mhorner001

I've got a beautiful 2007 Mustang GT. I'm deploying with my National Guard unit in December and the car will be stored for about a year. What do I need to do to make sure it survives sitting around that long? I tried writing Ford but all they told me was to ask a dealer. Big help. There's nothing in the owner's manual other than disconnect the battery. Any ideas from people who've had to do this?

Thanks,
Mike

DarkJFMan

I didn't have a car when I deployed but some of my buddies gave their cars to close relative to maintain it, I think that's the best way. Where you deploying off to?

Phateless

Talk to a tech at your local dealer. Not the service writer, but one of the Master Techs.

Fuel stabilizer. Run the car for a bit so that it works it's way into the lines and injectors.
Oil additive to prevent sludge while sitting.

That's about all that I know of.

When you start it back up just replace all the fluids and take it out for a romp.

Nuke

Fresh oil change (within a few hundred miles of storage), synthetic blend or full syn, with NO additives.

Fuel stabilizer added and the car driven a good 30 miles or more.

Disconnect the battery OR connect a battery tender.

If storing indoors, lay a sheet of plastic under the vehicle including the tires (some people insist that the car be jacked to remove weight from the tires but I don't care to have the suspension unsprung for a year).

DON'T have someone start it and let it idle once in awhile. You're better off leaving it in storage with the above. 1 year is NOT that long and the car is new enough that your seals will hold up just fine.

MR_Q

I live in the country, so we have a fair amount of "retired" farm trucks "stored". Now while I wouldnt use this technique to store your stang, its just an example.

Step 1: Find an out of the way spot to park it
Step 2: Turn ignition to "OFF" position.
Step 3: Get out of the vehicle
Storage complete

We have an 87 f150 that blew a head gasket seven years ago that we have parked. It sat for two years without anyone looking at it, much less driving it. One day I tossed a battery in it, and it started up twice as fast as any new car would. It didnt even crank, it just fired. I drove it around for a few minutes, then parked it again. After sitting that long, the only problems were that it missed a bit (old gas), and the interior and paint are faded really bad. Also, the wiper blades are toast, lol. So for your car, you could easily just park it in a garage for a year. Ive seen NEW cars sit for longer than that on a dealer lot.

TPony

I am currently deployed and this is exactly what i did....

Art161

If you have someone you trust to take the car out for a good run every month, then that would be great.

For storage with no driving, I would put a tender on the battery. If you remove the battery from the car, still use a tender. The battery will run down without it.

Make sure the interior is absolutely clean, so that pests don't have any food particles to eat.

Stuff some aluminum foil in the tailpipes to keep pests out.

Put plenty of mothballs outside the car on the floor of your storage area.

Either raise the windshield wipers to the service position, remove the wiper blades, or put a piece of thin cloth between the wiper blade rubber and the windshield. You don't want the rubber to stick to the glass.

If it has been over a year since you had the brake system flushed, then do it before storage. You want to make sure that there is virtually no water in the system that can rust components.

Lubricate all hinges and latches.

Cal26Stang

Take the fluids out, or put in sta-bil
Buy a car cover
take the wheels off and put it on jack stands

Art161

I don't agree with taking the fluids out. That will allow condensation to form, with rust being a likely result.