluid as it is heavier. As winter wears on, continual and rapid changes in temperature will cause even more condensation and further aggravate the problem.
The water sitting in the system can, and will, cause pitting in the master and wheel cylinders which will ruin the rubber seals and lead to a failure. Water in the steel brake lines can even, as I have seen on many occasions, cause rust to work from the inside out which can cause a leak at the worst possible moment as weaknesses in brake systems usually occur when they are being used their hardest.
Getting the car and giving those brakes a pump every week or so during the winter will help but not eliminate the problems. Topping up the master to its fullest will also help as it provides less room for condensation to form. If you intend to store a vehicle for long periods of time, drain the system of standard fluid and replace it with the new D.O.T 5 fluid which will not absorb water. Make sure that it is bled through the whole system. If you intend to not only store the vehicle with D.O.T 5 but operate it with it make sure that you check your system completely. This fluid has a greater seeking ability than standard fluids and as a result it will find ways out that the others won't. In order to use it you will have to insure that your system is in tip top shape.
As a last step you must insure that all of the wheel bearing and U-joints are properly greased and it is a good idea to remove the brake drums, grease all the movable fittings and back the shoes away from the drums that they won't seize. Once they are backed away you can coat the inside of the drum with a thin layer of grease to prevent rusting.
ANIMALS:
Detailed notes below. Even if you don't THINK you have a mouse problem, you might find out the hard way next spring with chewed wire harnesses!! MOUTHBALLS dropped into the engine compartment can save a TON of grief!! NOTE do not place them where they might get tangled in the exhaust and cook next spring! Peeee-yuu!
One of the largest causes of damage to cars that are in storage, either long term or over winter, is vermin. Now I am an animal lover as well as an old car enthusiast and I rarely look for lethal solutions. Poisons of varying sorts are used by people but often the poisoned animals look for quiet secure hiding holes as they sicken and often that is the very car your trying to keep them out of. What comes to mind is a '47 Cadillac which had been salted with Warfarin. The car contained over a hundred mouse skeletons and a couple of rats. It also had a very obnoxious smell which was impossible to get rid of. I have also heard of larger animals such as raccoons crawling into cars after being poisoned. Wouldn't that be a nice mess in the spring?
The first measure, and perhaps the most important one, that you can take as far as pest control is concerned is to pick your storage building carefully or if that is not possible, to secure the one your using against larger animals as well as possible. Make sure that there aren't any holes in the foundation or the woodwork of the building through which cats or raccoons can enter. Another place to check is under the eaves and on the roof where air vents or flow throughs are placed. If you find that the building has these you will have to take steps to cover them up with a good quality hardware cloth. Light metal or plastic screen will not stop raccoons and even hardware cloth will have to be very well secured or they will tear it off.
Smaller animals such as squirrels, chipmunks, rats and mice are almost impossible to keep out of older buildings and even most new ones. This means that you have to keep them out of your car. The old method was to liberally salt mothballs throughout the interior of the car, but this is almost as damaging as the rodents and leaves the car with a distinctly unpleasant odor which is as unpleasant as the odor of mouse urine. Mothballs can be used effectively under the car to create barriers over which most creatures will be reluctant to pass. If this is used in conjunction with another simple procedure you can almost guarantee a rodent free car come spring.
If you are in a storage area which you know has a vermin problem a simple cure will be to get yourself some extra vapor barrier plastic, the same that you should have used under the car to prevent moisture from attacking your undercarriage. Place this under the car and out all four sides then tape it along the sides of the car with scotch tape or masking tape avoiding the paint by taping to your brightwork and trim. Tape all the seams between the plastic sheets until you have a sealed plastic barrier around the entire car. As an extra precaution scatter moth ***** or similar repellent under the car and around the outside of the barrier. This is an excellent deterrent to small rodents. Larger pests like squirrels can be simply excluded from the car by denying them entry through windows and open vents. It is true that you should leave all your windows open to allow fresh air to flow through your interior, but a half inch is sufficient to allow the air but deny the squirrel. Cowl, side and hood vents should be firmly closed.
There are a number of electronic rodent repellents on the market which you are supposed to be able to plug in and leave. I have not run a scientific test on any of these but it has been my simple laymen's observation that they don't seem to inhibit mice or rats in any way. I base that on the fact that I bought several for use around my shop and didn't notice any appreciable drop in numbers. Other measures had to be taken.
Insects don't represent much of a problem during winter storage but they can have some pretty negative effects on a car that is put away for long term. Cars with wood in them can be attacked by various wood eating creatures, especially if kept in a damp area. Hornets and wasps are quite enthusiastic about taking up residence in old cars and although they don't actually damage the car, they can make it pretty hard on the next person to jump in.
Older cars with those wonderful wool and cloth interiors and carpets are exactly what clothes moths have been dreaming of. If you have ever seen a car with a wool interior and carpets in which the carpet has fluffy or areas where you can brush the pile right off the backing, that is the work of the infamous clothes moth. A good remedy for this and most other insect problems in the car is to use diatomaceous earth which you sprinkle over the carpets and seats etc. This earth is a natural insecticide composed or microscopic animals called diatoms which are tiny creatures with particularly sharp and pointy shells. When an insect ingests them during normal feeding they have the same effect as crushed glass would have on you. They literally rip the insect's digestive organs to shreds. This stops the problem pretty quickly. The plus side to this is that diatomaceous earth is just an odorless white powder which can be vacuumed out after storage. You can even gently cover headliners with it without the chance of staining them. It is usually available at garden centers and pet stores. There are other pesticides that you can use but their effectiveness drops in time and you will have to apply them regularly. In most long term storage applications this is either not feasible or not convenient.
As with anything, read the instructions before applying.
Other things to look out for while storing your car are bird and bats. These will often be prevented from entering a building by steps taken to keep larger animals out but not always. Neither is interested in your car but any of their droppings that fall on it can damage your paint. The most simple and effective method for dealing with this is to cover your car with a good quality car cover. Be sure you pick the sort that are water repellent but still allow airflow. This will protect your car from attack from above as well as further discouraging other pests. One caution. If you are storing your car outside, and I know some of you have to, make sure a car cover or tarp is very securely fastened against the wind. Winter storms and high winds can cause a car cover to sand the paint right off your car in one night. Use long bungee cords to eliminate any play in the cover and make sure to keep an eye on it during the winter. Just remember it only takes one really windy day to wreck a nice paint job. Also make very sure that your cover is not holding condensation or allowing water through to sit on the car. This goes for indoor and outdoor storage.
You should also remember what might look like a nice dry airy building on a sunny October day may be totally different on a -20 degree celsius day with scudding grey clouds, rain and meltwater in March. Dampness and high humidity will cause condensation in your motor, interior, trunk and everywhere else. You may never be able to guard against this totally but the proper steps taken can cut down a lot of damage. Damp interiors are also subject to attack by moths and fungus and once this happens you can just tear it out and throw it away. These are also communicable diseases which you can spread from one car to another in your hair and clothing. If you have been in a car in which mold or mushrooms can be seen growing, do not get in another car until you have changed and showered. These growths effect cardboard such as parcel shelves, carpet, wood, cloth covered electrical wiring and almost any other non metallic component in your car. Some can even infect more modern plastics and synthetics. I have come across a grey mold which just loves to eat the vinyl found in a lot of fifties and sixties cars so don't think that synthetics are invulnerable. They're not.
Check to see if those moth ***** are doing the trick as the smell of mouse urine is virtually impossible to remove.
EXTENDED STORAGE (more than winter - 6 months):
When a car is prepared for long term storage a lot of steps taken for short term are the same. The differences between the two kinds of storage are dramatic however in some cases.
FUEL:
For instance, where you fill a gas tank right up in over winter storage, you empty the tank and fuel system entirely. This includes fuel pumps, gas lines, vacuum and especially carburetors. If the storage period is going to be a really long one, the filling of the systems with light oils is recommended. If that is to be done it will have to be totally filled to stop condensation.
COOLANT:
The radiator and water jacket must also be drained completely. Removing the bottom hose and loosening the rad cap will allow the radiator to remain dry. Flushing the system before storage to clean out chemical and oxide buildups is another step that can be taken after which the thorough draining of the system can be done. Flushing will remove deposits which can turn into cement like obstructions which are almost impossible to remove after storage.
ENGINE BLOCK:
Another thing that I recommend is to fill the crankcase right up with a light preservative oil. If you are filling the crankcase put enough oil in to completely submerge the crankshaft and all of the piston rod bearings. This will be a fair amount of oil.
Next, all of the plugs should be removed and a sticking preservative spray used to coat the valves and cylinder bore as well as piston. Adding a heavy oil which will have trouble getting past the oil ring can also be done in conjunction with a preservative spray.
Products like WD-40 and other penetrates, no matter how effective in day to day uses are not to be considered or used as preservative sprays. They do not stay on the surface of metal during long term applications.
ELECTRICAL ITEMS:
Light oils can also be used inside generators, starters and other equipment but avoid soaking the carbon brushes.
RUBBER COMPONENTS:
Any and all grease and oil cups and fittings should be filled with new high quality greases and oils. Undercarriage components such as springs, control arms and other moving suspension parts should be sprayed or brushed with oil. Avoid coating the brake flex lines with oil as, although resistant to oil damage, they are not invulnerable. The same goes for any and all rubber on the car. Avoid coating with oil. Instead a good quality rubber dressing can be applied to insure at least a few years before they start to dry out. Rubber on the prewar cars is all organic and dries out and breaks down over time. Dressing it will keep it supple for a longer time and you may avoid the replacement of all of these later on.
BRIGHTWORK:
Chrome, nickel, brass and even stainless can be preserved by coating with grease but avoid white lithium which dries and provides little protection or greases with sulphur in them which can attack chrome trim over time. I have even been told that vegetable oil can be used but I doubt that it will stand up over long term storage because is organic and rots.
SUSPENSION:
As a last step you must insure that all of the wheel bearing and U-joints are properly greased and it is a good idea to remove the brake drums, grease all the movable fittings and back the shoes away from the drums that they won't seize. Once they are backed away you can coat the inside of the drum with a thin layer of grease to prevent rusting.
Now for the most important step of all. Write down all of the procedures that you have done, omitting none of them. At the other end of the storage you may not remember what you did or might not be around. Without a list of what was done, restarting a car that has been laid up for long term storage can be a costly exploration. With a 1ist it is quick and efficient and a car can be fired after just a few hours of work. The nice thing is that it can be fired up and be almost ready for the road rather than being the subject of expensive and time consuming renovations which is always the case when a car is not store properly.
Time and storage is as hard on a car as misuse and neglect. Storing a car properly will save thousands of dollars down the line. By taking the time to do all these minor tasks you can be sure in the fact you'll be out driving on that first warm day in Spring
Bit wordy and not all applies to us, but hope you find it useful...
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
CAR STORAGE: WINTER AND LONGER-TERM
PLACEMENT:
There are a number of steps that you can take to insure that your car isn't damaged by winter storage. Some of them are just common sense but others are perhaps a little more difficult to get reliable information on. The following will, I hope, be a good guide for both short tern and long term storage problems.
First off, don't just drive the car into the garage, turn off the ignition and walk away. You might think that a months stay with no preparation isn't going to hurt the car but you are playing with dice that are loaded against you.
Ideally you want to store the car in warm, heated, dry storage, but for 99% of the population this is just not possible.
-If it is in a garage, put cardboard on the floor first. Toward spring when the floor is still cold, humidity will condense on the bare concrete causing a 100% humidity condition under the car for several weeks. Not Good! Here is what you do. If you have storage with a concrete or earthen floor you have to put a barrier between the car and the floor. Sheets of plywood can also be used but are more expensive. -
I use a sheet of heavy plastic (like construction-grade 6 mil) you buy in rolls at Home Depot. My toy sits outside all winter under a cloth cover on gravel, so the plastic vapor barrier underneath is really valuable. NOTE: Make sure the barrier doesn’t extend too far BEYOND the edges of the car or rain/snow will collect there and run up under the car!
CAR EXTERIOR:
Wax it before storage! And wash as much of the undercarriage as you can get at. Idea is NOT to have clumps off dirt (which traps moisture long term) up in there creating a friendly environment for rust.
No is the time to get on the ground and eyeball any tar or sap or other gooie crud stuck to the panels. Why let it fossilize till next spring when you'll need a jack-hammer to remove it? Best cleaner I have found to remove this stuff:
Turtle Wax Bug and Tar remover!
CAR COVER:
Even inside you need some sort of car cover. Unless you want to use a cover OUTside too, in the summer, which I do, then an "indoor-type " dust cover will do the trick. A good one isn't really much cheaper than the good outdoor ones. They are about $140-200 for a custom-fit model. CoverCraft makes some nice ones. As long as it is a proper breathable cover (not plastic or a tarp!!!) then most any will do for winter indoors. The generic-fit models are cheaper if you don't mind the baggy fit. I have bought one of these on ebay for about $30 and it does an OK job of keeping the bugs and tree droppings off it outside in the summer.
Indoors, even a plain old bed sheet is better than nothing! DO NOT cover a car in a high-wind environment! The cover will beat your paint to death!
SUSPENSION:
You can put the car on blocks or stands to take weight off the tires - especially if you won't be inspecting periodically for flats - careful, cement blocks sometimes break unexpectedly while holding up cars.
Jack the car up is a good idea, but supporting it on its frame is a bad one. If you want to get the car off its tires, put the jack stands under the axles and suspension. This insures that the proper loading is maintained on the suspension. If you hang it up in the air on the frame with all of the suspension components dangling at full extension you will put stress on the parts that they were not designed to tolerate.
I don't do this but that's just me. I have no hard level floor, just gravel outside….
If your vehicle has radial tires be sure the air pressure is still at maximum. Radial tires don't flat spot if properly maintained in storage.
FUEL:
You will not usually want to empty out the fuel system but what you can do to prevent the accumulation of moisture in your tank and the forming of shellacs through your carb. Fill the tank right up to the top with gas. This disallows a lot of the condensation that will form in the gas tank rotting the tank. You can add some alcohol as well which will bind any water already present. Next put in a gas stabilizer
Sta-Bil brand
which can be obtained from automotive supply stores. Wynns makes a good one which I use and which seems to do the job although any name brand will probably work just as effectively.
Put this in and run the motor to insure that the stabilizer reaches all throughout the system and is present in the carb float bowl. The instructions will indicate for how long you will need to idle the car. ( I add it at the gas station when I top off the car for storage) You can also dump a half can of Seafoam (Marvel Mystery Oil works too) into the carb it at a fast idle, then shut it off - this will coat the valves and upper cylinder with lubricant - is this necessary? I don't know, but it can't hurt and it's cheap - it just makes the exhaust smoke while dumping it down the carb.
Personally I will pour about a pint of oil, evenly divided between chambers, down the carb throats then dry crank the motor 2 or 3 times to spread the oil around the chambers. Smokes something awful the first few minutes of start-up next spring ( your neighbors will NOT be happy!) but gets everything nicely protected for the Duration.
OR:
You can remove the plugs and spray in
Pennzoil Marine Fogging Oil in then dry crank as above…
NOTE: you need to be able to cut off the fuel supply to do this otherwise it all gets diluted/mixed with gas. In my RX I have a manual switch wired in that shuts off the fuel pump. You might be able to do the same thing by pulling a fuse… (To disconnect the fuel pump: harness connection located under the rear, left metal cover behind driver seat)
ENGINE:
Change the oil and filter!! No use having oil with contaminants (and moisture!! Really!) sitting in all winter. Cheapest insurance you can do for the car. On my summer-only RX7 this means essentially a once-a-yr. oil change, since the oil is good to go next spring. I use Mobil 1 synth in all vehicles except RX - that I use Castrol GTX just 'cause they don't recommend synth in rotaries…
After engine is oil treated and cooled down, remove the air cleaner and place a plastic bag over the intake of the carburator. (Can do likelwise on aircleaner inlet inside the air filter on a fuelie too) I use heavier plastic that won’t tear or fail if left on for many months. Use a heavy elastic band or other means to tie the plastic tightly. You want to prevent moisture from entering the engine. !!
EXHAUST:
Do the same for the exhaust pipes: seal off with plastic.
REMEMBER TO REMOVE THESE BEFORE THE SPRING START-UP!!
COOLING SYSTEM:
I just leave the coolant (assuming correct mix for your coldest local winter temps) in the car, but:
Draining the cooling: Before you do make sure that the coolant in the motor is strong enough to survive minus forty degree temperatures. This is just in case you don't manage to drain it all. Drain the coolant fluid from the bottom of the radiator by either opening the bottom petcock or by removing the lower rad hose. The rad hose is messier but doesn't take as long. An important warning here. You must clean up any spill because antifreeze tastes sweet but is very toxic. Less than an ounce can kill the family dog and dogs will often be quite happy to lap up more than this, especially puppies. Wildlife will be similarly affected so don't leave uncovered containers laying around.
BATTERY:
Last, remove your battery or at the very least remove one terminalIf you loose the charge in your battery it can freeze which means that it is just a heavy chunk of garbage. First be sure to remember to charge the battery every four to six weeks so it won't got flat, or sulphate up.
You can purchase small chargers called battery minders which go on and off as required during the winter. They are not expensive and seem to me to be a really good idea. (Here in the US we have a charging device called “BatteryTender”: $60US. Attach to the battery all winter and it maintains a charge without over charging the battery. It plugs into the wall. I have killed too many batteries "forgetting" to maintain the charge over the winter! The "BatteryTender" pays for itself on the FIRST winter's storage!
NOTE: unless your battery is a “sealed-for-life” type, you will need to top up the individual cells with DISTILLED WATER every few months, otherwise normal evaporation will dry out the cells = dead battery
INTERIOR:
If you are in an area where mild winter temps (ie chinooks) might mean warmer air and CONDENSATION then you will want to CRACK OPEN THE WINDOWS!!!!!! Trapped moisture inside means MOLD and FUNGUS!! And the smell! -ask me how I found this out!
DON'T use mothballs Inside the car. Smell will kill you-
If you want to be sure. Put in a fresh, opened box of BAKING SODA to absorb odor. To eliminate moisture
http://www.sta-dri.com/home.html
This company sells re-useable packets that pull moisture out of the air in the car…
BRAKES:
Below is brake info. Frankly, I just make a habit of completely flushing the brakes EVERY TWO YEARS!! I bought a great product called SPEED BLEEDERS
www.speedbleeder.com
That make bleeding a quick, one man job.
Lastly your brakes should be looked after. In cars without hydraulic systems there is not much of a problem and little needs be done aside from a standard check in the spring but hydraulic systems are not fond of winter storage.
Once again water, in the form of condensation, is the problem. Brake fluid absorbs water and when a system is in use it will usually stay in suspension because of the agitation and increases and decreases in pressure. When a system is at rest the moisture will start to leave the suspension and it will sit under the hydraulic fluid as it is heavier. As winter wears on, continual and rapid changes in temperature will cause even more condensation and further aggravate the problem.
The water sitting in the system can, and will, cause pitting in the master and wheel cylinders which will ruin the rubber seals and lead to a failure. Water in the steel brake lines can even, as I have seen on many occasions, cause rust to work from the inside out which can cause a leak at the worst possible moment as weaknesses in brake systems usually occur when they are being used their hardest.
Getting the car and giving those brakes a pump every week or so during the winter will help but not eliminate the problems. Topping up the master to its fullest will also help as it provides less room for condensation to form. If you intend to store a vehicle for long periods of time, drain the system of standard fluid and replace it with the new D.O.T 5 fluid which will not absorb water. Make sure that it is bled through the whole system. If you intend to not only store the vehicle with D.O.T 5 but operate it with it make sure that you check your system completely. This fluid has a greater seeking ability than standard fluids and as a result it will find ways out that the others won't. In order to use it you will have to insure that your system is in tip top shape.
As a last step you must insure that all of the wheel bearing and U-joints are properly greased and it is a good idea to remove the brake drums, grease all the movable fittings and back the shoes away from the drums that they won't seize. Once they are backed away you can coat the inside of the drum with a thin layer of grease to prevent rusting.
ANIMALS:
Detailed notes below. Even if you don't THINK you have a mouse problem, you might find out the hard way next spring with chewed wire harnesses!! MOUTHBALLS dropped into the engine compartment can save a TON of grief!! NOTE do not place them where they might get tangled in the exhaust and cook next spring! Peeee-yuu!
One of the largest causes of damage to cars that are in storage, either long term or over winter, is vermin. Now I am an animal lover as well as an old car enthusiast and I rarely look for lethal solutions. Poisons of varying sorts are used by people but often the poisoned animals look for quiet secure hiding holes as they sicken and often that is the very car your trying to keep them out of. What comes to mind is a '47 Cadillac which had been salted with Warfarin. The car contained over a hundred mouse skeletons and a couple of rats. It also had a very obnoxious smell which was impossible to get rid of. I have also heard of larger animals such as raccoons crawling into cars after being poisoned. Wouldn't that be a nice mess in the spring?
The first measure, and perhaps the most important one, that you can take as far as pest control is concerned is to pick your storage building carefully or if that is not possible, to secure the one your using against larger animals as well as possible. Make sure that there aren't any holes in the foundation or the woodwork of the building through which cats or raccoons can enter. Another place to check is under the eaves and on the roof where air vents or flow throughs are placed. If you find that the building has these you will have to take steps to cover them up with a good quality hardware cloth. Light metal or plastic screen will not stop raccoons and even hardware cloth will have to be very well secured or they will tear it off.
Smaller animals such as squirrels, chipmunks, rats and mice are almost impossible to keep out of older buildings and even most new ones. This means that you have to keep them out of your car. The old method was to liberally salt mothballs throughout the interior of the car, but this is almost as damaging as the rodents and leaves the car with a distinctly unpleasant odor which is as unpleasant as the odor of mouse urine. Mothballs can be used effectively under the car to create barriers over which most creatures will be reluctant to pass. If this is used in conjunction with another simple procedure you can almost guarantee a rodent free car come spring.
If you are in a storage area which you know has a vermin problem a simple cure will be to get yourself some extra vapor barrier plastic, the same that you should have used under the car to prevent moisture from attacking your undercarriage. Place this under the car and out all four sides then tape it along the sides of the car with scotch tape or masking tape avoiding the paint by taping to your brightwork and trim. Tape all the seams between the plastic sheets until you have a sealed plastic barrier around the entire car. As an extra precaution scatter moth ***** or similar repellent under the car and around the outside of the barrier. This is an excellent deterrent to small rodents. Larger pests like squirrels can be simply excluded from the car by denying them entry through windows and open vents. It is true that you should leave all your windows open to allow fresh air to flow through your interior, but a half inch is sufficient to allow the air but deny the squirrel. Cowl, side and hood vents should be firmly closed.
There are a number of electronic rodent repellents on the market which you are supposed to be able to plug in and leave. I have not run a scientific test on any of these but it has been my simple laymen's observation that they don't seem to inhibit mice or rats in any way. I base that on the fact that I bought several for use around my shop and didn't notice any appreciable drop in numbers. Other measures had to be taken.
Insects don't represent much of a problem during winter storage but they can have some pretty negative effects on a car that is put away for long term. Cars with wood in them can be attacked by various wood eating creatures, especially if kept in a damp area. Hornets and wasps are quite enthusiastic about taking up residence in old cars and although they don't actually damage the car, they can make it pretty hard on the next person to jump in.
Older cars with those wonderful wool and cloth interiors and carpets are exactly what clothes moths have been dreaming of. If you have ever seen a car with a wool interior and carpets in which the carpet has fluffy or areas where you can brush the pile right off the backing, that is the work of the infamous clothes moth. A good remedy for this and most other insect problems in the car is to use diatomaceous earth which you sprinkle over the carpets and seats etc. This earth is a natural insecticide composed or microscopic animals called diatoms which are tiny creatures with particularly sharp and pointy shells. When an insect ingests them during normal feeding they have the same effect as crushed glass would have on you. They literally rip the insect's digestive organs to shreds. This stops the problem pretty quickly. The plus side to this is that diatomaceous earth is just an odorless white powder which can be vacuumed out after storage. You can even gently cover headliners with it without the chance of staining them. It is usually available at garden centers and pet stores. There are other pesticides that you can use but their effectiveness drops in time and you will have to apply them regularly. In most long term storage applications this is either not feasible or not convenient.
As with anything, read the instructions before applying.
Other things to look out for while storing your car are bird and bats. These will often be prevented from entering a building by steps taken to keep larger animals out but not always. Neither is interested in your car but any of their droppings that fall on it can damage your paint. The most simple and effective method for dealing with this is to cover your car with a good quality car cover. Be sure you pick the sort that are water repellent but still allow airflow. This will protect your car from attack from above as well as further discouraging other pests. One caution. If you are storing your car outside, and I know some of you have to, make sure a car cover or tarp is very securely fastened against the wind. Winter storms and high winds can cause a car cover to sand the paint right off your car in one night. Use long bungee cords to eliminate any play in the cover and make sure to keep an eye on it during the winter. Just remember it only takes one really windy day to wreck a nice paint job. Also make very sure that your cover is not holding condensation or allowing water through to sit on the car. This goes for indoor and outdoor storage.
You should also remember what might look like a nice dry airy building on a sunny October day may be totally different on a -20 degree celsius day with scudding grey clouds, rain and meltwater in March. Dampness and high humidity will cause condensation in your motor, interior, trunk and everywhere else. You may never be able to guard against this totally but the proper steps taken can cut down a lot of damage. Damp interiors are also subject to attack by moths and fungus and once this happens you can just tear it out and throw it away. These are also communicable diseases which you can spread from one car to another in your hair and clothing. If you have been in a car in which mold or mushrooms can be seen growing, do not get in another car until you have changed and showered. These growths effect cardboard such as parcel shelves, carpet, wood, cloth covered electrical wiring and almost any other non metallic component in your car. Some can even infect more modern plastics and synthetics. I have come across a grey mold which just loves to eat the vinyl found in a lot of fifties and sixties cars so don't think that synthetics are invulnerable. They're not.
Check to see if those moth ***** are doing the trick as the smell of mouse urine is virtually impossible to remove.
EXTENDED STORAGE (more than winter - 6 months):
When a car is prepared for long term storage a lot of steps taken for short term are the same. The differences between the two kinds of storage are dramatic however in some cases.
FUEL:
For instance, where you fill a gas tank right up in over winter storage, you empty the tank and fuel system entirely. This includes fuel pumps, gas lines, vacuum and especially carburetors. If the storage period is going to be a really long one, the filling of the systems with light oils is recommended. If that is to be done it will have to be totally filled to stop condensation.
COOLANT:
The radiator and water jacket must also be drained completely. Removing the bottom hose and loosening the rad cap will allow the radiator to remain dry. Flushing the system before storage to clean out chemical and oxide buildups is another step that can be taken after which the thorough draining of the system can be done. Flushing will remove deposits which can turn into cement like obstructions which are almost impossible to remove after storage.
ENGINE BLOCK:
Another thing that I recommend is to fill the crankcase right up with a light preservative oil. If you are filling the crankcase put enough oil in to completely submerge the crankshaft and all of the piston rod bearings. This will be a fair amount of oil.
Next, all of the plugs should be removed and a sticking preservative spray used to coat the valves and cylinder bore as well as piston. Adding a heavy oil which will have trouble getting past the oil ring can also be done in conjunction with a preservative spray.
Products like WD-40 and other penetrates, no matter how effective in day to day uses are not to be considered or used as preservative sprays. They do not stay on the surface of metal during long term applications.
ELECTRICAL ITEMS:
Light oils can also be used inside generators, starters and other equipment but avoid soaking the carbon brushes.
RUBBER COMPONENTS:
Any and all grease and oil cups and fittings should be filled with new high quality greases and oils. Undercarriage components such as springs, control arms and other moving suspension parts should be sprayed or brushed with oil. Avoid coating the brake flex lines with oil as, although resistant to oil damage, they are not invulnerable. The same goes for any and all rubber on the car. Avoid coating with oil. Instead a good quality rubber dressing can be applied to insure at least a few years before they start to dry out. Rubber on the prewar cars is all organic and dries out and breaks down over time. Dressing it will keep it supple for a longer time and you may avoid the replacement of all of these later on.
BRIGHTWORK:
Chrome, nickel, brass and even stainless can be preserved by coating with grease but avoid white lithium which dries and provides little protection or greases with sulphur in them which can attack chrome trim over time. I have even been told that vegetable oil can be used but I doubt that it will stand up over long term storage because is organic and rots.
SUSPENSION:
As a last step you must insure that all of the wheel bearing and U-joints are properly greased and it is a good idea to remove the brake drums, grease all the movable fittings and back the shoes away from the drums that they won't seize. Once they are backed away you can coat the inside of the drum with a thin layer of grease to prevent rusting.
Now for the most important step of all. Write down all of the procedures that you have done, omitting none of them. At the other end of the storage you may not remember what you did or might not be around. Without a list of what was done, restarting a car that has been laid up for long term storage can be a costly exploration. With a 1ist it is quick and efficient and a car can be fired after just a few hours of work. The nice thing is that it can be fired up and be almost ready for the road rather than being the subject of expensive and time consuming renovations which is always the case when a car is not store properly.
Time and storage is as hard on a car as misuse and neglect. Storing a car properly will save thousands of dollars down the line. By taking the time to do all these minor tasks you can be sure in the fact you'll be out driving on that first warm day in Spring
10-10-06, 03:06 AM
#2
Holy Hannah. I was at fuel and i thought i was almost done, i was wrong. This has got to be the longest story i've ever read.(just kidding). It is prety long, but it seems like its a good write up so far. I would read the rest of it if i was in cold weather, but i'm in Las Vegas, Nevada. Plus it'll be my dd so it the longest it'll be sitting is one night.
10-10-06, 08:32 AM
#3
Waffles - hmmm good
iTrader: (1)
Great writeup. I can't believe your car sits outside up there in AL but it sounds like you've mastered the elements. I especially like the vapor barrier below the car. I store mine in the garage in the winter and I think I'll start doing this as well. I already open the windows in winter so as to cut down on the mildew issue.
10-10-06, 12:15 PM
#6
One change that I would like that add concerning mothballs. The storage that I will be using have advised against it mainly due to the smell and have been told to use Bounty Dryer Sheet instead. This makes the car smell nice and fresh when you pull it in the spring, and also keeps mice, rats and stuff away so basically does the same as moth ***** minus the smell ... just my 2 cents
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10-10-06, 09:03 PM
#14
Drive it like u stole it
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Stockton, CA
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for those of you guys not wanting the mothball smell, and not trusting the dryer sheet thing... they make pine "ball" things, sell 'em at Target, Lowes, etc., that are supposed to do the same thing. And you get a nice wood smell when you open 'er up in the spring. 
10-11-06, 02:46 AM
#16
Gads, if my novel said to put mothballs INside, forgive!! UNDER car and around in engine compartment to prevent the Little Rodent Bastids from going at your wiring harness. But JEEZ no, not inside the passenger compartment! Pheeeewww! ;p
Glad to help out everyone "north of Vegas"
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
Glad to help out everyone "north of Vegas"
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
10-11-06, 06:38 PM
#17
It's obsessive
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Cape Breton(NS) and Regina(SK)
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great right up, and a personall thanks to you , caz now i no how to store my car for the winter, i believe its the worst thing im ever gunna do, its like puting my car in a prison, jeez i even hate when its a little cold out caz theb i feel bad for it!
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