Venom, can you tell us more about why not to start it up?? I've never heard this one before and im curious....
Tony, here's what I do:
Storage:
#1) I wash the car entirely. I skip waxing, personally.
#2) I sweep the floor under the car and place a piece of cardboard under the engine, transmission, and rear diffy. This will allow me to see anything that may be going on (a seal is leaking, mouse droppings, etc.)
#3) I roll the windows up, I close the dash-vents, I stick a rolled up sock in each exhaust tip. (The windows are rolled up to minimize the risk of theft, as well as to keep the interior dust-free. The dash vents are closed to prevent any strange smells from entering the car and "brewing" into my seats. lol. Nothing sucks more than finding a skunk in your trash, spooking it off and having it "light up" your back garage area... Get back into THAT car after a winter of being closed up with skunk smell... lol. Finally, I stick the sock in each tip to prevent mice from crawling into the mufflers to build a nest.
#4) I place a chalk under as many tires as possible. I don't use the e-brake for two reasons: I dont want the brakes to rust together, and I dont want the handle to warp the rubber on my center console from sitting up for prolonged periods of time. Keep in mind when you chalk the tires to prevent both FORWARD and BACKWARD ranges of motion.
#5) I leave the transmission in 1st gear. (this too helps keep the car in one spot.)
#6) I max the oil level out on the dipstick. I don't over-fill it, as I will be starting/driving it. But I max it out in order to cover as much of the interior of the engine with oil as possible. This helps prevent surface rust from developing.
#7) I lock the doors, put on the cover and read her a bed time story.
#8) *IF* there will be a second car in the garage: I roll down the window on the door that will be "exposed" (not against the wall) ~1/8", place a full-sized beech towel in the window and close the door. By having the towel hang over the door it will help prevent door-dings from the other car.
Maintenance in storage:
#1) I start mine up (well, when the engine didnt knock LOL!) once a month regardless. I let it idle all the way to temps to open the thermostat and to circulate the coolant. I also give it some gas, even if its parked, to ensure the oil-pump gets a load-bearing run.
**NOTE: Test your coolant, you can buy a $4.00 tester at auto-zone. Nothing sucks more than too much water in the system and cracked block.**
#2) Colorado gets 300 days of sun, so I drive it (hopefully)at least once a month (this counts as a "start up to temps process".)
#3) I put Sta-Bil in the gas
#4) I put an excess amount of air in the tires (to help prevent flat-spots, also as the temps drop the pressure in the tires drop as well, and finally if one of the tires does have a leak this will give me the most amount of time to catch the leak before its sitting on an expensive rim...) -- I usually max-out the tire's suggested PSI (usually 44PSI - Our cars call for ~35 PSI)
#5) Check your battery's water level. If its low, add *distilled* water. clean the terminals, apply petrolium jelly to the terminals, and use the felt washers on the terminals. You may want to unplug the battery fromt he wiring harness to help prevent dis-charge from an exposed wire or something. You can also set up a trickle-charger on the battery periodically.
I rarely go through a whole tank of gas during the winter. I've never had an issue in storage, even with the battery.
Goals of Chris' anal storage process: (bow chicka wow wow)
#1) Prevent *mice* -- Mice move indoors during the winter. Good luck repairing a dash harness that was chewed through, good luck getting the smell of their shit and piss out of your carpet, and good luck hunting down every last dead body.
#2) Prevent rubber failure (more bow chicka wow wow) -- By cleaning the car (and putting tire-dressing on the tires) you are helping prevent dry-rot. additionally, by starting the car you are circulating the fluids on the hoses, seals, and gaskets.
#3) Prevent gasket failure -- By runnign the car to full temps, you are allowing the heads/engine block/pistons/etc.etc.etc to fully expand to "hot" sizes.
#4) Catch problems -- By sweeping the floor I can spot mouse poo (see goal #1) - by placing cardboard I can catch leaks - By letting it heat up fully I can moniter battery health, engine health, and electronic function (do my headlights still work? or did a mouse eat through that too??)
*OBVIOUSLY* my process is completely crazy. But I'm in love. and men do strange things for love.
