It's coming to that time of year for all of us convertible owners that live in the colder climates.

I will soon be putting up and storing my olds for the winter. I have never had to store a car before and am looking for some advice because I have received alot of contradictory information on this.

The garage that it will be kept in will be dry. I will also put it up on jack stands for the winter. It will have a car cover on it. I'm also thinking about putting some moth ***** inside to keep any possible rodents away. After, that I am not to sure.

I've been told by some people to drain the oil, others say to leave it in. I've been told to drain the gas tank, others have told me to fill it up and add fuel stabilizer.

The car will be stored in my mother's garage (I just do not have the space) in PA. What I am actually leaning towards is topping up all of the fluids and then having her start it up once a week and let it run for about 20 minutes.

Anyone out there have any other ideas on storing a car for the winter?

 

Jack stands are fine.

Moth ***** are ok, but leave your car smelling for awhile.

Leave all fluids in.

Pour some Stabile in the gas tank.

Personally, I would not start it and run for 20 minutes unless your gonna drive it. You will build up more moisture just running it in the garage.

 

if you have radials for tires i dont see the need to jack it for the winter i dont think the shocks or springs will mind, i'm going to leave the oil in and remove the carb itneeds work anyway , car cover yes...i store stuff on top of my car in the winter my garage is a mess...not sure how to handle any varmints

fogging the engine may be good for some people that dont want to risk starting it in the freezing cold

 

I try to put mine away as late in the year as I can. That usually means October or November and it is usually out in late March but sometime snot until early May. I have never put the car on stands and rarely start it in the winetr. Sometimes I use a battery tender but not always. Between the additives in the gas, new technology in tires and fresh oil change in the fall I don't have any problems. Stabil in the gas wouldn't hurt. I put dryer sheets all over my car - so far those have worked.

 

I always fill the gas tank to try and prevent any moisture building up in the tank over the winter months and top it off with sta-bil. If you have rodent issues like I did last year, I found out that my idea of putting some form of thick fabric in between the carb and the air cleaner is a good idea. Just in case the mice decide to make a home there, nothing they bring in will drop down into the carb. Which I'm glad I did otherwise I would still be pulling insulation out of my intake. Dryer sheets for years worked for me, but for some reason this past winter they got past that, and made a nice nest right next to the moth ***** I put in haha. But never hurts to try at least.

 

"fogging the engine may be good for some people that dont want to risk starting it in the freezing cold"

Maybe I'm showing my idiocy, but what is fogging the engine?

 

Fogging is a spray oil you shoot into the spark plug holes that sticks to the cylinder walls and prevents rust. It tends to produce an unpleasant cloud when you fire it up in spring, but it burns off quick enough.

http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produc...ont%2ffog.aspx

 

You can buy fogging spray at marine shops. Basically lubricates engine internals so it's easier to start up after long storage. You spray down the carb using the last of the can to stall the motor. Makes lots of pretty white smoke.

I just pour some Marvel Mystery oil down the carb... does the same thing.

 

You can buy packs of Damp Rid from Home Depot and throw a pack in the car to help keep moisture and odor down. I've used them in my car and in the trunk as well.

 

Isn't it depressing to be thinking of putting the cars away? I hate this time of year. I keep Teepo out as long as possible, lol. Before I store her in our unattached garage, I have her oil changed. Then I fill the gas tank and add Stabil. I put Bounce dryer sheets in her everywhere, even under the hood. So far, so good! I usually clean and wax her, and condition the rubber around the doors and windows, and the trunk before I cover her up. I leave the battery in her, but I have the quick disconnect on it, so I disconnect it.

Sometimes I go out every 3 weeks or so and start her and let her run about 25 minutes. She always fires right up with no problem! I go through the gears, turn on the AC and let it run a little while, turn on the heat. So far she's been fine every spring when it's time to bring her back out. Our garage is not heated, though last year I did run an electric heater when the temps got down into the teens. She liked that, lol.

 

dryer sheets dont work as mentioned above i found out the hard way too

change your oil

top off all fluids

fill tank and use stabil at 2x reccomended amount

damp rid bags in interior and trunk change 1/2 way thru storage season

dcon works 100% of the time

fill tires to max pressure on sidewall

thick plastic under car to prevent moisture from coming up thru concrete or gravel

battery inside on a trickle charger w float (battery tender or similar)

 

People really overdo this. Park in a decent garage, light car cover, disconnect battery, full tank with stabil, run every month. Start engine, run till warm, roll car back and forth in all gears, rev it some, shut it down. The heat will dry it out and the garage out. Do it on a cold, dry day. I have an unrestored, solid #3 car that has spent the past 25 years living in Indiana garages in the winter, being ran every month. Other than a couple drips, it's perfect.

 

Definitely put something in to keep the vermin away. What I've heard works well is slices of Irish Spring bar soap. Spread a few of those around under the seats, etc. The minty smell repels them.

I've noticed the same thing happens if you put a drop or two of mint extract on various surfaces. We do that sometimes to keep our cats from getting into places we don't want them, and they do stay away. Mint extract and Irish Spring soap won't leave your car smelling like an old clothes closet next spring when you want to get it back out and drive it.

 

And the girls like it too.

 

Hadn't thought of that!

 

I've never heard of the Irish Spring idea. I think that I might give that a try.

One other thing that I have heard (never had to try it though) is putting a small tray of anti-freeze under the car. Supposedly, the rodents are attracted to the sweet smell, come in for a drink, and then go off somewhere else to die. However, my guess is that this is NOT something that you would want to try if you have pet dogs or cats.

 

What about outdoor storage? Neighbor restores cars and he doesn't have the garage facilities to hold all cars, so he shrink wraps them like a boat and keeps his cars outside. Anyone else ever done that?

 

This is the biggest enemy it seems whether you run it or not. Unless the garage is climate controlled , it still gets a small amount of moisture it seems . I stored mine in a local storage site in a garage , and for $130 a month I got to watch moisture build up form on the metal as the weather changed .

edit .... My car is now back at my apartment in a underground climate controlled garage where it's moisture free and happy

 

I wouldn't do this for a couple of reasons.

First, the anti-freeze will evaporate, so the deterrent won't stay there for very long, and you'll be breathing the vapors all the while.

Second, the anti-freeze attracts the rodents, and there is the possibility that the place they choose to go and die is inside your car somewhere since the anti-freeze is right there under the car. What you want is to repel the rodents from your car, so they don't come near it in the first place, and that's the purpose of the foul-smelling (to them) items like soap or dryer sheets or mothballs.

If you want to kill the rodents, then I would get some regular rat poison at the hardware store. It usually comes as solid pellets in little trays that you can scatter around. Put it in places well away from where you want the rodents to die, like in corners out in the garage, around the sides of the house, or wherever so that they're attracted away from your car and living area.

 

Last yr I googled how to get rid of mice. It said to get rid of rodents, put a few drops of peppermint oil on some cotton ***** and spread them around. It seems the mint oil is to strong for they're sense of smell and irritates them. One article said they're allergic to it.

 

I've been using bounce sheets for the last ten years with great success. The key is that the vehicle needs to be rodent free before the sheets go in.
The mint oil does sound like an idea that might be worth trying as well though.

 

This might be a good product when storing a car.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...52434380,d.dmg

 

I get a bunch of these from work that come in our PC boards that ship to us from overseas . I wonder how well these desiccant bags would work too .... and they are free .

 

The material in those can usually be restored to new by baking in a warm oven to drive the moisture out. Slit the bag, spread the beads out in a thin layer on an old cookie sheet, pop into the oven until they change colour and then let them cool, keeping them dry. Pour them back into the bag when cool and tape over the slit, then put them into a ziploc bag with all the air sucked out until the next time you need them.

 

Sounds more like the "shrink-y-dinks" from when I was a kid.

REMEMBER THAT EVERYONE!!! Yes we actually used to put cut out, colored pieces of plastic in the oven on purpose, just to watch them shrink.

AAAHHH The joys of youth.

 

I don't know about shrink-y-dinks .. but I recall putting a bit of broken crayon into small 1" tall plastic bottles and putting them in the oven to soften and deform into the most beautiful (for a kid) art pieces.

 

, yeah I remember them . They tasted terrible from what I can remember also .

 

I don't think they would be effective. That box that your PC boards comes in is very small in volume in comparison to the volume of the interior of a car, including inside and under the seats, plus the garage it's parked in. You'd probably need a couple hundred of these to have any effect, and you'd have to be changing them all the time, rotating in new ones as the old ones became saturated.

Controlling the humidity in a space as large as a typical garage is difficult, especially if it's uninsulated. In that case, I would say it would be close to impossible. Whatever the humidity is outside will be what it is inside. An insulated garage is more doable, but there you'd just want a few dehumidifiers scattered around and running 24/7.

 

Get yourself about three bags of kitty litter and spread it on the ground and park over it. This helps kill the moisture under the car when sitting for a long time.

 

I use a fan that I have on a timer to circulate the air around my car...I run it for about 12 hours just to circulate the air around the car...I park mine on 2 tarps in a dry garage. Use bounce sheets in car.

 

Maybe if you could get a bag big enough to fit your whole car in it

I agree that it would be impossible to keep the moisture out , and you would have to change these bags daily probably . I originally started collecting these hoping they would keep certain areas of the car moisture free , like the trunk pockets , and fender bottoms .... but then I had to store my car in a non-insulated garage for a few months in the spring , and seen moisture on the metal every time I went to check on the car . I realized then there was no way I was going to control that . Now the car is back in a climate controlled under ground parking garage , and all is good . Anyhow , here's a picture of some of the ones I collected so far ....



If anything , I could make some tea with these .

 

The small ones are good for tackle boxes to keep your fishing gear nice and dry. I use the smaller ones from work all the time.

 

Someone made a good point on a similar thread; If the car is on stands you can't get it out in a hurry in a case of fire or flood (you may not have time anyway).

Roger.

 

I'm not a fan of the dryer sheet thing as I found a mouse nest of them in my air cleaner last year. In all honesty I believe they pulled them out of the waste basket next to the car and they had been through the dryer already, still i have no confidence in them anymore...Tedd

 

I don't even go this far. I agree people over do the winter storage. For 30 years, I fill up the tank to eliminate any air space where condinsation can form, pull it into the garage, change the oil, disconnect the battery, hook up the Battery Tender and cover the car. In the Spring, uncover, remove the Battery Tender, hookup the battery and go.

 

You can buy the desiccant bags at most hobby stores I use them in my car. Leave moth ***** on the floor under the car rodents have to travel there first don't put in car to stinky. Fill with gas and add stabil. Put battery tender on cover car done.

 

I don't like unattended battery tenders. I had a friend who used one on his car and the battery went bad it, caused it to gas and leak acid, what a mess.

 

I am going to try a car jacket this year. http://www.carbag.com/ About $220 and comes with desiccant. Drive in and zip up. Keeps all moisture and mice out.

 

looks like a good product

 

I found leaving my hood up keeps the mice out, and I have used the Irish Spring and I have used the antifreeze trick, never found mice in my car but found them dead in the garage. I also fill my tank, and disconnect my battery.