Properly Storing a Unused car?

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 02/10/2016 at 10:49 • Filed to: Storing

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Recently it’s come to my attention that having a car sit for a while is not a good thing. My pt has been sitting in this exact spot since July of last year, so my questions are this: 1. Was there anything I could have done to prepare it for sitting this long? 2. What do I need to check to make it road worthy again?

For question 2, I obviously should check the brakes. The tires are practically brand new (yep, I got it new shoes 6 months before it stopped working) so they should be good. I can’t think of anything else at the moment.

It’s probably too late to prepare it for sitting this long (I think), but never too late to known how to make it road worthy again.

Thanks in advance!

Sam > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 10:55

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Check the battery, especially after sitting through winter. My BMW has been... less than happy with sitting.

RockRam > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 10:55

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Proper tune up when you want to make it road worthy again. Why not move on from it though? Not sure if it will be worth the hassle

Party-vi > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 10:55

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1) Put Sta-Bil in the fuel tank. That’s about it.

2) Check your fluid levels, check your brakes, check your tires (probably need air), start it and see if the gas is still good, etc.

TheHondaBro > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 10:56

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The first thing I’d do is either disconnect the negative battery terminal or hook up a battery tender.

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 10:59

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Change the oil before driving it again. Air the tires way way up to help prevent flat spots. Battery tender. Fuel stabilizer.

zeontestpilot > Sam 02/10/2016 at 11:02

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The battery is new (another thing I got new before it died) but it will probably die again from the cold. Hopefully all the cells will remain intact this time...

jariten1781 > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 11:06

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If it’s low on fuel you’re probably ok just diluting with new stuff. If it was pretty full and it ends up sitting for a year or something you’ll want to siphon it out. If it hasn’t been on a tender be prepped to just chuck the old battery, they can be a pain to bring back to life. Any fluid changes you can easily do are a good idea. You can usually get away with just the oil, but changing brake/PS/coolant/ATF is usually wise if a bit overkill. Tires will be flat spotted, usually that'll go away after driving for a bit, but not always. E-brake may be binded all up and could require futzing to get it freed up but I've never had one need to be replaced from sitting.

zeontestpilot > RockRam 02/10/2016 at 11:10

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We haven’t decided what to do with it yet. It needs a new PCM, which will be $700 ( vin specific too, thanks Chrysler!)

We do know it’s history though, it has 103k miles and we bought it with 34k on it. We will probably need a 2nd car soon, and $700 is cheaper than getting another used car. I could sell it, but I’m not exactly sure what it’s worth (KBB says $2400 which is laughably high).

Also, I’m not too eager to sell my first car, but if we need to, I will, -_-. And it’s not financially hurting us. It’s paid off, and we pay $20 more for it on insurance, since the annual mileage was changed to 100 miles a year with just towing (it keeps the tags current too). So it just sits there...gathering dust...

zeontestpilot > Party-vi 02/10/2016 at 11:10

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Is sta-bil a fuel stabilizer then?

zeontestpilot > TheHondaBro 02/10/2016 at 11:12

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Oh, so I don’t have to take it completely out? It’s still in the car, since it’s the only battery i couldn’t remove. I didn't have the right size wrench.

zeontestpilot > Little Black Coupe Turned Silver 02/10/2016 at 11:13

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Will have to get more stablizer then. I ran out of it. Thanks!

Party-vi > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 11:14

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yis

Needmoargarage > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 11:16

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I have too many cars, so obviously some sit for extended amounts of time. Never had any problems with fuel, but stabilizer isn’t a bad idea. Disconnecting the battery isn’t a bad idea as well. Sometimes I will pull it and leave it on a trickle charger.

My biggest concern is usually flat spots on tires. On softer compounds they often won’t entirely go away. That and cold weather and/or heat and direct sunlight aren’t great for sitting tires.

zeontestpilot > jariten1781 02/10/2016 at 11:16

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Fuel should be good I think. I will have to check the other stuff then. Thanks!

TheHondaBro > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 11:17

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You can leave it in, but if you don’t want to buy/use a battery tender, just make sure it won’t lose charge in its down-time. Disconnecting the battery will erase your radio presets, reset the clock, and stop the alarm system. So I’d make sure the car is protected before doing that. If you don’t want to risk it, get a battery tender.

zeontestpilot > TheHondaBro 02/10/2016 at 11:19

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Is there a difference between a battery tender and a float/trickle charger?

vicali > Needmoargarage 02/10/2016 at 11:20

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Back when I had a summer car with nice tires that sat under a foot of snow 8 months of the year I made some quick 4x4 blocks that would go underneath and hold the weight off the tires. They were short enough that the ires just touched the ground- but they wouldn’t flatspot.

Also prevented anyone from stealing it..

zeontestpilot > Needmoargarage 02/10/2016 at 11:22

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Would that concern be the same for new tires? One side rarely sees the sun, the other side sees the sun for half the day. In the pic above, the house is to the west of the car. Ice is a problem because the house blocks the sun for half the day, so the ice slowly melts.

RockRam > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 11:23

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Gotcha. Yea if it’s not a financial burden then go for it. I used to have a Dodge truck that kept nickel and diming me. Many of my friends have had Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep products with bad experiences so I’ve been turned off from them.

Battery, tune up and new fluids should be all you need next time you want to get it roaring. If it misses a bit after that, take a look into replacing fuel pump and filter.

TheHondaBro > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 11:27

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A trickle charger constantly applies a charge, which runs the risk of overcharging and damaging the battery. A battery tender only charges when it drops below a certain voltage and stops once it’s fully charged.

zeontestpilot > RockRam 02/10/2016 at 11:38

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Actually, we got our current car because this one kept breaking down, lol. If we get it fixed, and something major breaks on it (again)....it’s probably going to go....

jariten1781 > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 11:41

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Different circuitry. Trickle charger is a dumb device that just continually charges slowly even once the battery is at max voltage. Tenders monitor battery condition and, depending on their design, will do various charge cycles to prevent overcharging/heating. They’re for batteries that are already in a charged state and good condition; designed to keep them there. You can hook up a tender and just set and forget. Trickle chargers you’re going to want to manually disconnect and reconnect every so often...I don’t see pure ‘trickle chargers’ much anymore and wouldn’t pick one up if you don’t already have one.

There’s also smart chargers which will take a low voltage battery charge it up then maintain it as if it were a tender. They’re more expensive, but it’s what you’ll want if you’re going to try and resurrect a long discharged battery. Come in various degrees of intelligence (dumb charging and simple tending all the way -> full cycle management with specific programs to rehab abused batteries), you’d need to read around about the particular models.

zeontestpilot > jariten1781 02/10/2016 at 11:48

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I have a float charger that is suppose to monitor it after the battery is fully charged.

miadaman? yes please > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 12:13

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Simply consult the Miata community for short term storage tips (short being 1 - 1.5 years IMO).

Longer storage time is a different ball game and involves dramatic consideration when it comes to moisture containment, lubrication, fuel quality etc.

Hope it helps.

zeontestpilot > miadaman? yes please 02/10/2016 at 12:28

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Ha, I’m probably gonna ask in the summer what it takes to get a car that’s been sitting for 20+ years running again. I'll finally be able to open up that garage at the in-laws.... :).

Needmoargarage > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 12:54

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New tires, old tires...probably all tires. I’m more concerned about pricey summer only tires. In your climate, sun is probably not a significant concern. If the tires are all-season or snow, then their temperature range is probably fine for the winter climate.

A general thing to remember is that tires don’t like the freeze/thaw cycle. The tires can dry out so to speak.

Needmoargarage > vicali 02/10/2016 at 12:54

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Smart. I plan to do this next season if I park a car and have no plans to move it all winter.

Rico > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 12:59

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If you can at least move the car back and forth to prevent flat spots on the tires do that for sure or you can also get something like this

miadaman? yes please > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 13:30

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I would be a bit concerned about the quality of gas in your tank and fuel line. Ideally you should put in Sta-bil like many suggested and let the car run. Wouldn’t hurt to squirt some marine oil in each cylinder prior to fire off as well.

zeontestpilot > miadaman? yes please 02/10/2016 at 13:43

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It’s not currently running because the PCM is shorted out, so it won't turn over, :/.

miadaman? yes please > zeontestpilot 02/10/2016 at 13:57

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That’s tough luck. I would put a cover on it, put some laundry drying sheets in engine bay/interior/trunk to prevent rodents nesting. I would also try to clog up openings like intake/exhaust so mice don’t nest.

To prevent flat spot on tires, if you can’t roll the car every now and then I would recommend inflating it to higher pressure.

pip bip - choose Corrour > zeontestpilot 02/11/2016 at 06:17

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get some used tyres , then just sell it on CL.

zeontestpilot > pip bip - choose Corrour 02/11/2016 at 08:17

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Possibly, it would be a shame that these new ones would be wasted though.