Well, I got called up and had to ship out to training on kind of short notice. Then training was extended longer than I was expecting. I orginally took the '99 Corvette to my grand parent's place for out of the way storage. I did not want to leave the car in the area I live in while I was away. I put my CTEK Battery Tender on it, full tank of gas with additive, oil change, mothballs, and put the car cover on it.

So, I fly in last night and take a taxi to pick it back up. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty upon my return. Apparently, it had been in the way so my family moved it. In that process, they undid everything I did to prevent anything from happening to the car.

The battery is dead. It will not even crank from jumping or the CTEK recovery charge.
The rotors are rusted from being rained on and then sitting.
They took the mothballs out when they moved it. I am praying no mice were involved.
Completely flat tire somehow? Even though it was fine when I left.
Bird droppings and dirt that have sat there for awhile.


The car is no garage queen by any means and it gets driven a lot, but going from cared for to abandoned is rough. It is all fixable I guess, but really frustrating since it was all preventable. Part of it was my own stupidity as well for leaving the keys with family.

Any ideas on what else I should look for problem wise? I'm expecting some weird electrical issues based off of other post. Also, going to change the belts out and oil change asap. New tire set ordered and upgrading the key fob/TPMS to the newer as well. On the bright side, I get a reason to order some new stuff!

Any ideas and help are truly appreciated.

 

Sounds like you got it under control and doing all the right things. It sucks when you get deployed all around the world, but something we all have been through before. Just take your lumps and keep your chin up. Remember, you're alive to enjoy those problems as well as the fun stuff.

Hoo-wah!

 

First off; Thanks for your service to this great nation.

Secondly, don't get too worked up about what you might find. Deal with whatever comes up if it comes up.

Sounds like a bath, tires, and a battery and you'll be on your way.

 

Thank you for your Service to our Country and for allowing me the opportunity to remain safe in my home. I agree that the circumstances suck but it doesn't sound like the issues are not "fixable." Can you fix the flat? That would be the first step to get her up and running agin. Next, get the battery replaced and then a car wash and quality detail sounds in order. Rust on the rotors will disappear as soon as you drive a brake a bit. Not sure how long you were gone but paying attention to the fluids may also be in order.

 

Next time I am sure a Corvette friend in the area will keep it for you. I will be keeping a C6 for friends while they go on vacation for a few weeks.

Driving will clean the rotor surfaces. Recommend new battery, you should not have any electrical issues created by a dead battery. Families can be frustrating sometimes, but they are family.

PS: Thanks for your service.

 

thank you for your service.

if you havfe a gel type battery, when they go dead, they look like it's all over for them. this isn't necessarily the case. i had a drain on my 78 pace car (with a newer gel type battery) that caused it to go completely dead to the point that my high end digital battery charger wouldn't even recognize that i had it hooked up to a battery (it is automatic and will switch to charge function from test function on it's own when it is plugged in). i ran one of my other cars into the garage, hooked the running car to the pace car via battery cables and left it that way for about 15-20 minutes. enough to "boost" the battery a bit. at that point, the charge recognized the "dead" battery and switched to charge mode and fully charged the battery. it's worth a try before you go out and sring $100+ for a new battery. if on the other hand it is a regular wet cell, change it out it probably will never hold a full charge again.

 

 

Im sure you plan to wax it after a good cleaning. Thats my suggestion. And armor-all the interior.

 

Sorry about your troubles but as others have said , they are not permanent. I' m sure you will overcome. Thanks too for the service you are rendering to the people of this country. By the way, i went to "a" school in millington while in service and come christmas the folks around millington and memphis were very nice to us military guys, you live in a great state. God bless...........

 

Hey there Memphis !!

From your neighbor here, sounds like all is going to be okay. The static draw on our batteries is large so they don't last very long without a bump or two.

Good luck and maybe we can meet up at one of the local gatherings or with the Corvette Memphis club.

 

Unless you were gone for a really long time, I wouldn't think there is any need to change the oil since you just did it before you left. That is provided the family didn't take the car out for a ride or two. But I guess it couldn't hurt either.