ok i have an 84 trans am L69 and i bought it with 54,600 miles. and for the last year and a half i've been driving it as a daily. now it's up to 68,700. now i finaly got a new car, an 04 neon sxt 5 sd, (i know i know ) but it's new and now i can finally store my TA. now my question is what's the best thing to do. what oil should i use what should i use for the gas....etc. the only thing i know is to disconnect the battery. it's been a month and i started it up and of course it blew out smoke from the valve seals, but when i hit the gas hard it bogs and almost stalls. other than that it's fine.

 

i've seen that sta-bil stuff that is an additive to the gas.... its supposed to keep gas good for a year. other than that, i'm not sure about anything else... i guess you should look out for loose things within a close distance that can hit the car and damage it....

 

Put it up on jack stands and remove the wheels.

 

there's a huge post somewhere about winter storage tips.....same thing applies to you, i'd search for it.

 

i've heard about jacking the car up so it doesn't leave flat spots on the tires and make the suspension sag. but y take the tires off.

P.S. sry, i didn't even think about searching for winter storage tips. i've been a member long enough to know.

 

Takes the weight off the suspension.

 

well if it's in the air then what would it matter if the tires r off

 

The wheels and tires pull the suspension downward, the opposite direction from "normal".

 

You want to keep the suspension loaded. New tires will not get flat spots on them. I store my car practically year round and all I do is make sure I have a few bounce dryer sheets in the interior (keeps rodents away) and have aleast half tank of gas. My tires are fine and my suspension doesn't take any ill effects from being unloaded to extended periods time. My car has been stored it's entire life and has never had an ill effects of long term storage. An empty tank can cause the inside walls of your tank to be exposed to air and corrode. Small particles can break off and damage your fuel system. I am not possitive on this and the verdict is still out on that one. It has been known to happen to older vehicles though. Fuel stabalizer couldn't hurt either.

 

sorry to say, but yes the tires will flatspot, that is a well known and documented fact.

 

I geuss my car got lucky for 13 years.

 

with flatspots i'm not sayin they r a sure thing, my bosses 99TA gets them when he stores it for the winter. but anyway. what oil should i put in the car b4 it's stored. like a normal oil, max like or syntech.

 

I just use normal oil. You could use one with a higher viscosity so that it sticks to stationary parts a little better. But even over time that oil will drain back to the pan. I guess I really don't have an answer as far as tires go. I have ready that they do and don't flat spot. I have never had a problem and have always been able to take my car out and it runs smooth without any vibrations or cupping sounds all the way up to high speeds. I have had two sets of tires as well and neith set has done it. Both were different sizes as well if that means anything.

 

Take a look at WWW.ENGINEWISE.CO.UK for storing info!
The V2K oil is worth considering!

 

I've stored my car every winter for many years, as a matter of fact its sitting there right now, and I do pretty much everything ShiftyCapone does. In all of those years I have never had a flatspotted tire.

 

I will run with morley on this..... flatspots on common whether you guys think your car got "lucky" or not...

whats 5 bolts/ tire to prevent something whether its rare/common/whatever...

its not a subject to be fought over, but a thing you can point to the:

"better to be safe than sorry" fact.. come on guys, sheesh

 

In my experience, the "flat spots" are temporary when they occur, and smooth out with the running. I don't have problems with the '57, though, (perhaps I just can't tell the tires are shaking? ) which mostly sits from October to April, and Sunday-Thursday from April-October.

AMSOIL has what they call diesel/marine oil http://www.amsoil.com/products/ame.html that contains rust inhibitors. It's also rated for gasoline engines. I use it in the '57 and our horse trailer towing van because they sit more than they run.

They also have a gasoline stabilizer for storage protection http://www.amsoil.com/products/ast.html .

 

My car only gets about 2400 miles put on it a year since it was new and has sat for over 3 years at a time (me and previous owner) and I have yet to have a flat spot with multiple sets of tires. One set it going on sotrage for 2 years now and that isn;t even close to the amount of time stored on the old tires that were on for 10 years. That average would be even lower if I hadn't put 13,000 miles on it in the last 4 years.

 

i guess another thing i never really brought up is that alo it will be stored for months at a time, i will be driving it here any there when it gets warmer and to car shows on fri nights.

also, for those of you who put your car on jacks, do u put them where u would put your car on a lift or is there a safer more stable spot

another thing nobody has sed anything about is the conditions on the place u're storing it. i'm trying to get some framing and some insulation to keep it warmer than in the summer get a dehumidifier. any thoughts or comments on it?

 

A month at a time is nothing to sweat and you will be fine just leaving the car be. If you do want to jack your car do it so that the suspension is loaded. Put stands under the rear axle and under the front A arms. This keeps the shocks from staying in their max extended posistion for long periods of time. The building that I store my car in is dry and it sits under a cover. The buidling is not heated and it gets rediculously cold. As low as sinlge digits for months on end. Never had any problems. Cold won't hurt a car, dampness and rodents will.

 

Everything I have that is outfitted with "Z" rated tires gets flat spots. The nylon belts tend to take a set. The situation usually corrects itself the first time the car is driven and the tires get warmed a bit.

If you have access to the car and can start it every month or so, there is probably nothing really special you should do other than to have fresh, clean fluids in the sumps and a volatility protectant in the fuel. Protect it with a dust cover, and keep animals away.

For a seasonally stored vehicle, I wouldn't bother with stands, jacking, removing wheels, etc. I used to do it, but don't any more. It doesn't make a lot of sense to jack a car that you don't drive and not jack a car that you drive every day. The mass of the vehicle is still constantly on the springs on the daily driver, so what's the difference?

If you can't start and warm the car every few weeks, don't just disconnect the battery, but remove it from the vehicle. There is a big difference im my mind between seasonal storage and long-term storage, and a lot more to do to properly store a vehicle (or any equipment) for an extended period.

 

My car is a 87 and has been stored every winter except for one and only has 42,000 miles and I have had no problems with flat spots.
The battery is a different story even after unhooking the wires the battery still needs charging to start.

 

Exercise, the suspension on a daily driven car is moved through its range of travel frequently.

 

I understand that movement will help the shocks stay wet, and may help the bushings, but there is no movement when the car is eleveated, and none of that really has any benefits for the springs either.

I forgot to mention that I generally pump the tires to their rate maximum pressure, too (usually 44 PSIG). They still get a slightly detectable flat spot that goes away after the first warmup run.

 

Tires getting flat spots depends greatly on their construction.

If they have nylon in them, especially solid nylon stiffeners, they can be permanently flat-spotted from sitting. Most high-performance tires are like this. Tires with no nylon aren't too bad about getting flat spots, even temporary ones; most non-performance tires, and even some of the cheaper so-called "performance" ones, fall into this category.

I would recommend setting the car up on jack stands, under the front control arms at the spring pockets and the rear axle tubes. This will hold the suspension in about its normal operating position. Leave the tank full of gas and the tires full of air.

 

i was going to leave this post alone and let it end but i was driving home from work tonight and was wondering about all the seals. should i have the hatch open and windows cracked so it doesn't push on all the seals? and is there anything i should use so they don't dry up or rott?

another thing that is bothering me this it's still bothering me alittle, i mean i still don't get it. no matter how u put it on stands, taking the wheels off won't do anything, i mean the car is in the air, y take the wheels off. if this can be explained then i would understand, but i don't .

 

This is to prevent flat spots on the tires. If the wheels are off then the weight of the vehicle will be placed on the jack stands and not the tire. I haven't had any problems with flat spots but others have. I geuss it depends on tire pressure and what tires you actually have. As for the seals, leave them be. They won't be bothered. If you want to you can rub a little dialectic grease on them and let it sit for a day and then wipe it off. This will condition them a bit but makes things greasy if you don't get it all wiped off. When it is really cold my hood shocks sag really bad and won't sup[port the weight of the hodd. However when it gets hot out they work just fine. Cold weather will just cause the gas to compress a bit more and they won't reboud and maximise the volume of the cylinder as much. A nuesance but not a big deal. They are cheap and wear out pretty quick anyways. Hence the imfamous 2x4 hood prop that all of us have used in our days.

 

One thing I like to do with mine is spray a fogging agent in the intake just before I shut it down for the winter.. it helps protect the cylinder walls from any moisture.. I also add fresh oil, treat the gas, Though I have never jacked the car up off the wheels.. but they where it sits .. it's a bit hard to do.. I don't like starting the engine while it's being stored because of how cold it can be here.. all that dense moisture that would then be drawn in ..

 

but if the car is in the air on jack stands then the wheels rn't touching the ground anyway so y put the car on stands and take the wheels off.

 

Well I geuss you could leave them on but you won't have to jack it up as high if you take the tires off. It is also easier to manuver the jack stands when the front tires are off. Whenever I work on my car and it is more than just a simple under the hood job, I imediately take off the front two tires so that I can have complete access to the whole upper and under side of the front end.