BraMas

I'm also not a fan of starting a car every so often and letting it run during storage. When you start a car and let it run condensation will start and 10 min of idling is not enough time to burn it all away.
Everyone has there opinions on it but I live by get the car ready for hibernation and leave it alone.

Sxynerd

No oil has enough viscosity to not dry start and lubricate an engine from the initial crank and this is only worsened by colder and colder temps.

Fill up the tank, add some fuel stabil, Mothballs in the exhaust tips, trunk, engine bay and interior. If you're parked on concrete, lay down painters plastic to stop the moisture from seeping up under the car. Take the battery inside and that should be it. I like to move the car once in a while to help avoid flat spots on the tires.

Regular maintenance when it comes out of storage.

forza sti

Other than a oil change what else should be done when it comes out of storage in the spring?

Sxynerd

check your hoses for dry rot.

Mr Graystang

A good wash in wax , stabilizer , take the battery out and store in heated area , a nice cover and good tarp to lay under the car and your good. I usually pop the battery back in on a nice dry winter day and drive it around for a good hour and run errands. I never changed the oil when I took out of storage because its usually changed a month or two before.

01MGGT

Don't change the oil before storage. I always wit till it's time to come out of storage. Then you have fresh oil that has not sat there and went through a bunch of temp changes and such. Also I never start mine in the winter really. I agree with the post on the moisture. If you are parking it outside in Canada you should go further. I am in Alaska where the temps can get all the way down to -60* F in the winter. You antifreeze mixture needs to be changed to match the cold temps. Most factory mixtures like seen in the lower 48 will actually freeze at -40 F. You should have a block heater installed and keep it plugged in until out of the subzero temps. This will help keep any damage from occurring. Keep the battery stored inside. All the cars we drive up here in the winter we run a block heater, battery heater/trickle charger, tranny heater and oil pan heater. Some even have a heater on the differential of 4x4s and stuff. Not to mention we adjsut the antifreeze to -60 specs. Luckily mine is in storage all winter! But doing things right makes the difference. We drive our 2010 Fusion Hybrid and it never has a problem even at -35 so far! Well minus **** poor fuel milage.

01MGGT

Oh yeah I agree to put in fuel stabilizer and I fill my tank to full to prevent rust and corrosion

bluovalguy

I disagree on changing the oil before you store it. Even if you just use some cheap oil, it is better to have clean oil sitting in the motor than to have used oil. You can still change it again before you take it out of storage. A little more work, but worth it IMHO.

And +1 on condensation causing rust.

Pack it away properly, cover it, and forget it til you are ready to pull it out again.

forza sti

Ok i have a tarp to put under the car and il put the battery in my storage room. I just bought some fuel stabilizer but my tank is about 75% full. Does it matter if the fuel tank is not full?

WannaBeGearHead

^^^ No shouldn't matter. 3/4 tank plus stabil will be ok.