Winterizing my vehicle

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SM
Guest

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:40 am Post subject: Winterizing my vehicle

I am going to keep one of my cars down in the garage over the winter. What should I do ? I heard about same gas stabilizers , and I am a little worry about rusting rotors ( I changed these last summer ). Thanks Chuck Ontario

Full_Name
Guest

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 10:26 am Post subject: Re: Winterizing my vehicle

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 16:56:32 -0800, "SM" <Susanna@rogers.com> wrote:

Quote:

I am going to keep one of my cars down in the garage over the winter.
What should I do ? I heard about same gas stabilizers , and I am a little
worry about rusting rotors ( I changed these last summer ).

Thanks

Chuck
Ontario

Either inflate tires to 50 LBS or remove them from the vehicle to

prevent flat spotting. Place plastic bags over the rotors & tie
tightly to minimize rusting, Use fuel stabilizer in the tank (run
till it's throughout the system). Remove the battery & bring indoors,
place on wood surface (not on bare concrete). remove spark plugs and
squirt oil in each cylinder. Tie plastic bags around throttle body
(Carburetor) and inside exhaust to prevent moisture getting in. Put
vaseline onto chrome surfaces, put a good coat of carnauba wax onto
the paint. Clean and moisturize any leather or vinyl & ideally place
the full vehicle in a plastic bag full of 100% nitrogen gas to prevent
any oxidization.

Or.....

Start it up every couple weeks and drive it down to the store, rinse
it off on it's return to remove salt residue.

I'd do the latter, but I'm lazy & I believe that cars were meant to be
driven.

' Course there's always the option of storing it down in Miami &
flying down to "visit it" every couple weeks when the weather gets too
cold in Canada......

Ken Weitzel
Guest

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 11:15 am Post subject: Re: Winterizing my vehicle

Full_Name wrote:

Quote:

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 16:56:32 -0800, "SM" <Susanna@rogers.com> wrote:

I am going to keep one of my cars down in the garage over the winter.
What should I do ? I heard about same gas stabilizers , and I am a little
worry about rusting rotors ( I changed these last summer ).

Thanks

Chuck
Ontario

Either inflate tires to 50 LBS or remove them from the vehicle to
prevent flat spotting. Place plastic bags over the rotors & tie
tightly to minimize rusting, Use fuel stabilizer in the tank (run
till it's throughout the system). Remove the battery & bring indoors,
place on wood surface (not on bare concrete). remove spark plugs and
squirt oil in each cylinder. Tie plastic bags around throttle body
(Carburetor) and inside exhaust to prevent moisture getting in. Put
vaseline onto chrome surfaces, put a good coat of carnauba wax onto
the paint. Clean and moisturize any leather or vinyl & ideally place
the full vehicle in a plastic bag full of 100% nitrogen gas to prevent
any oxidization.

Or.....

Start it up every couple weeks and drive it down to the store, rinse
it off on it's return to remove salt residue.

I'd do the latter, but I'm lazy & I believe that cars were meant to be
driven.

' Course there's always the option of storing it down in Miami &
flying down to "visit it" every couple weeks when the weather gets too
cold in Canada......

Hi...

Add to that - change the oil before storing it; get the
old acid'y stuff out.

Make sure the antifreeze is good to whatever cold you
expect.

Put a plastic bag around the air intake or carb;
with a couple elastic bands to hold it tightly
sealed.

Put a strip or few of wide duct tape over the cabin
air intakes. Another few pieces to cover the
floor air outlets and dash vents. (for the next unpleasant
reason)

Make darn sure there are no body openings, if there
are seal 'em up real tight! Also, park it over
a solid surface if you can (not grass or dirt)
Had an aquaintance park his summer car in his
backyard. Mice found an opening, built nests;
used his beautiful upholstery for material :(
And somehow found their way into the heater/vent
system. Turning on the fan the next summer just
awful.

Hey, I'm in Winnipeg - so if it goes to Miami
I volunteer to visit it every couple of weeks :)

Ken

451ctds
Guest

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 3:24 pm Post subject: Re: Winterizing my vehicle

JRL wrote:

Quote:

snip
One of the few threads where I agree with everybody !

I'd like to add two pointers, one change brake fluid,
old fluid sits, and percipates out dirt particles, which could cause
trouble next year. Converting to Silicone fluid is an ordeal, but it
does not corrode. I " always " have a car in storage [ summer car,
winter car ] and had too many brake bummers, Silicone solved the problems.

Two ! Clean the glass, I'm not kidding, cars put away with dirty
glass often have " etched " glass when revived later. Clean the inside
glass too. Do it more than once, to be sure all dirt is gone.

I favor jacking and blocking to take " some " weight off
suspension, I put on bald tires, and jack to remove about 1/2 the
weight, letting suspension dangle causes exposed shock rods to rust

Make sure car can breathe, to let out water vapor, spray oil on
parking brake cables, and shift linkage. Spray oil electrical
" snap " connectors too, loosening fan belts is smart too.

Add stabilizer before a short drive to distribute, and burn off
unstabilized gas, I put on a new fuel filter, that I squirt with
stabilizer first, this way carb gets extra stabilizer where it's needed
most, fill tank later with cans.

Occasionally turning engine with breaker bar spreads added oil in
cylinders, and keeps oil seals from sticking. Turn rear wheels to
lube rear end, and keep those seals safe.

I am opposed to the start it up, and drive it up and down driveway,
as that builds up too much moisture in exhaust.

JRL
Guest

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:26 pm Post subject: Re: Winterizing my vehicle

Also to add to that, get a couple bales of hay and generously spread
it around the vehicle. This soak up moisture like crazy.

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 06:15:46 GMT, Ken Weitzel <kweitzel@shaw.ca>
wrote:

Quote:

Full_Name wrote:

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 16:56:32 -0800, "SM" <Susanna@rogers.com> wrote:

I am going to keep one of my cars down in the garage over the winter.
What should I do ? I heard about same gas stabilizers , and I am a little
worry about rusting rotors ( I changed these last summer ).

Thanks

Chuck
Ontario

Either inflate tires to 50 LBS or remove them from the vehicle to
prevent flat spotting. Place plastic bags over the rotors & tie
tightly to minimize rusting, Use fuel stabilizer in the tank (run
till it's throughout the system). Remove the battery & bring indoors,
place on wood surface (not on bare concrete). remove spark plugs and
squirt oil in each cylinder. Tie plastic bags around throttle body
(Carburetor) and inside exhaust to prevent moisture getting in. Put
vaseline onto chrome surfaces, put a good coat of carnauba wax onto
the paint. Clean and moisturize any leather or vinyl & ideally place
the full vehicle in a plastic bag full of 100% nitrogen gas to prevent
any oxidization.

Or.....

Start it up every couple weeks and drive it down to the store, rinse
it off on it's return to remove salt residue.

I'd do the latter, but I'm lazy & I believe that cars were meant to be
driven.

' Course there's always the option of storing it down in Miami &
flying down to "visit it" every couple weeks when the weather gets too
cold in Canada......

Hi...

Add to that - change the oil before storing it; get the
old acid'y stuff out.

Make sure the antifreeze is good to whatever cold you
expect.

Put a plastic bag around the air intake or carb;
with a couple elastic bands to hold it tightly
sealed.

Put a strip or few of wide duct tape over the cabin
air intakes. Another few pieces to cover the
floor air outlets and dash vents. (for the next unpleasant
reason)

Make darn sure there are no body openings, if there
are seal 'em up real tight! Also, park it over
a solid surface if you can (not grass or dirt)
Had an aquaintance park his summer car in his
backyard. Mice found an opening, built nests;
used his beautiful upholstery for material :(
And somehow found their way into the heater/vent
system. Turning on the fan the next summer just
awful.

Hey, I'm in Winnipeg - so if it goes to Miami
I volunteer to visit it every couple of weeks :)

Ken

Hairy
Guest

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 5:41 am Post subject: Re: Winterizing my vehicle

"SM" <Susanna@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:zb2dnUWE5ZVUwj_cRVn-ow@rogers.com...

Quote:

Change oil and filter
Buy bottle of Stabil
Go to gas station and add appropriate amount of stabil
Fill tank
Drive vehicle at highway speeds for 10-15 minutes.
Park vehicle in garage
Hook up maintainer to keep battery charged

Make sure there is no dog food, bird seed, hay, straw or other food that
varmints of any kind would find attractive, in your garage. Place mouse bait
in several locations around your garage.

Optionally, you could bleed the brakes to get out any water that is hiding
in your calipers/wheel cyls. (worthwhile, in my opinion)

I don't know what you could do with the rotors other than removing the
calipers, hanging them with wire, and lightly coating them(the rotors) with
cosmolene. You'd have to be sure to get them squeaky clean with brake clean
in the spring. In my area (SE Iowa), only a little surface rust would form
over a winter and that would quickly be worn off with the first use.

For longer than just over-wintering, there are other steps that should be
taken.
H

S P
Guest

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:42 am Post subject: Re: Winterizing my vehicle

Thanks everybody Chuck

Ken Weitzel
Guest

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:44 am Post subject: Re: Winterizing my vehicle

127.0.0.1 wrote:

Quote:

old wive's tale... batteries last longer in cold than in warmth.
place on wood? why? just leave the battery disconnected in the car

Hi...

You may be right in cool weather; but not in Canadian
kinda cold... :)

What will happen is that the battery will slowly but
surely self discharge; then freeze, warping the plates
and cracking the case.

I second the first suggestion - remove it and bring it
indoors. Store it on wood. And give it a trickle charge
for a few hours once in a while.

Ken

Hairy
Guest

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:44 am Post subject: Re: Winterizing my vehicle

"Ken Weitzel" <kweitzel@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:kavqd.362439$Pl.23330@pd7tw1no...

Quote:

127.0.0.1 wrote:

old wive's tale... batteries last longer in cold than in warmth.
place on wood? why? just leave the battery disconnected in the car

Hi...

You may be right in cool weather; but not in Canadian
kinda cold... :)

What will happen is that the battery will slowly but
surely self discharge; then freeze, warping the plates
and cracking the case.

I second the first suggestion - remove it and bring it
indoors. Store it on wood. And give it a trickle charge
for a few hours once in a while.

Ken

I use maintainers on the vehicles I store over the winter. The batteries
remain fully charged at all times, so there is almost zero sulphation, and
no chance of freezing.
If you do remove the battery, be sure to note the radio unlock codes and the
presets, if applicable.
As far as the advice about storing on wood is concerned, though not an old
wive's tale, it hasn't been valid for about 50 years (since they started
using plastic non porous cases).
H

127.0.0.1
Guest

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:44 am Post subject: Re: Winterizing my vehicle

"Full_Name" <Email@address.com> wrote in message
news:6kh5q09bnc066dtq65cnu6pcjvc4e97t3i@4ax.com...

Quote:

for winterizing, no need to bag the rotors (minor surface rust is
acceptable)

Use fuel stabilizer in the tank (run

Quote:

till it's throughout the system). Remove the battery & bring indoors,
place on wood surface (not on bare concrete).

old wive's tale... batteries last longer in cold than in warmth.
place on wood? why? just leave the battery disconnected in the car

remove spark plugs and

Quote:

squirt oil in each cylinder.

depends on the vehicle (not as easy on minivans)

Tie plastic bags around throttle body

Quote:

(Carburetor)

what's a carburetor?

and inside exhaust to prevent moisture getting in. Put

Quote:

vaseline onto chrome surfaces, put a good coat of carnauba wax onto
the paint. Clean and moisturize any leather or vinyl & ideally place
the full vehicle in a plastic bag full of 100% nitrogen gas to prevent
any oxidization.

Or.....

fill up the fuel tank
disconnect the battery
park it inside your garage

or...

sell it and buy a new car every year

-a|ex

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