Storing a car (for an extended time)

[OVerLoRDI]

So the saga of the 95 E34 540i/6 continues.

My free garage parking is disappearing. I adore the car and am not willing to part with it for its street value, which is around the 5-6k range, possibly lower. It is in pretty darn good shape and it costs me very little to keep, so I'll hold on to it and maybe do a full restore or LS engine swap on it later in life. For now though, it is going to storage. Found a location that is covered and incredibly cheap ($20/month). I have a car cover and the location where I'll be storing it is in the Central Valley of California, so crazy weather isn't really a concern.

My questions are:
Mechanically, what do I need to do to properly store the car? I don't plan on driving it or using it for a year or more (At least) Google has provided some good general advice (new fluids, give it a serious wash and wax, car cover, remove wiper blades, disconnect battery, etc)

Insurance/registration wise what is a good idea? Once the registration is up, I'll register it non-operable, but what should I do with the insurance?

Any experience you guys might have would be appreciated.

 

[DaTT]

Full tank of gas, keep fire and theft on it for insurance. Some will say to disconnect the battery, but I never did while storing my Mustang. I usually started it at least once a month and let it run until up to operating temperature. If possible, drive it around the parking lot to keep the brakes from seizing.

That is what i would do and be fairly confident that nothing major would happen. You'll also what to air it out from time to time.

 

[jana519]

Just give the engine a good motor flush and fill it with clean oil before storing. That way you won't have toxic engine byproducts standing to fume in the crankcase. Also marine supply stores sell gasoline additives which can help keep the gasoline from gumming up and make it easy to start.

 

[NutBucket]

How long term are we talking?

 

[cabri]

How long term are we talking?

I don't plan on driving it or using it for a year or more (At least)

If you know you will not be driving it; potentially put the vehicle up blocks to relieve the tires.

 

[tortillasoup]

Full tank of gas, keep fire and theft on it for insurance. Some will say to disconnect the battery, but I never did while storing my Mustang. I usually started it at least once a month and let it run until up to operating temperature. If possible, drive it around the parking lot to keep the brakes from seizing.

That is what i would do and be fairly confident that nothing major would happen. You'll also what to air it out from time to time.

Great way to kill a battery and pollute the oil in the engine. Either disconnect the battery or put a battery tender on it. Cars with alarms and computers will kill that battery mighty quick. In about a year's time, the battery will be completely destroyed due to deep discharge and charging.

As for idling the engine until warm up, that doesn't get out the moisture from the oil nor burn off any fuel the oil got contaminated with during startup. Either drive the damn thing or don't do anything at all but this "in between" is a great way to get lawnmower syndrome.

 

[LTC8K6]

If you can, the best thing to do would be to drive it for 30 minutes once a month.

 

[jagec]

disconnect the battery AND put a battery tender on it.

FTFY. Lead-acids spontaneously discharge, and when discharged will sulfate, leading to a permanent loss of capacity. Just disconnecting it won't save it in a long-term storage situation.

 

[tortillasoup]

FTFY. Lead-acids spontaneously discharge, and when discharged will sulfate, leading to a permanent loss of capacity. Just disconnecting it won't save it in a long-term storage situation.

with no load, lead acids do discharge but kept in 50-70f temps, their self discharge is like 1-2% per month, not really a big deal. Now if OP is going for a LONG LONG time, then yeah a desulfating battery tender would make sense like a Batteryminder. Cost of electricity should be noted though as keeping the battery on a tender for an extended period of time (more than a year) could eventually exceed the cost of a battery depending on electric rates and cost of the battery.

 

[Samus]

with no load, lead acids do discharge but kept in 50-70f temps, their self discharge is like 1-2% per month, not really a big deal. Now if OP is going for a LONG LONG time, then yeah a desulfating battery tender would make sense like a Batteryminder. Cost of electricity should be noted though as keeping the battery on a tender for an extended period of time (more than a year) could eventually exceed the cost of a battery depending on electric rates and cost of the battery.

I stored a 1982 Mercury Capri from 2007-2013.

I put the vehicle on jack stands at all four corners.

I let air out of tires to about 10PSI.

If you have air suspension, completely drain the air to prevent moisture buildup.

Disconnect battery completely and put on a battery tender, float charger, etc. If you don't do this, you will need a new battery within a year, especially if you live in a four-season climate. If you have a serviceable battery, there are additives you can add to the electrolytes that reduce corrosion during storage. The additive is about $10 and commonly used in motorcycle applications.

I put in FRESH 70% antifreeze/30% water mix just incase it got WAY below zero. Some people drain the system completely, but in my case I had a cast block. If you have aluminum heads and block, consider draining the cooling system.

I sprayed the rotors with cleaner, wiped, and spun the wheels a few times.

Power steering systems and automatic transmissions don't need any attention. If possible leave the vehicle in neutral, especially if a manual, so you don't wear any return springs of shift linkages.

DO NOT engage the parking brake for extended periods.

Depending on the interior, you may want to use mothballs or pine wood slats. Mine was "hemp" so it was a minor concern. I made the car interior mostly airtight by sealing the heater core with plastic wrap. The doors actually made a vacuum sound when I opened them. There will be little nooks and crevices but the point is to keep out moisture.

Use white lithium grease on linkages such as throttle body, kickdown cable, clutch cable (if mechanical) and the hood latch cable. Tension these cables a few times after applying grease.

Fuel system steps:
Drain the carb, lines, tank of fuel (I used a mityvac since I only had about a gallon left in the system)
Air everything out/wait a day for natural evaporation
Seal the filler cap with an unbreathable type or a nitrile glove wrapped wrist-end around the filler
Plug the carb line coming from the fuel pump
Spray starter fluid mist into the intake and use simple Nitrile glove, again wrist-end over the intake.
*If your intake is too big, they sell nitrile mats that will work well for it. This keeps moisture out of the engine intake.

Overall this process takes about 6 hours. If you're storing a car for 6-7 years, though...who cares? When you're done throw a NICE, HEAVY, CLOTH car cover over it, perhaps with a drivers door cutout (so you can easily get inside to check on things and dream of the next time you'll drive.)


Before driving it, I changed the oil, checked all fluids, set the coolant to 50/50, filled tires, air suspension, A/C, sprayed starter fluid into the intake, added FRESH fuel with a few ounces of Seafoam, checked torque of everything (spark plugs, bell housing\driveshaft bolts, lugs, etc) and slowly applied and released all cables from clutch to throttle a dozen or so times.

It started right up. I've been driving it since Spring. The only thing I ended up doing a few weeks ago was bleeding the brakes since the fluid absorbed water somehow. Nothing is perfect. The brakes were just super spongy. But at least they didn't freeze up! In hindsight, I should have bled the brakes to pull fresh fluid into the calipers before storage.

 

[tortillasoup]

I haven't even begun to respond to that shit you just wrote but the most egregious and ridiculous thing I read was the fact that you released the R134a into the atmosphere, a crime, because you erroneously thought that's the proper way to put a vehicle into storage based upon who knows what.

 

[boomerang]

If you know you will not be driving it; potentially put the vehicle up blocks to relieve the tires.

Yes, we spent the winter out of state and in three months the stored cars got flat spots on their tires. Driving them corrected the problem after a few weeks. But I was surprised how much vibration there was after only three months.

 

[DaTT]

Great way to kill a battery and pollute the oil in the engine. Either disconnect the battery or put a battery tender on it. Cars with alarms and computers will kill that battery mighty quick. In about a year's time, the battery will be completely destroyed due to deep discharge and charging.

As for idling the engine until warm up, that doesn't get out the moisture from the oil nor burn off any fuel the oil got contaminated with during startup. Either drive the damn thing or don't do anything at all but this "in between" is a great way to get lawnmower syndrome.

My car runs great. I have only replaced the battery once, when it was 6 years old.

 

[tortillasoup]

Yes, we spent the winter out of state and in three months the stored cars got flat spots on their tires. Driving them corrected the problem after a few weeks. But I was surprised how much vibration there was after only three months.

There are kinda two ways to handle the flat spot issue (prevent it). First add lots of air to the tires, like max pressure. I've parked a car for 5 years with the tires @ max rated pressure and the flat spots they had were minor and "ironed themselves out" after a few miles of driving.

The only other idea, though untested is to drive a short distance with the tires underinflated so they get warmed up, then to overinflate them and drive them a few miles in the hope it stretches the tires out and gets rid of the flat spots. Never had to try that though cause when I store my vehicles they've always got more than sufficient pressure in their tires. I don't even bother putting them on jackstands as the vehicles typically are parked on slopes and uneven ground. (Things that are kinda no-nos)

 

[bryanl]

Just give the engine a good motor flush and fill it with clean oil before storing. That way you won't have toxic engine byproducts standing to fume in the crankcase. Also marine supply stores sell gasoline additives which can help keep the gasoline from gumming up and make it easy to start.

If by 'motor flush' you mean a chemical intended to remove deposits, I disagree since they can dissolve varnish and sludge and clog oil passages and make piston rings lose seal. Just change the oil and filter.

Remove each spark plug to squirt motor oil into the cylinders. Run the air conditioner for 15 minutes. Change brake fluid, but don't pump the pedal too far or the master cylinder will need replacement. Cover the air intake and exhaust with metal to prevent rodents from getting in.

 

[jagec]

with no load, lead acids do discharge but kept in 50-70f temps, their self discharge is like 1-2% per month, not really a big deal. Now if OP is going for a LONG LONG time, then yeah a desulfating battery tender would make sense like a Batteryminder. Cost of electricity should be noted though as keeping the battery on a tender for an extended period of time (more than a year) could eventually exceed the cost of a battery depending on electric rates and cost of the battery.

More like 5% a month (which admittedly won't matter over just a few months), but the battery tender will use less than a dollar of electricity over a year to keep it topped up. For storage of months to years, the tender is MUCH cheaper than just budgeting for a new battery.

Summary:
Storage of days to a few weeks: Do nothing
Storage of several weeks to a few months: Disconnect battery, possibly put on tender
Storage of several months to years: Disconnect and put battery on a tender
Storage of decades: Sell the battery now, budget for new one when car is placed back into service
Storage of centuries: Car will be a museum piece anyway and will never be driven. Remove battery and all fluids, encase in blanket of argon within glass-lined stainless steel compartment and bury deep under Yucca mountain.

My car runs great. I have only replaced the battery once, when it was 6 years old.

And you parked it for a year at a time between driving it? Because that's what he's saying will kill the battery.

 

[TridenT]

If you keep fuel in it, add fuel stabilizer.

 

[DaTT]

And you parked it for a year at a time between driving it? Because that's what he's saying will kill the battery.

6 months.

 

[Samus]

I haven't even begun to respond to that shit you just wrote but the most egregious and ridiculous thing I read was the fact that you released the R134a into the atmosphere, a crime, because you erroneously thought that's the proper way to put a vehicle into storage based upon who knows what.

Other than that, what else do you have a problem with that I wrote?

R134 is Ozone safe, but yes, it is a greenhouse gas, much like the hydrocarbons coming out of your tailpipe. And only the US EPA issues a fine for knowingly venting it during maintenance. If you're going to store your car once for a long time, letting 8oz out isn't going to cause damage to more than a dandelion if we're talking once during the lifetime of the car. Better to relief the system instead of cause corrosion/moisture buildup in the A/C dryer or cause potential leaks in the condenser leaving it stressed under pressure through numerous hot/cold seasons. Then you'll be leaking a lot of refrigerant.

I guess you think 2-cycle ICE's should be illegal, too.

 

[boomerang]

If you're going to store your car once for a long time, letting 8oz out isn't going to cause damage to more than a dandelion if we're talking once during the lifetime of the car. Better to relief the system instead of cause corrosion/moisture buildup in the A/C dryer or cause potential leaks in the condenser leaving it stressed under pressure through numerous hot/cold seasons. Then you'll be leaking a lot of refrigerant.

Sorry, but this line of reasoning is unsound.