lake911

First year owner of a DE car in upstate NY. Should I store the car on jack stands...or leave as is?

theiceman

do NOT store on Jack stands, it stresses the suspension as it is not designed to hang like that. also you expose the inner rod of the shock to humidity where corrosion can start and the seal is next.

if in doubt over inflate your tires to say 45-5o lbs to prevent flat spots. I park mine on big squares of styrofoam from building sites , or local hardware store to cradle the tire. i then put i giant piece of cardboard under the car to absorb moisture that may come throught the concret , leave it in first with the parking brake off.

lake911

Works for me Thanks...for the help

Driver8

I agree with Iceman but I leave mine out of gear and chock the wheels.

justinsrx7

I have never parked my cars on styrofoam and have never had a flat spot . I just overinflate as recommended. I also crack my windows a tad so that moisture does not get trapped in the car. If you leave it out of gear, make sure to put a block in front and behind one of the wheels. This prevents someone from accidentally leaning on the car and pushing it into a wall or garage door.

theiceman

I find i get flat spots with Z rated softer compound tires, but to each his own i guess

r911

"do NOT store on Jack stands, it stresses the suspension as it is not designed to hang like that. also you expose the inner rod of the shock to humidity where corrosion can start and the seal is next."

- what makes you say these 2 things?

is it personal experience or did you read it somewhere - if so, where?

Edgy01

That's a common understanding of many about over winter storage. I simply over inflated my tires and then adjusted them after the storage period. Never a problem. I also recommend a fuel stabilizer which you would add to the fuel tank. Also, tape up the exhaust pipe to keep moisture from entering at that end. (Do this after you have changed the oil, warmed up the engine sufficiently, and then the tailpipe has cooled enough). Also, tape up the intake.

Also, replace your brake fluid. If there is any moisture in there (which there is) you should bleed them all and put fresh in. Moisture in the system will settle and ultimately do bad things to your system. The bottom line is to replace all fluids prior to storage.

A good wax job should finish it off. Protect your car in storage from mice and rats. They like to chew on wiring insulation. Place mouse traps and bait at each tire. Inspect the car for such critters once a month during storage. Place several containers of silica gel (available from any crafts stores where women buy that stuff to dry out flowers). Place it in some deep trays on the floor of the car. If you dare, leave the trunk lid and doors ajar so that the rubber seals are not left compressed. If you're concerned about things getting inside the car,--skip that step.

What a sad day,--putting a 911 into storage,--but it will seem like a brand new car in May!

r911

I would characterize it as a frequently passed on rumor or urban myth. The matter has been extensively discussed on Pelican with no data ever presented.

Porsche has a service bulletin on winter storage - no doubt slanted towards the newer car - but I do not recall seeing anything Bout rust on the chromed shock rods in there.

theiceman

To each his own Randy, everyone makes descisions based on their own personal experiences. if it works for you , go for it man :-)

r911

it would be nice to characterize advice, rather than stating something as tho it were an absolute

theiceman

it's pretty absolute for me having first hand experience. Seams like other car enthusiast share mt same " advice"

It has nothing to do with the weight of the suspension. It has to do with how the rubber bushings are designed and operate, which most folks don't understand.

The O.D. of the bushing is bonded to the outer shell, which is locked solid in the holes in the control arms (and the rear trailing arm); the I.D. of the bushing is bonded to the center tubular sleeve, which is locked solid in place by the serrations on the end of the sleeve when the through-bolt is torqued. All up and down motion of the control arms (and trailing arms) is absorbed by the RUBBER portion of the bushing - the outer shell doesn't move relative to the control arm, the rubber doesn't move relative to the outer shell, and the inner sleeve doesn't move relative to either the control arm or the rubber. NOTHING moves - only the rubber in the bushings is distorted torsionally when the suspension moves up and down.

That's why the through-bolts must be torqued with the car at normal design height, on its wheels, so the rubber in the bushings isn't stressed - so the rubber is "neutral" in terms of stress unless the suspension is moving up and down.

If you put the car up on jackstands and let the suspension hang at full rebound, limited only by full extension of the shocks (where it's driven by the springs), that puts the rubber in the bushings WAY beyond their normal torsion limits (twist), and they'll fail prematurely due to being overstressed for long periods of time.

Doesn't matter on C1's, as all their bushings are metal-to-metal (no rubber), but everything from '63-up has rubber bushings. BAD idea to put the car "up in the air".

And, don't start it and run it unless you drive it at least ten miles to get the oil in the pan hot enough to boil off all the condensation and rich-mixture cold-start blow-by contaminants you add every time you start it and cold/hot/cold-cycle it; if you just start it and run it without driving it, it just makes the oil more acidic each time, which creates sludge. The seals won't "dry out" - that's another old wives' tale.


Anyway i am not here to debate , just do what works for you . the evidence is more than clear to me , when you have the car on the ground the weight of the car is on the springs. when you hang it on the air you are making the fully extended shock to take the weight of your suspension.

Good luck to all

Jay Gratton

I like to leave all the doors and lids open just a little so the seals can expand. Esp. in a Targa leaving the doors and the top left ajar will help the seals in the spring from leaking.

Jay H

Unfortunately, I've seen the inverse of putting a 911 into storage. My first 911, which was an '86, was a winter driven car for the first 10 years of its life by its first owner in the Wisconsin climate. Yes, these cars were zinc coated, but they still rust when exposed to years and years of salt. That '86 was a rusty pig in places due to the salt exposure. I had bubbling paint all over the place from the car rusting from the inside out. So, I personally feel that slogging a vintage 911 through the salt is worse than storing it for the winter...

theiceman

Yeah Jay I do that to .. all doors go to first click only.