Hey everyone. I'm new to this and it's my first time storing a car. I don't really have a lot of space to keep it so I'm wondering if it's ok to have it just sit outside uncovered for the winter parked off to the side.

 

a car cover would be good at least, but if not thats not an option, at least a tarp. park it on some boards. put lots o' gasline antifreeze in and lots of fuel stabilizer. make sure you drive it around with that sutff in the tank so it gets through out the system. then full the tank right up to the top. something to soak up moisture in the interior wouldnt be a bad idea. make sure you take the battery out and store it in a warm, dry place. make sure coolant/antifreeze is topped up and good to -40.

 

Some of these things Brad's already touched on...

- I would park it on a tarp and basically wrap it up and cover it with a car cover and another tarp. The drier it stays the better. The cold won't hurt it too much.

- A full bottle of fuel stabilizer (Sta-bil at Crappy Tire, cost about $10)

- Remove the battery and store it inside

- Pump up the tire to the max PSI (usually 44)

For a full list of what I do check out my website in the Tech Section under maintenance. That's a full list of al the things I do every year, the only difference is mine gets stored inside.

 

This is probably also on Chris's website, change your oil. If you are not going to start the car for the entire time of storage you might want to pull each plug and squirt a little engine oil in the cylinders. This way the oil surrounds the top of the piston and works its way down the cylinder walls providing a little bit of lubrication upon spring start up. I start my car once a month or so to bring some oil up into the block.

 

things not mentioned
put the car on jackstands
take the wheels off and store it indoors
wrap the bags and brakes
all fluids full
I dont use gas stabilizers..I just fill the tank to the brim..
light weight oil
cover the tailpipes..
weatherstripping all lubed


thats evrything that I cant think of right now..btw i dont do any of these..lol

daz

 

zedder: Yup the oil change part is on the website. I've never done the oil in the spark plugs for short term storage. With a TPI car, removing the plugs themselves is a PITA, blindly squirting oil would be reeeeeal fun. It's completely up to the owner, but the spark plug oil thing is a bit overkill IMO for 5 months or less of storage. But to each their own, it's what ever works for you.

Daz has some good has some good tips, but I would skip the jackstands idea, especially for outside storage. Unless you are going to support the suspension while it's hanging, you can do more damage than good. If you have the money or access to a set of crappy tires that you can throw on, I would reccommend using them instead of your stock tires, and store the stock ones out of the cold.

 

lol

this time a little bit more specific..
place jackstands on the control arms for the fronts and on the diff tubes on the rear..

daz

 

hey daz, why should you cover the tailpipes?

 

Three words for ya...mouse and critters! The last thing you want is to go to start your car in the spring, only to find out a mouse has decide to make a nest of your muffler. This is what we call unneeded back pressure! Although this is very slim, it can happen. For the sake of 5 seconds work, I don't bother chancing it.

 

I just stuff mine with steel wool (tailpipes that is!)

 

Thanks for all the helpfull tips everyone. It's amazing just how many little things there are that you might not think of.

 

Thanks for all the helpfull tips everyone. It's amazing just how many little things there are that you might not think of.