My car sits for months at a time. How do I maintain it?

[thescreensavers]

I am unfamiliar with that product, I jus tknow that their diff fluid rocks



seafoam supposedly eats up shit left from gelling gas ETC. so ya know, that would help after its sat.

I agree its not really long enough to worry about it going bad, but I would fill up before I let I sit. but I am used to do that with bikes with metal tanks :biggrin:

Yea so does their Fuel System Cleaner 😀, compare the MSDS of the two, the 20% missing in redlines MSDS, is redlines specialty fluid, it has some lubricant in it but unknown how much.

If you look whats in them you will see why Redline Si-1 is better in the tank then seafoam.

 

[twinrider1]

Modern tires don't flat spot nearly as fast as old tires did, if at all. I'd just put it on a trickle charger and call it a day.

 

[CraigRT]

Redline Si-1 is tons better then seafoam in the gas tank.

If I ever run FI cleaner, which is seldom, I always rock the SI-1

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I would run it almost out of gas before storing it, so your always putting fresh gas in when you return.

Put an extra 10lbs of air in the tires before storing and reduce to normal pressure when you return

Buy a household lighting timer and set it to come on for a couple of hours once a week and connect a 2amp trickle charger to it and connect to the battery upon leaving.

When you first restart the car do a couple of 40-0 quick stops to knock the rust off the brakes

 

[JCH13]

I would run it almost out of gas before storing it, so your always putting fresh gas in when you return.

Put an extra 10lbs of air in the tires before storing and reduce to normal pressure when you return

Buy a household lighting timer and set it to come on for a couple of hours once a week and connect a 2amp trickle charger to it and connect to the battery upon leaving.

When you first restart the car do a couple of 40-0 quick stops to knock the rust off the brakes

Or get a real battery maintainer?

 

[herm0016]

keep the tank full. an empty tank will get condensation and will put water in your gas.

 

[LTC8K6]

He does...

I fill up the gas tank before leaving it.

 

[Vic Vega]

I have a 1960s collector/weekend car which I drive sparingly. I basically don't do anything "extra" to it other than driving it at least once a month. I change the oil twice a year.

 

[datalink7]

I had a question and was going to post a new topic but then saw this one so thought I'd post here.

I have a 2011 BMW M3. I am going to be deployed to in July. Deployment length is undetermined at this time, but it should be no less than 6 months. What precautions should I take? Is it worth the extra cost to fly my father out to me to have him drive it back to his place so he can start it up once a month?

 

[LTC8K6]

Well, it would be much better to have it driven once a month...

Not just started and driven around the block. It needs to be driven for like 20 minutes.

 

[datalink7]

Well, it would be much better to have it driven once a month...

Not just started and driven around the block. It needs to be driven for like 20 minutes.

Yeah I'd probably have him drive it too and from work a few times a month.

And I would trust him with it. When he was in the Army he left his 67 Camaro, which he kept in immaculate condition, with his brother in law while he was stationed in Germany. Sent him home money every month and told him to just drive it once or twice a month.

When he came home he found it totally ruined. His brother in law had driven it everywhere and hadn't maintained anything at all. No oil changes or anything, and had gotten into a few fender benders.

Needless to say, my dad knows how it would feel if I came back and he hadn't taken care of it, so he would take extra good care while I was gone. It would just be a matter of getting him to be able to come out right when I leave which might be a pain.

 

[brblx]

Well, it would be much better to have it driven once a month...

Not just started and driven around the block. It needs to be driven for like 20 minutes.

for 6-12 months of storage, driven around the block is a hell of a lot better than not driven at all.

only issue short drives might lead to is a dead battery. and maybe some condensation in the oil (change it when you get home).

edit: but of course, a long drive would be better. get the tires hot, get the brakes working good, get all the lubricants hot and well=-circulated.