Fox Owner 88

I will be shutting my 88 Mustang down for the winter - storing it in my garage here at my house. I have talked to a handful of people about not driving my car in the winter and I'm constantly hearing 2 different ways to do it. Some people tell me to start the car every couple of weeks and let it run until it hits operating temp to keep everything in the engine moving and I have also heard to not start it at all until the spring when I'm ready to drive it. I personally believe that the car shouldn't be started, even if it's for 3-5 months, then start it in the spring when I'm ready to drive it. Am I correct? Which way is the right way, or for those of you who live in cold snowy winter areas like me, what do you do? Thanks!

Duncan_GT

I have a couple buddies that both store their cars, and they both start them every couple of weeks. You don't want oil and grease just sitting. They normally pull them out of the garage just enough to move all the parts, so normally all of 20 ft.

Cars are meant to be driven. Its normally hard to get them started after sitting for awhile

slipperman

I'm in the don't start it camp.
Here's why;

I store my motorcycle and now my convertible Mustang over every winter. The process is this:

Treat a fresh tank of fuel to a fuel stabilizer and drive enough to get the proper mixture into the fuel rails / injectors.

Top off the tank and again add the proper mix of stabilizer. Topping off displaces air that also contains water which could be absorbed by the fuel over time.

Change the oil. Old oil contains acids that can etch the bearing surfaces.

Get the load off the tires to prevent flat spots.

Throw some moth ***** under the vehicle to ward off rodents.

Pull the battery (or just disconnect it) and apply a Battery Tender (or equivalent).

If access allows, pull the spark plugs and spray a little light oil into the cylinder. I've used a marine "fogging" oil with great success.

Use some kind of cover to keep the dust away and minimize damage if some kind of contact is made (snow blower, etc).

Lastly, I don't recommend the "start every month" technique because water is a byproduct of combustion and unless you achieve full operating temperature for long enough to vaporize the water, it'll sit there in your exhaust causing corrosion.

I've been doing this for years on lawn mowers, snow blowers, generators, pressure washers cars and trucks. No problems ever re-starting after a season of storage.

reldla1996

I don't start mine either. I put a battery tender on it, and that's it. I change my oil in the Spring. I think if you could actually drive it every two weeks +/-, enough to dry out all the condensation in the engine oil and exhaust, it would be better, but once the salt flies around here, I'm done for the year.

mjr46

for a 3-5 month storage period , all the hoopla is totally uneccessary, I rarely drive mine in the winter, may go 2 months without starting it, heck, even in the summer months mine will go extended periods without driving/starting it, never had a problem, occasionally, I'll start mine in the winter for fun, it won't hurt it.

rmodel65

what is all this storing your car for the winter non sense and wtf is this snow you guys are speaking of?

Fuels85

As for all my cars I've owned and store away for winter. I would start them up and let it run for a while. I even put them on jacks and shift through the gears and let it roll so that all fluids can move around.

My10-80

I do not start mine or move mine all winter either. Like slipperman said. If you take the time in the fall and do it right. She'll be sitting there waiting for you in the spring with no issues.

88 orangepeel notch

I'm also in the "don't start" camp. A good bath, oil change, and disconnect battery. It would take more time to start the car, get it hot enough, ( idling will not work ) to get all the condensation out of exhaust. I've never had a problem in spring.

Let the beast sleep.

Edit: And most important, I don't know if you have blended gas by you (ethanol), never ever use that crap for storage, or any reason really.

Fox Owner 88

Thanks for the comments. I'm going to let it sit and not start it. I agree with once you start it, it would be best to drive it to clean the condensation out and I'm not driving it in salt! Sounds like she'll be fine for a couple of months.