Storing the stang soon, any advice???

[STNG_96]

Ok, I'm 18, and will soon be going to college about 4 hours away, and I am leaving my car, just because I dont want to put the miles on it, since there still pretty low. Anyways, what do I need to do to store the car properly, for the duration of the school year. I will be bringing it back out durring the summers, but durring school its going to hibernate. It will set inside a garage covered, most likely on stands, but other than that, Im open for suggestions.


thanks

 

[bdcardinal]

take tires off and keep in a cool dry room. put bags over the brakes to prevent rust. take out the battery and leave on a trickle charger. have someone start the car once a week for about 10 minutes, let it idle, then slowly raise the revs, up to about 3500ish then go back to idle. also you have to replace at least the engine oil after coming out hibernation. if possible, try to get someone to drive the car for one day a month. you dont want all the fluids to sit dormant for too long.

 

[HoustonGT]

My advice would be to have your mom or dad drive the car or at least start it every once in a while to keep the fluids circulating.

 

[Chopper1]

The best,and easiest,thing is to do is to have a trusted family member drive the car about an hour every month.This heats up all the fluids and boils any water or acids out of the oil in the engine.Still,you will have to change the oil every three months or so.This is the lifespan of the additives in the oil,not the lubricating qualities.If the fluids are not circulated the seals that are lubricated will dry out and fail.This includes the air conditioning compressor.

 

[JohnyD05]

Give me the keys, and I will drive it till you get back from school, I will even pay for gas

 

[Kilgore Trout]

This is in your owner's manual, read it...

 

[JohnyD05]

This is in your owner's manual, read it...

why do u always chime in with the obvious answer, maybe he wants to see if anyone has any better way of doing it!? give the guy a break.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

So are you recommending not reading the owners manual??? I "chime in" with what I think is appropriate and will continue to do so. That is all.

 

[JohnyD05]

So are you recommending not reading the owners manual??? I "chime in" with what I think is appropriate and will continue to do so. That is all.

I never said either of those things, good advice, I didn't know it was in the owners manual. My car has been sitting since december, I have the car started once a week by my dad. and then he drives it up and down the driveway maybe once a month. The brakes i find get a little surface rust but that comes off pretty quick, I do an oil change before I store it and then usually soon after it goes back on the road. I hear the acidity in the oil level goes up from sitting or something, I doubt that is true, but its cheap insurance. I usually keep a car cover on it to protect the paint and keep dust and stuff off. I also add gas stabilizer when It goes in the garage and I put a fresh tank in when it goes back on the road. thats about it, My dad puts the battery charger on every once in a while to keep the better full of juice, so it doesn't get ruined.

 

[JohnyD05]

I do this in the winter, its a good way to keep the milage low, and for me living in the northeast, to keep the car out of the snow and salt. Plus you save on gas and insurance,. but you are going to wish that you could drive it, I reccomend going for a long ride before you put it away, kind of like break up sex. Its also an inventive to do good in school

 

[V8SRGRT]

During the winter i stored my 04....i never started it all winter long. took the battery out, I got some old carpet and laid it on the floor under the car so moisture would be blocked from the underside of the car, jacked it up just high enough to get the tires off the ground and put jackstands on all 4 corners, i left the windows cracked and put a bar of soap inside the car the keep the bugs out and put snuggle dryer sheets under the hood for the same reason. A full tank of gas with some sta-bil also helps. Cover it with a GOOD car cover or at least clean flannel flat sheets. After sitting there 5 months it started up great the 1st time, no problem. I pulled the fuse for the fuel pump before the first start to let the starter crank it for about 15 seconds to circulate the oil onto the internal parts without it cranking up to idle speed in a few seconds and i also changed the oil before the 1st start. I have to agree with other fellow stangers though....I would have a trusted family member take it out every once and awhile to get it up to operating temp. and store it during the winter.

 

[STNG_96]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone, and thanks for the support johny. I have read the owners manual on storing the car, and as you said, I was just curious if anyone had anything they did for their cars that they thought worked better.