Hey guys, I'm storing my car for 3 years. Under a carport, underneath a car cover. I just don't have the time or $ to mess with it right now. What do I need to do to prepare the car for 3 years of sitting still? Thanks.

 

where'd the military send ya?

 

Fluids would be the first thing I would check. Remove all the fluids immediatley, fuel, oil, anti-freeze, power steering, rear differential and change all filters including the fuel filter. Check for signs of rust, I know you said it was stored but you have no idea if there was ever any water in that area or some other ungodly disaster, better safe than sorry. Shocks and springs would be the next thing to check. All that pops into my head at the moment.

 

Maybe on the spots that are notorious for rust, put a layer of oil or grease, like on the rear wheel wells, or the battery tray, or whatever... just to keep water off of those places.

 

take the tires off an use 4 donuts or some trashy tires. deflate your current tires and keep them inside at room temp to prevent dryrot. i'd say pop it up on stands but 3 years of a chassy sitting on stands... i get the feeling it would do some damage.

 

you sit it on big, and i mean big blocks of styrafoam. When i goto boat shows they have huge 40ft long boats, boats that weigh 20 tons on lots of styrafoam blocks.

 

Well, this is what i'd do...

1. Give your car a good wash and wax. Spray out all the hard to reach places and the floorboards if you can. Even under a cover, mother nature can hurt the paint. Besides, you should be waxing it anyways...lol!

2. Fill the tank and dump in Sta-Bil gas stabilizer. The reason for a full tank, to keep moisture (water) from attacking the bare metal inside. Last thing i'd want is rust and crap plugging up my injectors upon restart.

3. Change the oil and filter. Change fuel filter also.

4. Remove good rims, go to the j-yard and pick up 4 donut spares. There cheap enuff, and keeps your good tires inside and from rotting as said above.

5. Flush the cooling system and leave empty. Unless you plan on starting the car up on occasion.

6. Set the car up on jackstands. It's better on the suspension as it allows it to relax as apposed to it being constantly under load. Also, get cheap little 3-ton stands at like walmart or something. No reason using your good ones , eh?

7. Remove the battery and store properly. If the battery is in good shape yet, go to an auto parts store and pick up a little trickle charger for it. It'll help keep the batt. in charge.

8. Check for rust and mist it with oil or wd40. Also, check for any water present and remove.

I'm sure I'm missing something but I hope this helps you get a start on this.

-Derth

 

Everyones advice so far has been good as far as I know. I would not rest the car on anything but the suspension though. Even if you cant get some crappy tires, dont put it off the ground on the subframe.

Wrap up your tailpipes with a plastic bag and an elastic to help keep crap out.

A cup of baking soda helps keep moisture down.

Ive also been told that mice and rodents hate steel wool and bounce sheets. I used both in my car last winter and have 0 problems with animals.

If youve got nowhere to put the battery, disconnect it at the very least. Thats all I did for my car and when I hooked it back up, it started right up no problem.

I wouldnt use wd40 to spray the underneath. I dont know how it would hold up for 3 years. Try something a little thicker, or if you can buy Krown rust control products, I would use them over anything.

Just make sure you coat the underbody of the car real well. Some spots seem to be the floorboards where your feet would rest, lower rad support, and definately in the rear wheel wells!!!

 

Ive also been told that mice and rodents hate steel wool and bounce sheets

Thats a must make sure u do something to keep them out.My mom had her 78 vette stored and man i never knew what kind of damge a mouse could do.Lets just say she needs new seats,carpet.and i don't think the smell will ever come out.

I have never stored a car but y would uwant to drain all the oil out,And would it hurt anything putting some in the spark plug holes? And one more thing I thought (or heard )It is good to put the car on stands.Since are cars sit so low u would get better air flow under the car.

 

The absolute BEST thing to do IMO, is to get a car bubble!

No, I'm not joking. Look in the back of magazines like C&D, MT, etc etc... look at the ads in the back. There is a car bubble that you drive your car into and zip it up.

Its like a clear plastic sleeping bag thats sealed all the way around. Then water, animals, and 'parting gifts' from seaguls and pigeons are nothing to worry about.

 

That's like the greatest idea ever for a car cover.. a giant zip-lock baggie.

 

I have a "Car-Bag" for my 25th T/A and absolutely love it Its just like keeping the car in a zip lock bag. I have the car covered inside the bag in a garage. The car bag comes with large cilica packets to trap moisture.

 

Damn, thats awesome.

 

Don't let it sit for 3 years and never start it, drive it once a month, even if it's to the stop light and back........

 

This is the worst thing you can do!!!

If you don't allow the engine to completely heat up, condensation will build up and start rusting the exhaust and anything else in the moisture path.

As for the jackstands, wrong. It places too much strain on the subframe for long periods of time. It's best to leave the car on the ground. The suspension will weaken if left to hang. After 3 years, you will have to replace the whole thing. The weight on the suspension keeps them working and they will last.

I also don't recommend draining the coolant system as that will leave it susceptible to rusting also.

Replace all fluids and fill to capacity to keep from having moisture issues. disconnect battery is a must. Oil in the plug area won't last 3 years. This is something to do prior to starting the car after 3 years.

 

Another suggestion to keep mice out is moth *****. If you dont like the smell they have a cedar block moth ***** and they sell them at walmart. I use them every year when I store my camaro for the winter. Yes I use a fuel stabalizer on a full gas tank and take the battery out too. As for the tires I also would recommend 4 donuts and keep the others stored inside. Good luck.

 

i'm with scott on this one, sometimes people go overboard and do more damage then good....if cars fell apart that easily they wouldn't last as long as they have.

 

There is a guy (Jack Bally - Bally's Field Dixon IL) in town here who has a KitFox airplane that he built. In order to keep the mice out (they love the fabric covering) He cut the bottoms out of 3 55gal drums so that he had 3 pans around 6 inches deep and fills them with waste oil. He has a little bridge system to get the plane's 3 wheels onto the pillars in the middle of each pan, then removes the 3 little bridges. In order for a mouse or rat etc. to get to the plane, they have to cross the oil mote. Been several years with no dammage from rats mice etc.

I have had my car up on stands for the last year and a half, I wouldn't suggest it either, its more fun to have it on the pavement. But its been in a Garage with a dehumidifier the whole time. There has been no more damage to the body from rust since it is inside with the dry air.

Get a car bag and a couple of pounds of desiccant, put the crappy wheels and tires on it, get the car up off the ground on stands that support the car on its wheels, and put the stands in the oil mote, and the car in the bag with the desacant. Desiccant is what is in the little bags when you buy a pair of shoes. You can get the stuff in 1 pound bags (I think they are one pound bags) from an industrial supplier like Grainger. It is used in air driers.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/pro...628526&ccitem=

As for the fuel tank, fill it up and use Stable. I personally would just change the oil so it is fresh and then pack it up.

 

Should have clarified myself......maybe the whole stoplight and back was a bad example....

What scott said basically sums up my thoughts.....gotta run the engine every now and then.....avoids problems in the future....

 

what do those car bubbles go for?

 

those the ones with a fan built in that keeps fresh air circulating and keeps it inflated?

 

I heard that the car bubbles can only be used if the car is being stored indoors, is that right?

 

This is what we do to any of our motors(i.e. race cars, collector or motors being pulled for long periods of time.)

1 quart tranny fluid
1 pint 2-cycle oil
Mix well in old milk jug. Start car and bring up to operating temperature. Remove air filter from carb. Have other person in car operating throttle. Tack it up and start pouring the solution right down the carb. The person running the pedal will have to give more and more gas until the car finnaly dies. This completely coats the inside of everything. The car will smoke like a house burnin' down. This is normal.

Now for startup after storage. Replace spark plugs. Spray carb cleaner down the carb at the same time the other person is running the starter. When it starts it will smoke like it is missing all its rings. This ceases after about 10 minutes. Enjoy not having to rebuild your HOTROD motor!