Long term storage in garage - how best to avoid flat spotting tires?
05-27-2018, 08:50 AM
#22
Team Owner
Lots of good ideas here, one more thing is if you can arrange for it to be started occasionally, especially since it's cold, non-climate controlled storage. You wouldn't want some valves open for two years, allowing humidity and things that crawl into the cylinders, you might get grudge rings where rings rust to the cylinders even if you oil them. Even starting it once a quarter year would help. Probable investing in a cheap humidity guage on it's roof as well. Humidity is it's mortal enemy.
05-27-2018, 10:42 AM
#23
Le Mans Master
I'm sure that you're going to get a lot of "push back" over this, but let me say that I agree with you, 100%. I've been storing various cars "for the winter", since the late 1970s, and I've always managed to start them up, and let them run for about 15 minutes, at least twice, during the winter. Gets the oil circulating around, oiling up the various gaskets and seals, helps prevent the valve springs from taking a "set", gets the a/c exercising, the battery charging, as well as giving me a chance to look the car over.
05-27-2018, 03:10 PM
#24
I've been storing cars since 1971, and taught auto mechanics, had 100's of motors apart. If you're not going to let it reach operating temp, DON'T START IT. Honda recommends moving the piston on single cylinder motors to set the piston at TDC so the valves are closed for storage. Can't do that on a V8. Mark Twain said an "expert" was a fool 50 miles from home, lot's of them out there, recliner "experts".
05-27-2018, 03:58 PM
#25
Team Owner
And IMHO, by starting the car 2-3 times during the winter, I circulate oil to the surfaces that tend to bleed it off, therefore, the "dry start syndrome" is potentially minimized.
("apex26", see what I meant??)
05-27-2018, 06:08 PM
#26
Le Mans Master
Our Corvettes have an oil temperature gauge, which conveniently tells us when the oil has reached temperature, to sufficiently "boil off" any moisture. Simply run the engine until it gets to that point. And for that matter, when I drive my car, the oil temp seldom gets over 180-190*, and since water boils at 212*, it appears that I seldom "boil off" the moisture that accumulates in it, regardless.
And IMHO, by starting the car 2-3 times during the winter, I circulate oil to the surfaces that tend to bleed it off, therefore, the "dry start syndrome" is potentially minimized.
("apex26", see what I meant??)
And IMHO, by starting the car 2-3 times during the winter, I circulate oil to the surfaces that tend to bleed it off, therefore, the "dry start syndrome" is potentially minimized.
("apex26", see what I meant??)