Storing car for the winter

[XJ_Vikings]

For the last couple years my XJ had been in my garage, unregistered. This summer and fall I got it back to DD status so that I could drive it this winter and park my 09 accord in a garage, off insurance. I don't have a garage and have exhausted every possibility to avoid paying for a storage area to no avail. So, it will be stored in the storage area down the road. From some Google research and common sense I have come up with a few things to do in preparation for the hibernation. Keep in mind that every 2-3 weeks I will start it up, run it and maybe even drive it around the storage area a little.

Fill gas tank to the top and add sta-bil
inflate tires all the way
remove the battery and store in the house
thoroughly clean interior and exterior
leave it in neutral with e-brake off
remove wiper blades
crack windows very slightly (not enough to allow animals)
steel wool in tailpipe
place vapor barrier under vehicle
charcoal bags or something similar for moisture and smell


I just had regular maintenance done on it and being that its quite new I am pretty hesitant to do any work on it myself. If i feel like breaking something I'll do it on my jeep. I used tons of mothballs in my jeep to prevent animals, which worked, but it took quite a while to remove the smell.

how does that look? Its a 10x20 storage area, no outlet inside but there is one close by outside, concrete floor, your standard storage area.

thanks

 

[asp]

The only thing I might add would be to put that your are already storing inside on a battery tender. I got mine as a Christmas present last year for use on my motorcycle, so I'm not sure how much they sell for...

 

[vt98xj]

Since it is such a new car, I wouldn't really worry about it too much. There are some cars at dealerships that sit there for over a year being driven every once and a while. I have been told it is actually worse for the car to start it every month.

all the other things you have listed are good, I wouldn't really worry about the wiper blades, but that is just me. fluid flush/change is also a good idea before long term storage.

 

[kastein]

Since you already said you are removing the battery, I would stick it in the back hall or garage and put it on a battery tender.

Before putting it in storage, flush the coolant and brake/clutch fluid. Coolant should be new because it will leave less sludge in the system and you'll have full anticorrosive treatment in it instead of it being partially worn out, and new brake/clutch fluid will have no moisture in it and therefore will not cause corrosion in the brake/clutch systems. I would also lower the pressure in the tires and use jackstands to keep the tires off the ground so they don't have any weight on them. You do want to turn it over once in a while, including the transmission, because it coats all the parts in lube again. I got a d35 off a friend for spare parts a while ago and it had been sitting for 2 years, the top most part of the ring gear had been out of oil for so long that it had all drained off and it was rusted badly enough that it would not turn past that point on the ring gear. Fortunately, the ring and pinion became decorations, not spare parts.

 

[XJ_Vikings]

Thanks for the input guys.

As for the d35, that makes me think of my 44 sitting in the basement. I just finished rebuilding it, fresh internals and everything. Its sitting on jackstands now with no oil in it and I dont anticipate installing it for a year and a half, I should probably fill her up with oil, right? Also, since its on jackstands I can rotate it so that the fill cap is the highest point, is there any downside to filling it with that much oil?

so much for non-tech

 

[kastein]

If you forget and leave it that full when you run it, you will probably blow out the seals. For long term storage I would toss it on jackstands in about the right position, fill it with oil, and give the pinion a half dozen turns every month or two.

You could probably also just spray it with some WD-40 and spin it a few times to cover everything, but I'm not sure if WD-40 evaporates over time. Any kind of light oil should keep the rust away till you use it, really.

 

[87manche]

Thanks for the input guys.

As for the d35, that makes me think of my 44 sitting in the basement. I just finished rebuilding it, fresh internals and everything. Its sitting on jackstands now with no oil in it and I dont anticipate installing it for a year and a half, I should probably fill her up with oil, right? Also, since its on jackstands I can rotate it so that the fill cap is the highest point, is there any downside to filling it with that much oil?

so much for non-tech

Don't forget to block off the intake or things will nest in the airbox, happens every time.

What you need for keeping bare metal fresh in the long term is this:

http://www.schafco.com/cosmoline.asp

sucks to clean up, but will protect the metal indefinitely.

 

[shelbyluvv]

Pull the plugs and spray a little WD-40 in the holes. It will keep the cylinders from flash rusting as well.