Ok so im trying to figure out what I need to do before winter takes hold of my state.

New battery this fall

What type of things should I do now?

also how can I tell my windshield wipers are worn down.

any one have the part number for the fog lamps? the idiot at the partstore says I have to go to a dealer to get the bulb.

thanks I know this is an open-end question, and that it amkes me sound like an idiot(which i might be) but I dont want to be under my car in 25* and snow in january

 

i would flush the radiator and fill it with straight antifreeze...
hows the tread on the tires? maybe get them rotated..

usually worm wipers have a white streak across the rubber which says its a lil dry rotted or worn down.. they streak the water when its rainy, etc... if u think they are bad they are only like 7 bucks, go to advanced/autozone, they will even install them for free (make those retards work for their $ cause hardly any of them knows anything about engines let alone anything else)

 

I store my car every winter in a building that gets as cold as 10 degrees for weeks on end. I keep the same ratio of water and coolant and keep the battery in place. I have never had anything freeze or lock up. I want the car to start incase there is an emergency and it has to be moved right away (fire). I do nothing to the tires but make sure they are pumped a little higher than you would normaly run because they will deflate a bit over the months. I have also stored the car with a full tank and an empty tank of gas. The verdict is still out on that one. Some say your gas will go bad, mine never did. Also, some say an empty tank will rapidy corrode the inside of your tank and particles can break off and enter into your fuel system. I have yet to suffer either of these fates and my car sits for LONG periods of time between fill ups (going on year now and usualy 8 month periods). The most important thing to do is to pus some bounce dryer sheets in your interior. Rodents detest the smell of it and it sends them packing. For some reason bounce works the best. The first year I stored it I had all kinds of nests in my engine bay. Next year I used the bounce sheets and there wasn't even a single mouse turd. Plus you have a nice fresh smell come spring.

 

shiffty i think you read it wrong, hes still wanting to drive it... not store it...

water in the mixture ive always been told could crsytalize in the chambers... rare but possible i guess, better to not take a chance..

and if its stored, i wouldnt worry about water at all...

 

Yea I read it wrong I read it too quick and thought he was storing it. I respond to lots of those so I jumped the gun and didn't think that maybe he was going to drive it. I got the wrong impression. Sorry bout that, I will be quiet now. But yes new battery and wiper blades and at least 50/50 water to coolant unless your area gets below -25. 50/50 ratio can go pretty low.

 

yea, I didnt mean for this thread to make me sound like an idiot, but I got the basics done, decent tread, new battery, going to replace the wipers just to be cautious. Your saying 100% antifreeze for the winter?

Anyone have any luck keeping the backend in line with the rest of the car?
last year was terrible, I swear I spent half the winter going sideways.
I tried putting sand in the back but I belive it is too far back from the axle? any one have any good ideas?

I wish I had the money to go buy a beater for the winter, these michigan winters dont like thirdgens very much.

ok thanks for the info guys
Craig

 

100% antifreeze for the cold winters, yes... or atleast a decent amount more antifreeze to dilute the water cause i know its expensive

there will be someone to disagree with me but oh well... not saying their right or wrong...

any decently lightweight rear wheel drive car will give u troubles in the winter..

hence why i ask how your tires are? good tread, what size are they? I would undercoat my car, or atleast tar the underneath, salt is like cancer to a vehicle...

 

When I finally got posi on my firebird, it made it drive better in the snow... There ya go, an excuse to upgrade!!

 

I drove my 350 camaro with pegleg last winter. It sucked. I will have posi by the time it starts snowing but I think it will be worse. Now ill slide sideways instead of just spinning in the same spot. Oh well..im hoping we don't get much snow...maybe if the green house effect would take effect...

 

I live in Winnipeg, Canada.

I store my T/A in the winter, but for my other cars, a 50/50 mixture works fine in the dead of winter. Temp here goes down to -40C/-40F. Nobody here I know does more than 65/35 mixture. We do use block heaters though.

Do not do 100% antifreeze. Totally unnecessary. I doubt manufacturers even recommend that.

Even with posi, these cars must drive bad in the winter!

 

You should not use staight antifreeze. It should have at least 10% water, preferably distilled.

 

chevy dealer here recommends it so, yeah teh company does.

but 10% (as i said atleast so there is more antifreeze than water ratio so the antifreeze can dilute the water) should be fine.

 

hummm
maybe a 350 with a posi would help.......................
nah I think paying for college next year is prolley more important

ok thanks for the info
-craig

 

Tell me about it and the left turns were absolutely ridiculous here in Detroit. I spent the entire winter letting the car idle around. It sucks

anyone know if different size tires would help?

 

im from michigan and i never thought of how hard those left turns would be in the winter since u dont really make a left turn, u make uturns further up the road then turn right

edit: skinnier tires should be better in snow, wider tires better on ice

 

A mechanic or a parts guy at a dealer is not a manufacturer.

Check your car's owners manual, or even the back of an antifreeze container for the proper recommended mixture.

 

The most I've ever seen is 70/30 for antifreeze on the container. 100% antifreeze isn't needed. 50/50 is good for -37F. A good coat of wax like MGC.

 

for winter tires on a 3rd gen I recomend getting a pair of studed tires for the rear. some friends of mine when I lived in WVa had a pair they put on when it would snow real bad and never had problems getting around.

 

The studded snows got my 82 Z-28 peg leg through 26" blizzard a few years ago here in PA.