Keeping cars in storage

[Cressid@]

Hi guys,

Need to ask you experts, i will be going overseas for a year. So the car will be kept in storage. More likely than not. No one will be able to start her up every few weeks.

Now i know i just need to disconnect the battery completley.

What other precautions should i take to keep her in tip top shape for my return.

[river]

Hi,

Put the car under cover, preferably a closed garage. Pump the tyres to about 35psi. Clean the car down and place a soft breathable cover over it. A couple of old cotton bed sheets will suffice. This keeps the dust off and allows moisture (if any is present) to not sit on the paint. Leave it locked, with the windows up. Oh, if the radiator needs new fluid then make sure its filled with good quality inhibitor.

For the battery you can leave it but after a year it gets too run down and weakens it, so you can stick a charger and one of those cheap timers you can buy at the supermarket. The best timer is those that have a weekly cycle and set it to charge the battery one day of the week for about 4hrs. This will keep it topped up.

seeyuzz
river

[mattysshop]

leave as little fuel in it as possible... so when you return you can put a decent 20L jerry can of fresh fuel in it...

you may want to check over the fuel lines, and filter also before embarking on a large trip after that long without running, but they 'should' be fine...

[Cressid@]

Im going to disconnect the battery completley for the whole year as theres no power in the garage.

Too add to this, ive been told to put bricks under the tyres and leave the hand brake down so they dont rust and lock up.

Keep the advice coming peeps

Its a great help

[Cuzzo]

Its a minor issue really.

Maybe before you start it again change the headgasket

[xa-mont]

give it to a fellow toymodder to drive around while you're away

[BLK_20v]

Depends on how much the car means to you, but selling it might be a good option as the storage fees will add up quickly. You can get solar powered bat chargers, but if its in a shed then it'll be hard to rig up.

On restart, a few squirts of oil down the plug holes, turn over by hand, fresh oil etc. wouldn't hurt it, run for a bit then replace petrol filter too.

[oldcorollas]

to add, i'd do an oil change and give it a short run just before parking it. don't want to have any nasties sitting in the sump etc for a year.
ditto on the coolant, and would also suggest squirting a little oil in cylinders and giving it a hand turn before leaving it.. give the bores a nice coat of oil

battery doesn't have to be kept in the car.. you could always hook it up elsewhere.. mates place or something.. get them to bung on charger every month or two.. or just use it as a chance to get a new battery when you get back

I put my cars up on blocks (5 years) but the tyres are shit anyway... but it did help them stay round to be able to roll cars around . would still put em up on blocks for one year, if they hold the 35psi, they might stay round, but better not to worry and put it up.

oh, and make sure it's dry.. you don7t wanna hole it up while wet, and if you have any ruist concerns, nows a good time to fishoil it


re: fuel, some say condensation of water in mostly empty tank is bad, and better to keep full. you could always chuck in fuel stabiliser (but i haven7t used).
or.. keep full, drain fuel when you get back and put into hire car...

[Willofan]

I just picked up a car recently that had been in storage for a few years and it had 0.5kg bags of crystals throughout the car to absorb the moisture. Similar stuff that you find in new electronics or camera packaging. I think you can buy it at boating places too.

That is if you are worried about rust.

[ian]

throw in a couple of packs of rat bait
only yesterday i saw the results of a car that was stored for a couple of years and rats/mice had eaten through the radiator hoses
also tip a bit of lightweight oil down the carby at a fast idle until the engine stops
this will oil up everything , although the green police may issue you carbon demerits

[Aust162]

i was going to suggest to leave the handbrake off aswell but cressid@ mentioned it already. I left my paddock bomb under a carport for 8mth+ and my handbrake was stuck a 4000rpm clutch drop fixed it though

[Cressid@]

thanks for the help guys.

Im leaving in 4 weeks. It did cross my mind to sell her up before i leave but so much hard effort and work has gone into my mx83. I only just recently did the single turbo conversion and she still has been tuned yet. I havnt even enjoyed the hard work ive put into her. Plus i dont know if i could handle knowing another person thrashing her to pieces.

I guess push comes to shove..it all comes down to price at the end of the day

[Shakotan_Aaron]

engine should be fine, my motor hadnt been started after i brought it for 2years+ (had been turned over a few times by hand). when i was doing my conversion it got a 100k service and it was cranked for 30sec a few times to get some oil pressure around before it was fired. once i had the wiring sorted it cranked for 2 second at most before firing up on all cylinders. also the car was sitting out in the paddock for 12months out in the elements, tyres where fine. only thing i did before i towed it home was i bleed the brakes as they had been disconnected at the master before hand and hadnt had air bleed out of them. i think the hand brake may have been a tiny bit stick but as soon as the car started to move it was fine.

[Cressid@]

ok the garage that i was going to use may not be available anymore. darnits!!

so i might be leaving it at a mates house out in the driveway. Looks like ill need a waterproof heavy duty car cover

Now any pre precautions i should now know about fellas?

[CrUZida]

Yeah, don't use a car cover. It won't last 12 months in the sun/rain.
Just leave the car in the elements.
Give it a good polish before you do, and get your mate to wash it once a month.
Spray the discs with grease (you can get lithium grease in an aerosol can) to stop them from rusting.
Put some crappy rims and tyres on there, because the tyres will probably be shot when you get back.