Shank996TT

Since I live in NY, I have no intention of driving this for the winter. Does anyone know the proper procedure to store the car throughout the winter? I plan on pulling it out around April.

gtdrei

Wow ! can't give much advice on Winter storage, but very stunning car !

Robin

FixedWing

Hello Shank.

For the short period you will be storing the car there isn't much you need to do.

Make sure the tank is full before you put the car away to avoid condensation. Store it in gear with the parking brake off. Make sure you use a trickle-charger for the battery (will also keep the alarm going). Make sure no little animals will use your car to keep warm. Make sure the tyres are at full pressure and if possible move the car slightly to avoid flat-spotting them.

If the car is about to need an oil change then change it just before you put the car away so that there are no acids in the oil.

Make sure the environment is reasonably dry and especially, don't park on a dirt or damp floor.

For longer periods you might want to pickle the engine but for just a winter it isn't worth it.

I don't advise you to start the engine periodically. It causes wear and does little good.

S.

Shank996TT

Fixed...or should I call you Mr. Wing,

Thanks for the tips...

Questions - what is a Trickle Charger?

and What is "Pickling an engine mean"?

Thanks,
Ryan

Kaz

What about keeping the engine from going dry when all the oil is in the pan? Someone was just telling me about a procedure to crank the engine without it turning over to get oil in the engine without scouring the cylinder walls. Is that pickling?

By the way, very nice Shank.

K

FixedWing

My knowledge of this comes from aviation where lack of use is big deal for an engine (and airplane).

A trickle charger is a device which keeps the battery fully charged without overcharging it. This is important in the Turbo because the alarm system draws a great deal of juice which will kill the battery in about three weeks. When the battery is dead the alarm isn't working (by-by Porsche) and getting the storage compartment cover open is a big hassle. Porsche makes a very nice one which will plug into the cigarette lighter. There are others.

To pickle the engine you would remove the spark plugs and pore a very small amount of oil-like lubricant into the cylinders. Then you would turn the engine over to move the lubricant around. Finally you replace the plugs with another type of plug which has a substance designed to absorb mosture. Then you would plug the inlet and exhaust system to prevent mosture getting in. Obviously this is not something you want to do to a Turbo for just 3-4 months.

Turning the engine over during the winter without starting it is a very bad idea. The oil will run off the surfaces. Since the engine never runs you never build up pressure in the oil system and never replace the oil. Do it a few times and you'll wear away what little oil is left. The result is metal on metal. Better to just start the engine again once the winter is over (in a car with an old fashioned distributor cap I'd pull the main lead and crank it to get the pressure up before starting it but this isn't easy to do on the Turbo and the Turbo is better designed to prevent the oil running back out of the oil pump).

I am often leaving my Porsche for a few weeks at a time without running it (at the moment it has been five weeks and I'm looking forward to getting back to my toy tomorrow). When I crank the engine and it catches, for about half a second I can hear the noise of an engine that hasn't seen oil for a while. Not my favourite sound.

S.