It's that time... and i have a few questions. I have read few threads discussing storage, but have a few other questions. The car will be stored roughly 6 months.

1. Remove the battery? If so, can i expect issues when I reinstall?
2. Does anyone put the car up on jack stands?
3. Cover?
4. Is there a specific brand of fuel stabilizer or any will do?

I plan on doing the annual maintenance when i take it out, but was just polling to see what others have SUCCESSFULLY done. Thanks!

 

1. use a battery tender
2. no
3. no. but up to you
4. Sta-Bil

P.S. I am guessing this is NOT your 1st car that will be going thru winter. So perhaps follow the same regimen you did for those past cars??

 

Perfect! Thanks kromdom. It's not my first car, but it is my first Pcar...

 

I often store mine overnight in the garage in the winter. The rest. Of the time I DRIVE it!!! Theses are cars that were meant to bbe driven and are also great in the winter. To park them is a waste of time and money.

 

If you must take it off the road for 6 months be sure to over inflate your tires to prevent flat spotting.

 

Your car will probably do better if you can drive it during the winter. Just pick the nice days and try to get it out weekly. As Dharn55 said, these cars are meant to be driven regularly and they do very well in the winter. If you choose to park it, you might as well cover it.

 

Quite unexpectedly a family member's car got "stored" (left on her driveway) for 6 months with no prep. The car sat from January to July.

All I did was every so often (not even every month, more like every other month) was to start the engine and let it idle until the engine was nearly warmed up. Say 10 or 15 minutes. I had the room on the driveway to shift the tranny into D and pull the car forward some distance -- a half a car length -- then shift into R and back the car up again. After the engine got warmed up some I turned on the A/C/heater and cycled the controls some to change the fan speed up and down and exercise the air vent flaps. I made sure to turn off the AC and let the cabin vent fan run to dry the A/C condenser to avoid leaving this wet/damp.

After 6 months had passed (from Jan to July) I had need to use the car and with her permission drove it for about 2 weeks. The car was fine. The fuel it turned out was a bit stale. I didn't realize this until after I had driven the car enough to run the tank down to the point I had to add gas. I filled the tank up with premium -- the required octane grade -- and the engine was transformed. It was then I realized the gas had gotten stale. Still the engine fired right up and idled and ran ok. No missing. No stumbling. Really no signs of stale gas at all.

If you can hook up a battery maintainer. The family member's car was parked where this was not possible. After I finished with the car I parked it again and 6 months later when she was able to resume driving the battery was dead.

Put the car away for the winter with *fresh* oil in the engine.

Do not put the car on jack stands.

You can cover the car if you want.

One big concern I have with a car stored for a while is rodent infestation. I am not sure how to prevent this but you need to find out so you can take steps to avoid having this happen. If rodents (mice or rats, or even squirrels) get into the car -- and it is an attractive home to them -- they can do considerable damage. In some cases thousands of dollars of damage. In one case the engine wiring harness was ruined which required the engine be removed and the harness replaced. You can imagine the cost this entailed. (The owner turned this over to his homeowners insurance.)

 

OP where do you live? I can’t imagine anywhere in the US where you wouldn’t drive your Pcar for 6 months. (except winter time in Alaska).. lol I’m in NC and we get Snow and Black ice and before that I was in NJ and we got a lot of bad weather and tons of SNOW, but never for a long period of time. Do like Dharn55 does and when you get a nice day DRIVE IT that’s what the car was made for.

 

Thanks for all the responses... I don't have power since I'm storing in a public place. Any suggestions for the battery?

 

Does it have an overhead light? Just saying.

Pull the battery, and put on a maintainer in your home.

Inflate tires to 55-58 PSI.
Use a double dose of Sta-Bil. Normal is 1 ounce per 2.5 gallons fuel. You should do 2 ounces per 2.5 gallons fuel for a 6 month hibernation.

Park on a thick mil plastic painter's tarp from Home Depot. No jacks. Park out of gear. Cancel some of your insurance to save $$$.

 

Take it out and bring it back to your place, you'll need a 10mm wrench or socket. Since this will be stored in a public place, get some mint leaves or soak a rag with peppermint oil. Rodents generally don't like this smell, especially in strong concentrations. This is one of those old school diy remedies.

 

I understand the desire to store your Pcar in the winter. In some areas of the country winter road conditions can be nasty and detrimental to keeping the car intact and rust free. Road salt is corrosive to wheels, carpets, and even painted surfaces. And while proper tires can allow your Pcar to get around OK in snow, a 4WD truck, SUV, or car with better ground clearance is much safer and much more effective.

I've had good luck with battery maintainers. Depending upon which year/model of Pcar, removing the battery disrupts the window memory, erases engine control memory, disables the Frunk release, and prevents one from quickly jumping in the car for a drive during good weather.
I inflate tires to about 50 PSI to help avoid flatspotting.
I usually cover the car.
I use either regular Sta-bil or the marine variety.
Finally I drive the cars two or three times during their 5 month storage period. I just choose a sunny dry day, put the car on full insurance coverage, and take a 20+ mile drive. It's good therapy for me as well as the car!

Just read your post about not having power for a maintainer. When you remove the battery make sure the frunk lid doesn't get latched shut. I think you can move the latch piece over to prevent the lid from latching.

 

^^^^ Good advice, I agree, the P-car could make a decent winter beater with the right tires but I have better suited vehicles to drive in winter and would like to keep the effin corrosive salt off my baby, that ****e is nasty on everything! good idea on the over-inflated tires too thx!