Planning on storing the car for 6-12 months!
 

Hey everyone,

I haven't done something like this in a while.

I plan on storing my baby for the next 6-12 months, and I was wondering what I should do in order to prevent any damage to the car or engine?

I have brand new tires on it, the car is in a garage covered in AZ. It has about 70% oil life left before a change. ( I do it every 5000 miles ).

Any tips, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I'd change the oil, disconnect the battery and maybe even use a battery tender, and add fuel stabilizer. Will you be around to monitor the tender?

Assuming the garage has a concrete floor I would keep put the car on jack stands. Otherwise you will end up with flat spots on your new tires. Otherwise have someone who can move the car around every few weeks or so.
I don't like to keep the battery on a tender in the car. When I store my car I take the battery out of the car and it goes on rotation on a trickle charger with the other batteries.
I don't think it's that important to change the oil before storage. Having some used oil in there isn't going to hurt anything when the engine doesn't run. With that being said I do change my oil before storage so I start every season with fresh oil and don't have to think about forgetting it.
I like to detail my car inside and out before storage, makes it much easier to clean the dust off her when the time comes bring it back out.
Definitely a great idea to use the fuel stabilizer. Just make sure it mixes well with the fuel and gets into the entire system. I add stabilizer to the tank, throw some gas into it, then run the car for a good 5-10 minutes to make sure the stabilizer works in the lines up to the injectors.

Fuel stabilizer and Jack stands to start. Channeling oil not a bad idea if it hasn't been done recently, otherwise not really needed. I won remove/disconnect battery.

Also make sure the gas tank is full, so you don't get any condensation in it or the lines.

After storing my first V6 for 3 years, I'd consider doing some bug spray around the car to prevent spiders or bug nests, same with one of those rodent alarm things.

I will be around the whole time, just not going to drive or register the car for that time being. Its currently on comprehensive insurance only. So lets say i drive it for a mile or so each week is that sufficient to avoid flat spots? At what rate of speed should I drive the car?

I will consider putting on jack stands... Is it bad to start it up once a week and let the engine run for a few minutes? I am just trying to avoid putting miles on the car.

I'd say idling a few minutes a week is bad. The oil won't get warm enough to boil off any condensation that forms.

If you run the engine let it warm up completely. Oil must get to operating temp.

Also if this is a frequent occurrence, here's a convenient but expensive alternative to jack stands.

Race Ramps (RR-FS-10) 10" Wide Flatstopper (Pack of 4) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H5PTQGC..._QUHfwbWECXSZH

Even if your tires develop a flat spot. Driving 5-10 miles will work that out. its not a huge deal.

I wouldn't start up the car on a regular basis, even if you get it up to operating temperature. That's just unnecessary wear on the internal parts as the oil drips off down after sitting for a long time. Jack stands are a bit unnecessary if you can just put it in neutral and push the car a few inches every week. I did that with mine for 2 winters now and never developed flat spots. Put a couple fabric softener sheets on the floor to deter rodents and keep the car smelling nice. Place moth balls around the perimeter of the car. You can put steel wool in the tailpipes to prevent mice from getting in, but I've never done this. Never had a problem with mice when I placed a perimeter of moth balls around the car.

I agree with Coyote5-0, I think starting the car does more harm than good. I agree with the rest of his recommendations, too. I would add that I don't engage the parking brake while the car is in storage, use wheel chocks.

Definatley change the oil and disconnect the battery.
With that much driving on the oil there are contaminates in it that can be corrosive. Fresh oil with a few hundred miles on it is not a serious issue.

Tenders are scary if you are not there to mind them, but your battery will be in better shape if tended. If you do connect a tender it is best to get battery out of the car like said above. Especially if no one is minding the tender.

Like said fill the tank, but I try to only fill with non-ethanol fuel when it sits. I think it is a good idea to run a full tank of non-ethanol fuel through the car to get the ethanol out before storing the car. That ethanol can do nasty things to the fuel when it sits for long periods, especailly for 12 months in AZ heat. Use a fuel stablizer to help keep the fuel at its best.

I agree that lifting the car is a good idea, but modern tires will be ok once driven for a short distance. So it is not really required. Mine has sat with tires on the concrete over the winter for 5-6 months without any issues.

I stored my van for 10 months and I knew that I had an older battery so I did nothing and replaced it after the storage was over.

I put Stabil in the fuel, a full tank, and changed the oil shortly after bringing it back to life. It had 300000 Km's and it lasted to nearly 400000, so storing it did no harm. I started it once a month and let it idle until it was up to operating temperature. I drove it around the cul-de-sac late at night once a month -- just enough to have it do the 1 to 2 shift.

Check out page 258 of your owners manual. Important thing in there: run engine every 15 days to operating temperature ( by fast idle), shift through all gears while engine is running, move the vehicle at least 25 feet every 15 days, add quality fuel stabilizer, change oil and filter, and top off your fuel tank.

A lot of this is excessive in my opinion but hey it's in the owners manual that was created by the people that engineered your car.

I am on the opposite weather side. We are storing mine for the winter. We have it on first plastic on the bottom of the garage floor, then a bunch of cardboard and then carpet. We will add the Staybil when the tank in nearly empty and then fill with non ethanol premium. We have a battery tender. If you take the battery out - it can screw with your electronic systems I have read. We will be there every day. It will be fully detailed and then covered with a custom fit cover - we will have also put steel wool in the exhaust pipes to keep out critters. We will leave it in neutral and will roll it every other week at least 8 inchs so it never sits on the tires in one spot too long - plus we put more air in them as well. First time trying this but a friend does the same thing for his and it works. So....hoping she will come out when the weather is nice and will be none the worse for wear. Have about a week before she goes to bed. LOL Hopefully spring will come early.

PS - we just had her oil changed and her 25,000 mile check-up. She was due almost on the nose.

Stuff steel wool into exhaust and intake openings. Don't forget to account for any rodents that may be around.

At least 100 mph!;)

Why the concerns with a battery tender? I thought the whole idea of a battery tender was to "set it and forget it".

I have a quick connect poking out of my front grill hardwired to my battery and connect it to my battery tender anytime the car will sit for more then a few weeks. Its also sits "unattended" for most of the winter and I have never had any issues.

the 0.0001% chance that any plugged in electronic component could spontaneously ignite.