I know some people will say dont start a car in storage but I decided to start it half way through which is about now. I really cant drive it out of the driveway cause no insurance. How long should I let it idle to make sure its warm enough. Im a little nervous cause as you know Ive got the dummy temp gauge. should 15 minutes be enough? plus once I start it its going back in storage till april 1st so anything I should do? Thanks.

 

Funny you ask that, I just went out and started my car yesterday too! We live on a quiet court, so I even took it for a 1 minute drive!! It was fun.....I think I got it up to ~30 mph.

When I started the car, I think it took at least ~5 minutes before the temp gauge started to move, and within 10 minutes it was up to its normal operating temp. I waited 'til then before I rolled it out of the driveway. Since there's no snow on the ground right now, I figured it would be good to let the tires roll a little and park in a different spot (since I never put blocks under the car).

...driving the car was probably the worst thing I could have done though.....after driving an '89 Grand Prix, 2.8L, w/~170,000 miles on it, I was just like "I want my Camaro back!!!"

 

15-20 mins or soo, let it hit operating temp, then run it for just awhile longer.

 

I usually run mine until the electric fans kick in. Then you know the coolant is up to 220 degrees or so.

 

Although I do not reccomend it if you need to her your baby roar I would sart it up and let it run about fifteen minutes, and I see if you can run it up and down the drive way that way the rear gears and the tranny see some lubrication.

 

I would run it till the thermostat opens for a few minutes. Once the thermostat opens, rev it up to 2000 rpm for a few seconds to get the oil splashed around good on the valvetrain. As far as condensation goes, you can normally tell that it's all evaporated by how much vapor is exiting the tailpipes. You should see a substantial decrease in vapor once it's gone.

I do NOT recommend starting the motor very often while it's in storage. Normally, I wait until spring and that is the first time I've started since I put it away for the winter.

Dan

 

Not being in an area where it snows....maybe dumb question. Why would you not start your car occasionally. I have always been told that the worst thing you can do to any machine is not run it once in awhile.

 

I park my car the whole winter without starting it. Just because it's so cold where I live that I'd be doing damage to the engine if I didnt prime it first. Plus, it's so cold that corrosion and engine damage is extremely slow...

 

Something very important you guys are not mentioning when starting your engine after a period of time in storage, is to prime the engine. Remember, oil has all set down the bottom of the pan, without priming it, you run the risk of damaging your bearings, and this goes to the rings as well.
-Goose

 

How would you prime an efi car?

 

That was my question as well.

 

You can't.

The best a person can do is plug the block heater in to warm the oil before starting..........and if you feel the need, add a bit of oil to the top of the engine.

I run Mobil 1 Syn so I don't get worried about the oil.

 

These folks are talking about priming the oil, not the fuel. It is pretty hard to prime the oil on our LT1 / LS1 cars because we dont have a rear-mounted distributor. In the old days of SBC, you could remove the distributor and insert a pre-lube tool on a power drill and pre-lube the motor before starting it for the first time after it sat a long time.

 

The only way to truely prime our cars is to take the intake off.

The other option, which isn't quite as good is to remove the PCM fuse and crank the engine over until oil pressure is o.k. The injectors will not be adding any fuel since the PCM fuse is removed.

Personally, I have always just fired it up in the spring without starting it all winter. I just wait until a decently warm day (50+ degrees). It's worked so far. I think this year I will crank up my garage heater and warm up the garage for a while before I start it. I also use Mobil 1 so I don't worry quite as much. Mobil 1 seems to keep things coated a little better over time than dino oil, from what I hear.

Dan

 

Yah, that's what I would do...