Winter preparation...
 

Give your suggestions for winter preparations.

what do you do to assure your car gets throu winter fine while it is in storage.


1. put it on jack stands just enough so that full weight is not on shocks.
2. make sure i have good coolant in it.
3. drain oil.
4. remove batery and put it in the house
5. remove radio face plate that is lcd


Reason i leave coolant in it is so that it doesn't dry up and leave residue on water pump/radiator. While its wet it keeps all the minerals/residue in liquid form.
Coolant system is fully seald so it should be still there when you go to drain it.

Reason i drain oil is because it breaks down over time and it can clog and leave sludge in the botom of the oil pan.

batery/faceplate is due to cold. i don't want the batery to go dead and lcd to break due to cold.

-E

Re: Winter preparation...
 

Draining your engine oil leaving the crankcase empty is a bad idea. Today's conventional oils are fine for 6 months or more, synthetics are good for a year or more. It is best to have fresh oil in for storage, and then to drain it and replace with fresh oil again after the initial start-up for the spring.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

I understand everything on your list except for the draining the oil part. I understand your reasoning however I don't think it's good to not having anything in their period. Metals that are subject to oils at all times are resistant to rust but when they become dry they can surface rust. Get some warm-cold-warm-cold days throughout the winter and there you have moisture to ad to the rustation process. Personally, i'd leave it in and then come spring just before you're gonna drive it, then drain it and change maybe even run a can of Motor-flush through it at the same time.

My .02 worth.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

If you aren't able to put your car on jackstands, inflating the tires to 40-45psi is fine to help prevent flat-spotting. Also, I like to stuff rags in my exhast tip(s) and put a plastic bag over my air filter.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

You guys know that oil doesn't touch much of the rotating items if its sitting there crank is above the oil level maybe 2 or none of the lobes are touching oil thats it. everything else only has whatever residue is on it when you shut off the car and after its drained.

-E

Re: Winter preparation...
 

Gee, I wasn't aware of how an engine or engine oil works...come on Enes!

Re: Winter preparation...
 

Put about 2+ galls or so of oil in, the 'ol lobes will be touching then. :) J/kidding. Putting something over the tail pipe was a good idea. Anywhere mice can get into is where you want to block off. Vents, etc..

Re: Winter preparation...
 

Your pan could develop surface rust as well... I would leave oil in it, and any residue that does build up will just mix up and fluch out with the next oil/filter change.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

no diss to any old timers or current honda owners

Re: Winter preparation...
 

I don't know if engine flushes have advanced much in the last ten years, last time I used this stuff it was about the same as pouring a quart of diesel in the crankcase. I wouldn't use any of that stuff.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

No residue will build up and no engine-flush is needed. Seriously people, this isn't dino-goo you're putting in your engines, its a wee bit more refined and formulated than that.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

Dont forget Stabil in your fuel tank.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

To be honest, with today's additive packages in quality (BP for example) premium fuels the need for Stabil is questionable. It won't hurt, but at the same time its not necessary.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

I say leave oil in it. Change it, but leave oil in it.

I used to store my old gti at my parent's place while I was at school. I went home at christmas to discover mice running around in it. Take some dryer sheets (downy or whatever is smelliest) and stick them in various openings around the engine compartment (i.e. around the strut towers, in the area where the battery was, etc) and then lay a single sheet on the base of each seat, and maybe a few on the floor (especially up near the floor vents) for good measure. They never came back, and my interior and engine bay were fully in tact when I checked it after that.

Note: if you over do this, you car will smell a little funny when you pull it out of storage. Detail w/ armoral or some such product & cruise w/ the windows down & this will go away promptly.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

Wouldn't it be simpler to just start the car every day and drive the car once a week around the block or something? :confused:
I know I'm from Indianapolis and have never spent a winter here in the Cities, but it doesnt get THAT much colder, does it?

Re: Winter preparation...
 

If you're putting the car down for storage, just leave it. Most of the wear takes place at initial start-up, its better to just let the car sit for the winter and start it come spring. When putting a car away, we're doing so to avoid taking the car out in the snow/salt which would be negated if he was to drive around the block every week.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

OK Got it. I actually am used to driving my dsm all the time and doing an underbody wash once a week, so this is a bit different for me.
Thanks!

Re: Winter preparation...
 

we are talking pound and pound of salt per square foot, we are talking just as much sand, and then on top of that twenty below weather with windchill will get it down to fourty below.

and thats on a normal good day!

Re: Winter preparation...
 

Looks like I'd better put away my dsm for the winter.

Re: Winter preparation...
 

I can't wait! :eek: