Hey All,

So, I've landed a 4-month co-op term in Ottawa. Super excited for that, but a little bummed that I'm going to be leaving my MINI for 4 months.

Any tips on storing it? We plan to get mothball insurance for those 4 months, so it won't be able to get on public roads. Do I need to hook up a trickle charger? Should I store it with a full tank? Does it need to be run once a week (say, let it idle in the driveway for 5 minutes)?

Thanks!

 

shouldnt be too bad for only 4.

maybe some fuel stabilizer

some even put cars up on jacks so the tires dont get flat spots... dunno if that is necessary however...

 

if possibly id have someone start it up once a week. its hard on the gaskets to store a car for months at a time. Also, trickle charge would be nice so that you can start your car when you get back <- i ran into that problem when i was out of the country for a month. My battery actually needed to be replaced because it was damaged due to being stored at 0% charge. granted it was my factory battery goign on 4 years.

 

I've heard not to put it on jackstand because it will screw up your suspension since it will be sitting with no weight on it for 4 months... If you don't want flat spots in your tires you could put something soft and fluffy under them and it should help...

 

Trickle battery charger, inflate the tires to 45 lbs., put some fuel stabilizer in the tank and top it off...wash and cover. You also might want to change the oil too. It will be ready to rock & roll next spring.

 

I saw once in a catalog, a parking mat that was said to eliminate tire flat spots. But now I can't find the catalog and I can't find anything online either.

 

Being that I have stored cars three times and have a little experience. Disconnect the battery, put it up on jack stands with wheels off, wash & wax, cover, change oil, fill tank up & add fuel stabilizer. When you get back there is going to be surface rust on the rotors, all you will do is ride the brakes for a few hundred yards and it will be gone. Also do a thorough cleaning of the interior and add some kind of cleaner/protection to the inside. 4 months won't be too bad on the car. Also you might want to have it serviced when you get back where they flush everything and replace all of the fluids. Good luck.

 

Best answer. You could probably get by doing almost nothing for 4 mos, but this is cheap insurance. DON'T have someone periodically start the car and not drive it - all you're doing is making sure your oil gets periodically contaminated with a lots of water and raw fuel with no chance to evaporate it by getting the oil up to temperature long enough to evaporate it.

- Mark

 

^^makes sense!

heck when i worked at a car dealership there were cars that sat for at least that... sometimes new ones.... then when it came time to actually move them im certain they werent warmed up or anything...just driven. Nothing bad ever happened... any slight flat spots did drive out just fine.

 

I live in central NY and only drive my 03 MCS in the non snow and salt seasons. Every year since was brand new I have had the oil changed, filled the gas to the top with stabilizer, check tire pressure, washed and dried. I then park it in the garage on plastic, put a good trickle charger on it and put a cover on it. Without fault I have started the car and driven it out every year so far on the original battery. I did change my battery this summer, only because I thought it was getting old.

 

I store my s2000 every winter and this is what I do:
1. Oil change
2. Get a full tank of gas
3. Hook up a battery tender
4. Walk by the car everyday and wish I was driving it instead of my daily driver

 

It's extremely hard to flat spot modern tires. I wouldn't worry about it. However, I would worry about fuel going bad and the battery draining.

Fuel: Simply fill the tank and put in the appropriate amount of Stabil. Then do a few twisties to slosh it around and put enough miles on it to make sure that the treated fuel in the tank get's all the way to the engine.

Battery: Buy a Battery Tender. It's a "smart" charger and will not damage your battery by leaving it connected. Do NOT use a charger that can't sense the level of charge in the battery and adjust accordingly. You'll end up with a fried battery.

There's absolutely no need to fire up the motor from time to time. The seals are not going to go bad. And running it for only a short period of time can actually cause more problems than it cures. First of all, starting it will drain the battery a bit and it takes more than just 10 or 15 minutes of running to charge it up again. Also, unless the engine get's fully warmed up, you'll just end up with more condensation in the motor which means more rust.

Park it after treating the fuel, hook up your Battery Tender, and that's it.

 

I should add that the typical trickle charger is not a smart charger. And given enough time, they can actually damage the battery. Always, always use a smart charger if you're not going to be around to monitor the battery and remove the charger when necessary.

And, as someone else mentioned (and I forgot), a fresh oil change is not a bad idea.

 

Does all this apply to storage lengths of 1+ year(s)?

 

Thanks for all the tips! This is probably the route I'm going to go:

- Full tank of gas with stabilizer
- Make sure tires are fully inflated
- Buy a battery maintainer from Canadian Tire
- Good wash and wax
- Mothball insurance

I probably won't bother with the jack stands. Oil was changed about 1500 km ago, so I think it should be alright.

I might pick up a car cover. It's garaged so I don't think this is that important.

Is there any specific reason for disconnecting the battery? Or can I just leave it hooked up and connect the battery maintainer?

Anyone know the best way to prevent rodents from getting in? Last spring I found a nest in my mom's Civic--really lucky they didn't do damage to the wiring, though, I suspect this is what caused the demise of my dad's Odyssey.

 

A ring of touching mothballs on the floor around the entire car. I pretty sure that mice don't like mothballs and won't cross over them. Mothballs make me sick though, so I wouldn't do this. Maybe you can seal up the garage from rodents somehow.

 

I leave my battery hooked up. The charger I have is from BMW and just gets plugged into lighter recepticle in the boot. Putting the cover on it just keeps the dust off and makes it a little easier to walk by in the garage every day. I actually set the charger on the roof of the car, run the wire through the antenna hole and into the car through a slightly open sunroof. It helps my MINI has factory nav, so theres no antenna to get in the way.

 

People worry about battery chargers frying their electrical systems, but a smart trickle charger (e.g., Battery Tender) never gets above 14.5V or so, which is about what your car's electrical system peaks at when charging. I've used smart chargers on tens of vehicles, new and old, and never had a problem leaving the battery connected during charging.

- Mark

 

That's the trick. Using a smart charger. They'll actually shut off and simply monitor the battery voltage until it drops again, at which time it will start charging again.

Leaving the battery hooked up maintains all kinds of computer settings and your radio presets and stuff. If you get a smart chager you can just leave it hooked up and not have to reprogram anything.

 

I would not disconnect the battery.....a few people have stories about getting their cars towed to the dealer after their cars were stored too long with a dead battery.....they had to have their engine imoblizer reset...maybe it does not happen often...but if it is you....it would suck!! Just use a smart charger/battery matainer, and all should be fine electricly. Fuel presevertive is also a good idea.... Even for only 4 months.

 

I'd say get someone to do a buzz on the highway for 20 to 30 minutes every 2 weeks or so. The problem with no running is that all the oil drains down to the pan for the engine and in the bottom for the gearbox. The block and head are aluminum. I would assume that the gearbox casing and diff housing are also. But, they all contain lots of steel parts. Once everything drains down to the bottom, they are unprotected and can rust.

 

...yeah, not a problem, but the thing is I'm thinking of switching it to mothball insurance. $120/month vs. $15/month.

What do you guys think--is there a serious risk that the oil will drain down in 4 months? I had to leave the car undriven for 1.5 months last winter (Vancouver snowstorm of '08) and it was fine, but I'm not really knowledgable in this area.

If the risk of damage from sitting still is high though, I don't mind paying the extra $105/month.

 

4 months is not that long. IMO you are fine with not running it. I would b more worried about the mice....you might want to take measures to deter them...maybe an ultrosoic buzzer in the garage and a few bags of mouse/rat poison would do the trick.

 

The mothballs thing is pretty much of an urban myth. I've read reports from animal control companies that say they've found mouse nests full of mothballs.

Mice don't like snakes though. But I have no idea how you'd get a snake or two to come and live in your garage...

--
Darryl

 

Great and valuable thread. I've got a couple of questions:

1. What does filling the tank up do? In other words, why is half full not as good as full?

2. If I unhook the battery, what will I have to do when I hook it back up? Earlier posts suggest that I could run into problems...

Thanks for all the help!