Hey, I'm about to store my first truck, in a non-heated garage. Any tips? I've heard several things like use up most gas and put in sta-bil, or have a full tank with sta-bil? jack up the truck? it has big rally wheels and people have thought that they may not get flat spots. mice protection? I heard fabric softener sheets and irish spring soap? Thanks!
Go by a marine/ boat supply store. They'll have everything you need to store your engine for the winter months.
If it's on concrete-or even a dirt floor, you might want to put a tarp under it to keep moisture from coming out of the ground. I had odd spots on my ceramic coated headers that JetHot told me were from slats leaching out of the concrete with moisture. Fortunately, they came off. I've heard of moth balls to keep away the mice, but I'd still set traps. (Plus it's hard to castrate all those little moths. )
Store for winter? What is that? Ok ,i think i remember that before i moved to texas 30 yrs ago. Just kidding
I park my 55 on 3 tarps, use Stabil with 1/2 tank of gas and throw mothballs in and under the car along with Dampit and put a coat of wax on any chrome just to be sure. Up here the dampness will kill damn near anything so I go overboard to protect it as much as I can
I think the most important are mentioned above - a tarp underneath, stabil in the tank, and something to keep out the mice (dryer fabric softener sheets don't smell as bad as moth balls, and work just as well). also, remove the battery and put it on a trickle charger, and DO NOT put a tarp over the vehicle, unless it is a breatheable one, just to keep the dust off.
I dunno, any car I ever parked for the winter was in worse shape next spring than if I had driven it all year round. Just park it in the garage and drive it around on real nice days.
I can't agree here. I've done mine the same way for the 3 years it's been on the road with no problems yet. No rust or critters or trouble gettin her going in the spring.
put a pint or so of oil thru the carb when shuting the engine down for the winter.it will coat your exhaust from the inside to prevent rust.also helps coat engine internals.
Don't just put the stabil in. Drive it for a wile that will mix the stabil up in the tank and get it into the carb and fuel lines
all good advice, my favorite is texas. I'm really beginning to miss my old home in New Orleans, where I would not need to worry about storage. Thanks!
What's the best thing to use to keep the mice out? last winter the mice made a nest out of the Bounce sheets I put in my 63 Nova.
I just make sure they have strong enough antifreeze for -40 and take the battery out. My cars sit outside all year long and are driven from April until the snow starts staying on the ground. I've never used fuel stabilizer and never had a problem.
for mice-mothballs everywhere, in the car(air it out in spring), under hood, in trunk, on engine. duct tape (few layers) over end of exhaust pipes. tarps are good. push the car back and forth once a month so you don't get flat spots on tires. gas stabilizer.
Store it with a full tank of gas with Stabil. Full tank means less condesation inside the tank while it's stored. Less condensation means less rust forming in the tank. I've had good luck with the "Bounce" drier sheets to keep mice out of my stuff, usually have some mouse poison out too.
I accidently left an overflow tank along the garage wall with about a quart of antifreeze in it most of the winter one year. I went to use it on my Camaro and found five mice had gotten into it and died - couldn't get back out + poisoned. The opening was small enough that a dog couldn't drink it.
I park mine outback under the porch I dont do nothing except start it every 2 weeks and disconnect battery,Its only for a few month's shouldn't get flat spots in tires .I wouldn't cover air good Tarps hold in moisture .
I'm in Minneapolis as well. If your garage is dry and has a concrete floor I wouldn't worry too much about it - fill the tank and pour in some Sta-bil, drive it around a bit to get the stuff circulated and pumped through the carburetor, then pull in the garage and park it. You can disconnect the battery if you like, but assuming you don't have a clock or stereo that will run it down it isn't necessary. The tires should be fine. This is what I've been doing with my cars for 35 years now with no issues. By the way, you don't have any spare IH parts laying around, do you? My brother has a 1950 L-110 that needs plenty of everything.
IF I have the Caddy....it's gonna park in the neighbor's garage.....driven every once and a while......we'll see. Mothballs and dryer sheets witha fresh coat of wax will make it go. Change the oil. 1/2 tank of gas, Stabil, start it every once in a while.....should be fine.
Oh, I wish it were quite so simple....There is more than one version of gas stabilizers out there now. I have both versions of Sta-bil. The regular seems better if you are using it all the time in your gasoline. It does seem to stabilize it by driving out the water, ie allowing less absorbtion of moisture from the oxygen in your tank. But there is a second enzime version that is recommended now for marine engines and is supposed to additionally work on your gas tank AND the gasoline. I've used it in my boat and so far so good. I also am using it in all my yard and farm equipment. If you research the marine sites there is quite a bit of controversy about what exactly is the best method to treat the gasoline today and the Sta-bil folks are going at it hammer and tong with the Startron and Gas Shok folks over which method is best. I dunno. I just want the old Ethyl gas back, but that ain't happnin. http://www.thehulltruth.com/archive/t-245730.html Awfully confusing to me.
I stored two cars for three years once, while I was stationed overseas. As far as keeping the tires off the ground, you want to put about 35 lbs of air in the tires, and jack the car up off the ground WITH the suspension loaded (NOT suspended!!!), just far enough to get the tires off the ground. Use wood blocks, or concrete blocks with wood between the concrete blocks and the metal of the suspension, and let the full weight of the car rest on the suspension like it should. Flat spots are not a concern now. All you guys advising that he should drive it "on sunny days" are obviously forgetting that Minnesota is the KING of salt on the roads, and is one of the worst in the country for soing so! Just because it's a sunny day, does not mean that the salt doesn't magically disappear from the roads. All of the puddles have salt in them. Even on a dry road, they salt is still there, getting in every nook and cranny, ready to start doing damage...especially on that first damp day! So, "just drive it on the sunny days!" is useless advise here.
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