yea, my z28 might be getting shelved for a year and a half
i'm planning on joining the natl guard while i'm in army rotc (get pay from both and end up making more money) which means i'd be doing basic and ait next summer
so i'm not going to pay for 6 months insurance when i'm only going to be able to drive it for maybe 2
so what all do i need to do to "hibernate" it?
here's a few things i thought up..

1) something about the tires, like jack it up and rest some blocks under the tires maybe? i just spent some dough on these and need to keep them good (no spare tires that i can use either )

2) mothballs in the interior
3) fuel stabilizer but i'm guessing i'm going to be siphoning it out because it'll be a year and a half by then
4) what to do about the oil? change it now or just wait for when i bring it back out next?

anything else you can help with is great
thanks guys

 

Pull the plugs and dump a good cup of "marvle mystery oil" in each cylinder. It will prevent the rings from rusting or otherwise sticking to the cylinder bores.

Add Stabilizer to the gas and remove the battery. You may want to just throw it away. In 18 months it will most likely be shot anyways.

support the car with jackstands under the frame, get the tires off the ground and coat them with a protectant so they dont dry rot, flat-spot and crack.

When you take the car out of storage change all the fluids and air up the tires. You will probably need to buy a new battery.

Add silica gell packets to the interior. They will keep the moisture out. If you are storing it in a damp environment you might want to put visqueen down first so the moisture doesnt rise up into the car and cause rust problems.

Make sure it is indoors! Letting a car sit outside for 18 months is just begging for it to be damaged.

 

What if you didnt do anything to it and let one of your friends take it out for a 10 mile drive once per week? Kinda like taking car of your dog.... Maybe? It would only be like what ...600 miles?

 

i suppose i could, but somebody's gotta fork up some insurance money or else it'll just be subjected to parking lot runs
i just don't feel like paying the exhorbant (sp?) insurance costs when i can't enjoy it
and i'm not too sure i really trust anybody enough to drive my m6 z28 (half the people i know are too scared, and the other half scare me )
i'll have to think about it though
thanks for reply skillz
thanks also to tabahr

 

Pulling the spark plugs on an LT1 is a PITA. You can lift the fuel rail instead and dump the oil in the injector bungs while slowly rotating the crank to open the valves. It is MUCH easier than pulling the plugs!

I would recommend against starting it every week. That is 78 cold starts in 18 months. Most of the wear in a motor occurs at cold start. Avoid it if you can and your motor will thank you.

 

78 cold starts in 18 months versus two-four cold starts daily for 18 months. I'll take the 78. Every two weeks is fine though IMO

 

If you are just storing a car for winter (6 months), what should you do?

Is it better to change oil before getting stored or after? I was told before as the used oil has various stuff in it which can corrode things, and it may leave sludge deposits when changed in spring.

Is it really necessary to put the car on jack stands if it is only going to be stored for 6 months? Where do you put jack stands on a 98 Fbody, at notch near trailing arms out back and at that thick piece of frame just behind front tires? Do new tires really flat spot anymore? What protectant would you put on tires, just any non-silicone tire dressing?

When you say change the fluids after you get it out, do you mean everything? Inlcuding coolant, fluid in rear differential, and manual transmission fluid?

I like to care for my car as much as the next guy but some of this seems like overkill. I love my car but this vehicle is not a 1 of 10 exotic with a hand assembled race engine or anything. Will I really do permanent damage to the vehicle by failing to abide by all these rules? I was only planning to change oil before storing, put stabilizer in gas, put dressing on tire sidewall, and disconnect/remove battery and hook up to trickle charger inside my apartment, and make sure it has a good hard run before storage to make sure it is dry.

 

to get the fuel out can't you just unhook the filter and turn the ignition on? shouldn't it just pump out?

as for the jackstands, i would support the car by the suspension not the frame. it is desigened to rest on it's suspension, not the frame. you could pull the wheels and put blocks under the brake rotors or just under the axle and front control arms.

no sense changing your oil till you get back, maybe drain the old to keep it from getting all nasty. just make sure nobody starts the car.

as for the 78 cold starts....compared to starting 2-4 times per day. there is a big differnce between them. daily start up is no where near as "dry" of a startup as once a week!!

oh don't forget to tape up the exhaust so no critters make nests. and it wouldn't hurt to put some ant/cockroach traps in the car just in case. and i would coat all the weather stripping in some kind of protectant, to keep it soft. and if possible (indoor storage) keep the trunk popped and maybe windows down and door semi-closed to keep the weather stripping from being crushed for so long...possibly hardening and then not sealing correctly again.

 

I would change the oil before with something cheap, and then put good oil in it again afterwards.
My tires flat-spotted last year. I'm going to use stands this year. For storage longer than a year you may want to coat the tires with petrolium jelly to keep the rubber from drying out.

I wouldnt go that far. I'd change the coolant and oil. The manual gearbox and rearend will be fine as ling as they are within their proper maintenance intervals.

I would add to that the "mystery oil" in the cylinders. Don't drain the gas, just add stabilizer. If you drain it, the residue will form a varnish on everything. The stabilizer with a full tank will prevent that. Let the car run with the stabilizer in it for a few minutes to make sure it gets distributed through the entire fuel system.

 

Why? like in the mornings when your car has been sitting all night...why would it be different?