Ok this is like the 4th time ive tried posting this and for some reason it never seems to stick, none of my other threads existed or something like that. Anyway I'm going to college for four years and I was just wondering if theres anthing I should do to store my 87 Trans Am other than jacking the car up, taking the wheels off and putting a cover over it. Thanks and hopefully this thread sticks.

 

remove the tires, like you said, drain most of the air pressure, and don't store them in sunlight.
change your oil to synthetic before you store it. I would probably fill the tank up to the gunnels, so you have no moisture in it. Maybe add an additive or something... Remove the battery... Throw moisture absorbers into the car, into the ducting, etc. Try and avoid mice in the engine bay, I forget a good way to do that... oh, stuff something in the exhaust pipes.
flush coolant.
flush brake fluid.
if you can, come back and re-flush those fluids after 2 years or so... if you have that ability.that's all I can think of. (must break your heart to leave it for that long...)

 

Some people call this process 'pickleing'. (is that spelled correctly?) You may do a search on the term.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Change fluids.
2. Add gas stabilizer.
3. Crack the windows to prevent damage to the gaskets.
4. Place plastic sheeting under the car to minimize moisture from the floor/ground.
5. Fill up the gas tank to prevent rust.
6.Disconnect/ remove the battery.
7. Sticky mouse traps in floorboards.

Thats all I can think of. I've read some really good posts that have a few more suggestions.

Anyway, where in the heck are you going to college? Siberia??
When I went away to college back in the late 80's, I was back at home a few weekends later to get my clothes washed and a few homecooked meals.

 

He's probably going across country.

Some people say drain your oil completely and fill it with a light weight grease. Personally I'd just change it and leave it alone.

Other than that, what they said is pretty accurate.

If it's possible, can your folks start it every now and then?

 

Everything sounds good except DO NOT REMOVE THE WHEELS. It's best if the suspension is loaded, putting the car on jackstands and removing the wheels really isn't a good idea. It's been discussed countless times on here. It is safe to just leave them on, just over inflate them a little and you wont get any flat spots. I've been doing this since I've had my 'bird and have not had any problems with the tires.

Fill the tank up, just add some StaBil. That will get rid of the moisture. Oh, and Don't start the car up. There is no need to "warm it up" or whatever during storage. In fact it can do more damage than good to keep starting it during the storage. Just spray some fogging oil in the cylinders prior to storage.

 

Actually getting the car off the tires is better.Set your jack stands under the suspension points(outer part of the rear axle next to the LCA mounting brackets and under the A-arms).You want to keep the weight on the suspension or you'll have problems.Like 1982TA stated by all means leave the wheels mounted.And fogging oil into the cylinders then reinstall the sparkplugs,with antiseize on the threads,will help prevent the rings from seizing to the cylinder walls.Mothballs will keep mice out of the engine bay.Just make sure you remove all of them before bringing her back into use.

 

Also, one that no one mentioned.

Get yourself some painters tarps, the clear plasitc kind.

Put them on the ground under the car where it is parker.

It will help keep moisture from accumulating on the ground and rising to the car. Real helpful on concrete.

It works great for helping keep the rotors in a lot better shape than long periods of just sitting on a bare floor.

later
Jeremy

 

One thing that I do is I place a fan on the floor to blow under the cars, this way any condensation that is formed by Cold concrete in the spring is evaporated, I still get a light dusting of rust on my brake rotors, but its not worse than a car wash in the driveway.

One of the best ideas I have seen is a Bubble that you drive your car into. The before mentioned tarp on the floor will help especially when parking on dirt or sand, and somewhat when parking on concrete... You have to remember in the Spring when the car is colder than air it will condence water like a cold glass of water.

Unfortunately cars do not much like being stored, and leaks tend to happen over time , I have noticed that my valve seals need replaceing after 8 years, & 12K miles, and I suspect its due to storage...

Jacking your car up and puting stands under the suspension is a good idea, reduce the pressure in the tires, I would not recommend adding pressure and letting them sit, because the extra pressure will cause them to expand, as the tires dry out they will develop cracks. My 67 has done this, just because the tires are 15 years old...

The Gas stablaizer is a good idea, but I have not had any problems, Filling your tank is a great idea, The reason Gas Ages is because of evaporation, if you fill your tank there is still the same amount of evaporation over the same amount of time, therefore there would still be enough firepower to start the enine in the spring. HOWEVER, if your storing your car over an extended period of time I would suggest some other means...

Synthetic oil in an old engine may or may not be a great idea, as the Synthetics in my experience tend to leak more than natural in an older engine. But thats my experience...

Draining your windshield washer fluid would be a good idea as the blue will turn the plastic blue over time.

JOhn

 

Ha ha. NEVER take the wheels off or drain the oil out. If your parent's house starts on fire they should have instructions to save the car first!

 

 

Ok, I've always been told to run a car every other week or so, to keep everything lubed. I've always done this, and had no issues.

Why would you NOT want to start it every now and then?

 

Believe it or not, a lot of cars that don't get driven much end up needing new head gaskets at 20K miles or turn into real leakers (oil, tranny). They were made to be driven. I've never moved my passenger side sun visor and now I couldn't if I wanted to. I guess a person has to be realistic about what degree they can "preserve" their ride to. Been there, done that.

 

Well, from what I've heard and read from numerous sources Don't start your car during the winter unless you plan to drive it or allow it to get up to normal operating temperatures. "Short running" the engine will allow moisture to build up in the crankcase and exhaust system. Also starting it puts lots of thermal stress on the parts which are all probably sitting around 30 to 40 degrees. Most engine wear happens in those first few minutes when a car is started because the oil hasn't fully circulated. It's questionable that if started you will ever get the car hot enough to burn off the moisture, acids, etc. the car is creating while running. This stuff ends up contaminating that clean oil you put in the car. Have you ever noticed the inside of the oil filler cap when the whether gets cold outside? Did you ever notice any moisture or gummy residue? This stuff doesn't get burned off when it's too cold.

Unless you store your car longer than winter months or for a really long time then it probably needs to be run periodically to keep it in operating condition.

 

I remember reading something from GM, that when you store a car for the winter they recommended removing the engine heads, packing them in grease for the winter then install in the spring...

I thought it was out there, and more than most people would do but interesting.

John

 

Well I bought one 3 years ago from a collector who had 8900 miles on it, Car had no problems when I bought it and today has 35,700 miles and have had no problems except alternator and Serp belt being replaced. There is a weird gue type thing in front wheel wells black plastic trim that was sprayed on it that I could never get off, only some but I need to replace because it hurts the appreance of car as she is almost new looking for a 16 year old car ( door decal says made May 1990 ).
The other car I have had in my garage since Nov '04 and never did any of the above. I drive it into the driveway to let it run for a few minutes about every 2 weeks and to dust car. But it has been in garage since and never had any problem, I drove it 2 weeks ago in the street for the first time since and it was fun. Andy

 

ya thats pretty interesting and the only reason im replying is because i do store my car for the winter.. The car has been stored winters 14 years of its life and the heads have never been removed, or cylinders greased down, and is stored at the end of october. The car sits until the first 3rd week of april, and it always fires up with no problems. i dont see y you would want to create all that work for yourself anyway for just a couple of months, seems like youd b workin harder not smarter

 

I agree with Derek . . . I've had my car for 21 years now, and to tell you the truth, I've never done anything special except put Stabil in the tank and take the battery out. Some winters, I don't even start it up until spring. Darn thing has developed some oil leaks (gonna try an ultraviolet light kit I bought on her this year), but gaskets don't last forever. It has never, never, failed to start within a couple seconds upon its yearly resurrection.

 

My 82 T/A has about 60,000 miles on it. It's apparently been stored winters since new, and definately for the 6 years I've owned it. I store it up to 9 months of the year.

Things I do:
-Fill the tank and put stabilizer in it.
-Change the oil
-Used to pull each plug and squirt oil in it to coat the cylinder walls, then cranked it without starting. Time consuming and difficult. Now I buy "storage spray" and spray it into carb until the engine chokes and dies, apparently does the same thing.
-Support suspension on jackstands so wheels are just off the ground
-Remove and store the battery
-Plug exhaust and intake with duct tape to keep mice out
-Leave doors cracked open and windows slightly down to take pressure off seals...if you think you'll keep mice out by closing the doors and windows, guess again. I just use mothballs and try to store it somewhere where there are no rodents.
-Cover the car with a good quality breathable cover.

I started doing all this from picking up tips from storing my motorcycle for years. It seems like a lot of steps, but doesn't actually take too long. There's other little things I do too, but these are the most important.

I agree that if you're storing for a few months, don't bother starting it every month. You'll probably do more harm than good if you don't let it warm up fully.

 

Dont know if you have this near you but get your tires filled with dry nitrogen. It is dry (name shows) and prevents rotting of the tires, inside or out. Plus better at high speeds. Doesn't affect the rubber for lots of reasons. Do a google or how stuff works.