[Ernie Ball]

I'm going to be storing (rather than selling!) my car for a year while we go to the US.

Can anyone give me advice about what to do when storing it?

 

[pelinors714]

i know one thing for sure.... unplug BOTH battery terminals. i would also keep it under a car cover.

 

[OldMan]

Post Deleted

 

[drummerdawg]

Removing the battery and storing it is a good idea.

Put the car on jack-stands or concrete blocks to keep the tires off the ground. Supposedly, this keeps them from developing flat spots. Some people say this is a bad idea, but I don't remember why.

Put something stinky, like moth balls, inside and around the car underneath to repel varmits.

Get a Battery Tender or something similiar(trickle charger) to keep the battery charged and in healthy order.

The old argument about keeping the car on jack stands has something to do with keeping the suspension loaded. But I dont remember what the final decision was.

Moth balls or the urinal cakes, or whatever you call the smelly things they put in the urinals.

Will the car be stored inside or out?

 

[T-bone]

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[Ken Branch]

A good idea too is to drop a couple of large desiccant bags in the car interior to remove humidity, /I would definately change the oil before and when taking it out of storage, I also add some stp oil additive for it's thickness (not sure if it helps)/some say you should run the car and disconnect the fuel pump connector to relieve fuel pressure/ a good clean (everywhere) and fresh wax is also recommended/ the fuel tank should be full with the aforementioned stabilizer/battery removed and on the trickle charger/make sure the park brake is not engaged as the brakes will fuse to the discs/ the car should be in neutral (chock it if you're not going to put it on jackstands).

 

[Ernie Ball]

What's the best way to keep vermin out of the side vents, front intake and rear grill?

I'd rather not have to tape plastic bags on the openings since that tape is going to sit on the car for a year and will wreck the paintwork.

I've got a custom car cover that should fit fairly snugly but I'm under no illusions that it will keep the critters out.

Mothballs are apparently now hard to come by since they were classed as a carcinogen, at least here in Ireland.

 

[grumpy]

=polkjnb

 

[kaustein]

You have to tell us first if it is going to be stored inside or outside.

 

[Ernie Ball]

Thanks.

I might be reduced to stealing urinal cakes from the urinals at work.

Car is going to be stored in a coach house on a farm. Like a garage but a bit more open to vermin. It'll have a cover on it.

 

[kaustein]

Thanks.

I might be reduced to stealing urinal cakes from the urinals at work.

Car is going to be stored in a coach house on a farm. Like a garage but a bit more open to vermin. It'll have a cover on it.

Lots and I stress lots of urinal cakes. And the supply will have to replenished as they evaporate. I think I'd go up on blocks unless you can trust someone to start in once in a while. Also make sure the gas tank is as full as you can possibly get it.

 

[Ernie Ball]

Lots and I stress lots of urinal cakes. And the supply will have to replenished as they evaporate. I think I'd go up on blocks unless you can trust someone to start in once in a while. Also make sure the gas tank is as full as you can possibly get it.

I don't think starting it is an option. I also don't think it's wise unless they are going to actually drive it.

I have no idea where in hell I'm going to get urinal cakes.

Update: Found a source for urinal cakes.

 

[olspyder]

Just a note on car covers...if it's a waterproof (read: non-breathing) cover - understand that you're sticking your car under a greenhouse for a year. It'll trap moisture under the cover, rather than over the vehicle. I bought a speedster replicar once that had been stored this way, in a garage with a concrete floor. The chrome and wheels didn't like the idea, at all. If you don't have an indoor dust cover, I'd go with old blankets, rather than a cover. Being even more picky - temperature swings where I live can cause the garage floor to occasionally "sweat", radiating more moisture up under the car. Something impermeable to park on, eliminates this. I use a sheet of plywood to park over.

 

[T-bone]

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[Ernie Ball]

I have this one: http://www.cover-zone.com/voyager-car-covers.htm

It's breathable.

 

[kaustein]

Also:

Turn mirrors in so no one whacks them.

I'd have somone pump the brakes and at least spin the wheels so the calipers won't stick.

Also, trickle charge for the year.

 

[Ernie Ball]

I assume that I should put the jackstands under the 4 jack points on the body of the car. Yes?

Any views on whether the wheels should stay on or off?

 

[kaustein]

I'd take wheels off so there is minimal downward pressure on the suspension.

 

[Ernie Ball]

Thanks all for the help and advice.

The car is now up on jackstands in the coach house. I did the following today:

1) Hardtop on
2) Wash and new coat of Souveran wax
3) Up on jackstands
4) Urinal cakes hanging from a net bag in the interior as well as scattered in frunk, engine bay.
5) Battery out (was going to ask mother-in-law, who owns the coach house, if I could leave it on a trickle charge but my wife said she'd freak; so now I'm left contemplating whether to plug it in at my office at work; otherwise, it's just going into storage with the rest of the stuff and it's a new battery)
6) 900g silica gel dehumidifyer on floor
7) Steel wool in exhaust pipe and behind grillwork (not side vents, though)
8) Car in neutral with hand brake off
9) Car cover on.

I meant to take a picture but couldn't find my phone.

I intended to take the wheels off but I made the rookie mistake of forgetting to loosen the lug nuts before putting it up on jackstands and I didn't have time to redo the process. Also, the lug nuts are on tighter than tight thanks to the gorilla who put my tires on last time. So the car is up on the stands with the wheels still on.

The whole thing makes me nervous but I'll report back on how the car survived in a year's time.

Thanks again to all for their help.

 

[T-bone]

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