Thread: Car going into storage, advice?

Hey guys I need some advice..

I am leaving for Basic on August 18th and my gt will be sitting until December. I have permission to put it in my Grandmothers garage for the time but what kind of work should I do to the car before then?

id put fresh oil in it some stabilizer in the gas tank and pull the battery
id also do a quick detail on it

I heard you need to do something with tires. Possibly has to do with forming flat spots or such. I don't recall, just pointing it out as something to look into.

www.TechGuys.ca | How to: Store a car for winter

theres some good stuff in here i think he takes it a bit far but alot of it makes sense

like releaving fuel pressure and blocking exhaust passages

any chance you could have someone start and drive it like once every 2 weeks

fresh oil before hand not after

Originally Posted by Spartangl

any chance you could have someone start and drive it like once every 2 weeks

Maybe, does it really make that big of a difference?

Originally Posted by Stunt0Rider

Maybe, does it really make that big of a difference?

Just leave it sit, every start gives more wear.

Being ex-military I had to leave my cars for months many times. Not once, or twice, many times. Since you have a garage lined up you are 90% there. Honestly, the only thing that really needs to be done is to disconnect the battery. That is it, just make sure the wires are secured after disconnecting. Another big tip is clean all the crap out of the interior. All food, containers, CDs, cloths, etc. I also firmly believe in having a ~7/8 full tank of gas, and pop in some Seafoam if you remember. And sure, change your oil just before definitely wouldn’t hurt.

I read a thing on this in Popular Mechanics a few months back, basically you only have to worry about unplugging the battery and putting it on a tender, changing oil, stabilizing fuel, and your worst enemy rodents. I left a car sit for 2 days in my garage last fall and found a mouse nest on top of the engine under the cover. Take off the engine cover and stuffing the exhaust doesn't sound bad along with mouse traps. Some go nuts with moth balls or something to keep them out of the interior vents or buying a car cover but that's up to you.

Here is what I plan on doing so far..

A complete tune up over the next 2 months.

Pull Battery.
Fuel Stable.
Dryer Sheets
Moth Balls
Steel Wool in the Exhaust.
Complete Detail
Cover

Do you guys think a tarp over the cover would help with chewing?

na tarp mwont do much just put down a few sticky traps around the wheels

i mean i had a truck sat behind my friends house for 2 years it was covered i did tune and oil change before hand go back to cali untarped it threw a new battery in it and she fired and ran fine he had a pest control service so i was rodent safe

Good luck in Basic Young Private.

Just remeber

Even if your right, To a Drill SGT your wrong.
Never talk or ask the DS a question unless its life,limb, or eye sight (Or training related)
avoid sick call. & profiles (Your platoon will hate you)
and work your ass off at PT and keep it up

Originally Posted by Spartangl

Good luck in Basic Young Private.

Just remeber

Even if your right, To a Drill SGT your wrong.
Never talk or ask the DS a question unless its life,limb, or eye sight (Or training related)
avoid sick call. & profiles (Your platoon will hate you)
and work your ass off at PT and keep it up

also stay in the middle never be first or last you dont want them learning your name too fast
dont eat desserts or drink sodas in chow hall
dont expect your gf to wait for you
never misplace your weapon or take your eye off it sounds stupid but i saw a ton of stupid crap in basic