Winter garaging tips
Iron
10-30-2005, 03:12 PM
It's about that time where I put my car into hibernation for the cold snowy salty rocky winter :(. I've never garaged a car before, so I know the basics of storage, but I'm looking for some good advice on garaging a car(fluid-wise and etc). Also anyone know a good fuel stabilizer? thanks in advance
CamarosRsweet94
10-30-2005, 03:17 PM
Stabil, or Sea Foam for stabilizers. I usually try to make sure I have fresh oil in it before I park it just because. This is pretty elementary but make sure you disconnect the battery otherwise it'll be useless when you take it out in the spring.
Mr. Luos
10-30-2005, 03:23 PM
I try to drive mine around the block once a month when it is garaged.
cuda_dude
10-30-2005, 03:45 PM
and if you can't drive it atleast start it once a month or so..... I try to do that with all of my seasonal toys... it gets everything relubricated and back into shape....washing it before storing it is also a good idea.... and a good car cover...
philly rs
10-30-2005, 06:01 PM
awww u guys have to put your cars away for months at a time that sucks. when down here in the sunshine state u can cruise all year round. i hate snow
Matt365
10-30-2005, 06:02 PM
^ ^ same. love being able to cruise all year round.
Dober89
10-30-2005, 06:14 PM
I park my car and dont start it up for the 6 or 7 months its put away. I figure one dry start is better than alot of them. You can put a bit of oil into the spark plug holes to help the inital start up a bit.
I use stabil and some gas line antifreeze, also fill the tank up before you park it so theres less room for moisture and stuff inside the tank.
A little dish of baking soda helps with moisture inside the car too.
Steel wool, and Bounce sheets are supposed to keep rodents away too.
I use stabil and some gas line antifreeze, also fill the tank up before you park it so theres less room for moisture and stuff inside the tank.
A little dish of baking soda helps with moisture inside the car too.
Steel wool, and Bounce sheets are supposed to keep rodents away too.
silicon212
10-30-2005, 07:57 PM
You can put a bit of oil into the spark plug holes to help the inital start up a bit.
That doesn't do anything aside from possibly fouling the spark plugs upon startup. The area that needs to be watched is the bearings and you can't get to those through the upper cylinder.
I'd put a bottle (can) of STP in the oil, drive it around a day or so, and then park it. The STP won't drain from the bearings the way oil does - indeed, I've used STP as assembly lube on engines I've built before. Sticks on and stays for millennia. Lucas oil treatment works too.
If you're really paranoid about a dry start, you can take the distributor out and install a "pre-oiler" - a tool you can buy from Autozone, or create from an old distributor - chucked to a drill set to clockwise rotation and spin it for a few seconds to send oil through the engine, even up to the rockers. Just note the rough location of both the distributor body and the rotor, to reassemble properly - and make sure the tang on the bottom of the shaft properly indexes the oil pump driveshaft.
That doesn't do anything aside from possibly fouling the spark plugs upon startup. The area that needs to be watched is the bearings and you can't get to those through the upper cylinder.
I'd put a bottle (can) of STP in the oil, drive it around a day or so, and then park it. The STP won't drain from the bearings the way oil does - indeed, I've used STP as assembly lube on engines I've built before. Sticks on and stays for millennia. Lucas oil treatment works too.
If you're really paranoid about a dry start, you can take the distributor out and install a "pre-oiler" - a tool you can buy from Autozone, or create from an old distributor - chucked to a drill set to clockwise rotation and spin it for a few seconds to send oil through the engine, even up to the rockers. Just note the rough location of both the distributor body and the rotor, to reassemble properly - and make sure the tang on the bottom of the shaft properly indexes the oil pump driveshaft.
R.OConnor
10-30-2005, 10:38 PM
Im in seattle so I dont have to garage mine, it just becomes a several month long slip-n-slide fest
88camaroproject
10-30-2005, 10:55 PM
im in florida woooo!!!
Iron
10-31-2005, 12:26 AM
im in florida woooo!!! you also smell bad.
thanks for the quick/useful replies, the Camaro forums are one of the bitchenest places to ask a question.
thanks for the quick/useful replies, the Camaro forums are one of the bitchenest places to ask a question.
Rally Sport
10-31-2005, 12:26 AM
Im in seattle so I dont have to garage mine, it just becomes a several month long slip-n-slide fest
That must be fun! But yeah me being in Texas means I drive whatever all year round.. but not like it matters since my daily cruiser is front wheel drive :mad:
That must be fun! But yeah me being in Texas means I drive whatever all year round.. but not like it matters since my daily cruiser is front wheel drive :mad:
Genopsyde
10-31-2005, 12:39 AM
and if you can't drive it atleast start it once a month or so..... I try to do that with all of my seasonal toys... it gets everything relubricated and back into shape....washing it before storing it is also a good idea.... and a good car cover...
i read that starting it like that causes condensation.
i read that starting it like that causes condensation.
J.Cutta
10-31-2005, 07:37 AM
Why are guys so happy to be fl. How many hurricanes did u guys have to run from?
ZL1power69
10-31-2005, 07:53 AM
I was about to ask the same question, lol. i know i lost count. i'd be woring about the garage blowing away.
Rally Sport
10-31-2005, 09:09 AM
Thats why im happy to be in Texas.. dont git many of those hurricanes..
Xenostalgia
10-31-2005, 11:20 AM
I'm in california, it gets like 60 degrees and I turn on the heater :P
cuda_dude
10-31-2005, 11:26 AM
you babies.... it was like 30 degrees here the other day and i was walking around outside in a t-shirt....
KPot2004
10-31-2005, 11:33 AM
lol same here, i was just up north last weekend and it was like 20 at night and all i had was a sweater.
SG007
10-31-2005, 12:16 PM
it's getting cold already. NJ winters suck.
Link85x
10-31-2005, 12:47 PM
It just snowed this past Saturday. Sucks.
Xenostalgia
10-31-2005, 12:50 PM
whats snow?
SMOKINGZ28
10-31-2005, 12:55 PM
whats snow?
I've never heard of such a thing?
I've never heard of such a thing?
DVS LT1
10-31-2005, 01:30 PM
Don't wash your car and then immediately store it - its still wet. You have to drive it or leave it out for a day or two so that all the moisture goes away.
Years ago I would start her up for about 10 minutes every 1-2 weeks but then I realised (and read) that in very cold climates the condensation does become an issue. So now she sits for the 6-7 months. Disconnect the negative battery terminal at the very least - I take the whole battery out and store it in a semi-heated area of the garage... come May she starts instantly.
I've read some really crazy tips where as somebody mentioned take out the spark plugs and pour oil down there (ya like why?). I also heard about disconnecting the ignition wires from the sparkplugs and taking out the fuses for the fuel injectors - that way you go to crank and no spark or fuel happens but the oil pump starts circulating throughout the engine.
Can't be bothered to go that far lol... storage for me is to keep the mody body in mint condition - engine will get rebuilt eventually anyways.
Years ago I would start her up for about 10 minutes every 1-2 weeks but then I realised (and read) that in very cold climates the condensation does become an issue. So now she sits for the 6-7 months. Disconnect the negative battery terminal at the very least - I take the whole battery out and store it in a semi-heated area of the garage... come May she starts instantly.
I've read some really crazy tips where as somebody mentioned take out the spark plugs and pour oil down there (ya like why?). I also heard about disconnecting the ignition wires from the sparkplugs and taking out the fuses for the fuel injectors - that way you go to crank and no spark or fuel happens but the oil pump starts circulating throughout the engine.
Can't be bothered to go that far lol... storage for me is to keep the mody body in mint condition - engine will get rebuilt eventually anyways.
Xenostalgia
10-31-2005, 01:32 PM
The coldest it gets for me is like 40, maybe 30 once.
1986Z28
10-31-2005, 02:21 PM
im in florida woooo!!!
yes you smell
yes you smell
cuda_dude
10-31-2005, 02:28 PM
what are these things i hear of? huricanes? earthquakes? i know of no such things.....
And as DVS said about the spark/fuel less start i've also heard about that being a good thing to do
And as DVS said about the spark/fuel less start i've also heard about that being a good thing to do
Link85x
10-31-2005, 02:31 PM
whats snow?
It's the white stuff that falls from the sky and it rhymes with bliow, which is also white. Just look in the freezier, the white icy stuff you see in there, kinda like snow.... (lucky bastards...)
It's the white stuff that falls from the sky and it rhymes with bliow, which is also white. Just look in the freezier, the white icy stuff you see in there, kinda like snow.... (lucky bastards...)
cuda_dude
10-31-2005, 02:40 PM
I like snow....
Xenostalgia
10-31-2005, 02:52 PM
Oooh the white icey stuff outside my triple frappamocha cappacino :/ why didn't you say that
SG007
10-31-2005, 03:04 PM
Oooh the white icey stuff outside my triple frappamocha cappacino :/ why didn't you say that
:greddy2:
:greddy2:
carbuzzard
10-31-2005, 03:18 PM
I try to drive mine around the block once a month when it is garaged.
I hope you live on a biiiiig block. Better is to wait for a dry day, preferably a warmer one, and take it out and drive it until it is thoroughly warmed up and then some. The idea is to get the exhaust system completely dried out. If you just drive it "around the block" you're just putting enough moisture in the exhaust system (water is one of the products of combustion) to cause it to rust. Mufflers will actually rust out on the top side is you do that.
Don't run the car in the garage with the garage door open (and don't run it with the garage door closed either--duh--though I've been told that a modern engine won't make enough CO to kill you, but I wouldn't want to try). With the door open, there will be humidity added to the air inside the garage and that will mean your car is getting moisture added.
Moisture is a killer for cars. And not just rust. More likely these days is mold. The ideal situation is to keep your car in a warm (60 degrees or so) dry garage with little in the way of temperature swings. Every time you warm and cool a car, condensation can form.
Keeping a car in a barn is probably the worst thing you can do, that and keeping it in a dirt (or similar) floor. Think of the omnipresent damp.
Oh, and make sure your car is safe from critters. Got mice? I'd keep a baited mousetrap under the hood just to catch the critter before he made desert out of my electrics etc.
A slow battery charger is better than disconnecting the battery. And make that car cover breathable. You want one that will keep the dust off the car, not trap moisture under it.
If you're taking a car out in a salt environment, don't keep it in a heated garage. That will only speed up any corrosion (warmer means faster chemical reactions).
I hope you live on a biiiiig block. Better is to wait for a dry day, preferably a warmer one, and take it out and drive it until it is thoroughly warmed up and then some. The idea is to get the exhaust system completely dried out. If you just drive it "around the block" you're just putting enough moisture in the exhaust system (water is one of the products of combustion) to cause it to rust. Mufflers will actually rust out on the top side is you do that.
Don't run the car in the garage with the garage door open (and don't run it with the garage door closed either--duh--though I've been told that a modern engine won't make enough CO to kill you, but I wouldn't want to try). With the door open, there will be humidity added to the air inside the garage and that will mean your car is getting moisture added.
Moisture is a killer for cars. And not just rust. More likely these days is mold. The ideal situation is to keep your car in a warm (60 degrees or so) dry garage with little in the way of temperature swings. Every time you warm and cool a car, condensation can form.
Keeping a car in a barn is probably the worst thing you can do, that and keeping it in a dirt (or similar) floor. Think of the omnipresent damp.
Oh, and make sure your car is safe from critters. Got mice? I'd keep a baited mousetrap under the hood just to catch the critter before he made desert out of my electrics etc.
A slow battery charger is better than disconnecting the battery. And make that car cover breathable. You want one that will keep the dust off the car, not trap moisture under it.
If you're taking a car out in a salt environment, don't keep it in a heated garage. That will only speed up any corrosion (warmer means faster chemical reactions).
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