Nuke

BAD idea. It's better to leave it untouched then to just start it up and/or drive it just a few blocks. If you're not taking it out for a good 10-20 mile jaunt to burn off any moisture, you're better off leaving it sit. Each one of those little, short start-ups will leave moisture in the engine block which will hasten acid build-up.


Same reason as I stated above about starting the engine once/week. Old oil will have already been fighting acids and doing other protective functions. Letting it sit to continue protecting your engine (yes, protection while shutdown is as important as when operating) when those protective "packages" may already be at or near depletion is simply foolhardy, considering how much we spend on our cars. You don't need day old oil before storage, just don't store it with oil that's near-due for being changed. And be sure that you burn off any moisture BEFORE you drive it into it's storage location.

nolimits

I agree with Nuke 100%. Warming up the car will just create condensation on cool down each time.

I'd recommend a recent oil change, a full tank of gas, and under a quality car cover. Then just leave it alone.

Art161

I think the battery will go dead, whether it is driven around the block or just sits. At a minimum, the negative terminal needs to be removed from the post, and care taken so that it does not accidentally come in contact with any other metal. In other words, cover the terminal with plastic or some other non-conducting material. Better would be to pull the battery from the car and put it on a battery tender.

Nuke

+1 to the battery; something that was completely off my radar when I posted above.

Get a Battery Tender Jr. hooked up to the battery. If you have no AC power available at the storage location, pull the battery and store it in a cool, dry place, preferably with the Battery Tender. With no parasitic drain, it should be ok on it's own but we all know how THAT can go...

You can get Battery Tender Jr for about $25 -$30 on fleabay.

mustangspotential

Okay so thanks for all your help everyone. From what I've gathered, I should basically have a full tank of gas, put some fuel stabilizer in it ahead of time (50 miles or so), and then remove the battery and put it on a tender. I shouldn't start it/drive it for the 3 months, just leave it alone. And covers are more harmful than good.

This all correct?

I priced storage units in my area, they were upwards of $200/mo for indoor storage. I'm not paying that.

As far as the oil goes, it has less than 1,000 miles on it now and will probably have about 4,000 miles~ when I go to put it away. But it was a Mobil 1 Full Syn oil change. Wouldn't it be fine to leave it that way (the oil will still be A++ I'm sure), and do the oil change again when I bring it back out?

I'm just so torn on a cover. I feel like it just sitting there for 3 months without one is a waste but I don't want to come back to mayhem when I go to take it out either. Maybe one of those overhead enclosed ones that don't actually touch the car?

amyhughes

Something else to consider with covers...it tells people your car is important. Some might take that as invitation to mess with it.

Rudolph Hucker

do not start it and drive it round the block..
it will build up condensation in your motor..
i know coz i started my v6 once a month during the winter and the filler cap was saturated in water untill spring when i i got it on the road again..

RWDtech

What about a car bubble? Lots of storage units have super cheap parking within the gates (for RV's and stuff). You could get a car bubble, that way the paint won't get touched, and be protected by the gated storage unit so no one will mess with it

http://www.carcapsule.com/

problem solved!! ****....i may even do this haha

Nuke

4k miles on the oil prior to storage? As long as she's put to bed immediately following a nice jaunt you should be fine, and you won't need to change it when you wake her up again right away but doing so would just be conservative which is fine.

My thoughts on the cover are above. A good car cover with a large tarp strapped as tight as you can to prevent any movement of the car cover below.

RWDtech

I'd agree with that too