Vehicle Storage for Extended Periods / will my brand new car be okay?

[rr_zen]

I could not find an existing thread on the above topic and hence thought I can share my experiences on the same. I am right now in the USA on a long term assignment and do not expect to be back in good old motherland before 2008.

I own a Maruti Esteem 2003 and a Honda Unicorn 2005. When my onsite assignment was confirmed the first and most mind boggling question I asked myself was "How do I take care of my car and bike in my absence ?" Let me reiterate that I have always been smitten by my cars and bikes (just like anyone of our TBHPians) and I have enjoyed their company more than that of any human being. The most common response I was hearing from my friends and folks at home was to sell them off and buy new ones when I returned. Sacrilege ! How dare they say that ! That broke my heart and in fact whetted my appetite to have my faithful companions safe and sound till I came back. I ruled out the selling option (as if I had before !!) and decided to plan for their extended storage.

I was prepared for the bike while I knew it would be quite a difficult task to put my beloved Esteem into cold storage. Finally there was light at the end of the tunnel. Help came in the form of my uncle's trusted and faithful driver who agreed to take care of the car in my absence. His job was to start the engine every alternate day and take her for a brief drive every sunday with my uncle which was also the day earmarked for fuel top-ups and checking tyre pressure. I ensured that I removed both the HUs of my Kenwood Casette Player and the new Kenwood MP3 I had fixed just below the original Cassette player. I ensured I noted down the odometer reading and also filled the tank up to the brim the day I left India. As I have mentioned in a few of my earlier posts, CARS, the authorised service centre for Maruti in Chennai has taken very good care of my car since the day I bought it and so I put in a word with the Service Advisor and he assured me of prompt service of my car during my absence. Needless to say, he has kept his word and I personally scheduled the last service for my car in India sitting here in the USA. I had also left a checklist with my uncle with a list of do's and dont's and took care to write down everything to minutest detail. The list was pretty long and covered little things like the brand of fuel that needed to be filled in and how to just stop filling after the first auto cut-off happens (I have observed quite a number of people overfill their tanks even after one or two auto cut-offs not knowing the danger in doing so). After I ensured I had the list comprehensive in itself, I called the driver one Sunday and along with my uncle spent an hour with him explaining various things on the car and on the list. I still remember the grin my uncle had on his face which I interpreted as "Come on Man, this is too much" and the driver who stood like a statue most of the times. This guy is an experienced driver and I have personally seen him drive and maintain my uncle's Tavera. Yet I did not give up and the lecture went on for an hour with me asking him intermittently, "Any Questions ?" For an external observer it would have appeared foolish and stupid on my part to do this but I was hell bent on this ritual.

Now with the car being taken care of, I sat down to think of the bike which had hardly done 4000kms in about 18 months since I had bought it and there it was the gleaming red beauty which I had to put on cold storage. I decided that I do this myself without allowing a soul to interfere with my work. I stuck religiously to the section on the owner’s manual that dealt with extended storage. The bike had just been serviced a week before and hence I didn’t need to take care of too many things. But of course, it was difficult in its own way but my admiration and passion for my bike kept me going more than anything else. I started off with disconnecting the battery. Then came the most important thing to be attended which also took most of the time. It was draining the fuel from the tank and from the carburetor. I unlocked the seat and then unscrewed the bolts that firmly held the tank in its place. Now, with the tank in my hand, I drained all the fuel from the tank and yet I could see that there was fuel remaining. So I had to keep shaking the up and down for about 15 – 20 minutes till I could hear no signs of fuel moving around. Phew ! I was sweating like a pig already. I opened the can of 20W40 oil I had bought and poured it all into the fuel tank. I kept rolling the tank so that the oil would spread across to all corners of the tank. This am sure would keep the interiors of the tank from rusting. Once I was convinced that the tank had its treatment I proceeded to empty the fuel from the carburetor. Now it was the turn to remove the spark plug from its place and allow a few drops of engine oil on the piston and then put the plug back in place. I also made sure that I oiled the parts like the drive chain, foot pegs, kick starter, etc. Now with most things being taken care of, I was keen on finding a parking place (a temporary-permanent one !) which could shield my bike from everything under the sun. After a great deal of thought, I finally decided that my bike will occupy a corner of my bed room (much against the wishes of my wife and parents !) I parked the bike on the main stand after placing a rubber mat under it. Most importantly, I made sure that both the tyres were inflated to the required level and that they didn’t touch the ground. I had placed a wooden stool (tailor made to suit my requirements !) under the bike and made the chassis rest on it. I removed the mirrors and kept them safely in my cupboard so that they could show all that they want after I come back. Last but not least, I covered the bike with a tarpaulin cover so that dust doesn’t get in. And now my red beauty sleeps in peace for the last six months, waiting for its master to come and bring it back to life !!

[gd1418]

Wow!! what a comprehensive narration and the detailed version of the steps taken to park for long duration. it reminded me of the similar steps taken to store my Bullet for more than 3 months when I was out of Delhi in the 80s. Though, both, my brother and I being bike freaks (at one point we jointly possessed a machless, truimphtwin, BSA 350 & a Norton apart from the Bullet), he was forbidden to touch my Royal Enfield for the fear of his life..!!

[quote=rr_zen;[/quote]

[team suzuki]

please can anyone suggest what shuold i do,i have baught an sx4 which is now about 1 and a half month old i have to go for an imortant work out of station and can be back only after about 2or 3 months the car has ran about 2600kms will it affect the car if left unused for about 2 months i am mainly worried because it is a new car i am the only one in my family who drives ,at max my wife can only start the car will it affect the performance or anything of the car if left unused

[iceman91]

just disconnect the battery
nothing to worry

[deep_bang]

If it is more than 2 or 3 months, i would also suggest to jack up the car (so the tyres are not stressed out at the same point for a few months). Else, if it can be moved around a little bit, it would be good for tyres, but not much use for the battery.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Dont think there will be too much of a problem (since your vehicle is new). Wash the vehicle properly before leaving. Preferrably get the underbody washed. Also, battery drainage is going to be a problem. Either disconnect the battery, or ask your wife to start it at once in a while for some duration.

[condor]

ask your wife to start it at once in a while for some duration.

if started, then will need to let it idle for a while to recoup the charge lost during starting. Better disconnect the battery.

Cover the car if possible.

If you cant put it up on jacks, over-inflate the tyres.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by condor

if started, then will need to let it idle for a while to recoup the charge lost during starting.

Pardon my ignorance:

But, if the car is not started at all, wont all the engine oils settle down in the oil-sump? And when the engine is started, it will run a few seconds without oil, till the oil gets circulated properly. Is this true?

[condor]

@CraZxY dRiVerR, the engine oil is always in the oil sump. Why should it be any different in this case ?

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

There is a thread on this subject.

The summary:-
1. Wash the car.
2. Fill up tank (to avoid fuel tank rusting)
3. Jackup the tyres (What if your 2 months get extended? It is a software project, after all.)
4. Disconnect the batteries.
5. Remove the HU face plate.
6. If security in your parking area requires, get a gear lock installed and keep the car gear locked - other locks require electricity; and removing the jacks from the wheels and driving with a vehicles with full tank fuel is very easy for thieves.

HTH

[Harbir]

I disagree with this. If you don't want to do it right, you can do nothing at all and when you come back and it doesn't start, just jump start it.

If you want to do it right, then the important thing is to connect the battery to a trickle charger/battery tender that will feed a tiny charge to the battery and keep it healthy. If you can't plug the car in, just remove the battery and hook it up with a battery tender.

Add some fuel stabilizer to the fuel tank. petrol is a mixture of many compounds and they are continuously evaporating. since they have different vapor pressures and boiling points, they evaporate at different rates. Given that the fuel system is not really sealed and vapor escapes, over time, the chemical composition of fuel in the car changes as the more volatile compounds escape before, and in larger quantities than the less volatile compounds.

if fuel stabilizer, like STA-BIL, is not available in India, try to leave very little fuel in the tank. when you start up the car, the first thing you should do is fill her up. This will ensure that she runs for the minimum duration of time on old cruddy fuel, and filling her up will quickly dissolve the old fuel.


Tyres: THe best thing you can do is lift her off the ground. DOn't leave her on jacks as they are unstable but rather on jack stands or solid stable blocks of some time. pumping up the tyres by a few PSI will make no difference. what makes a difference is not letting the same part of the tyre (the contact patch) experience uninterrupted deformation for a long time. If you can't lift the car, then just the tyres to recommended PSI and leave it.

regards.

[Harbir]

Originally Posted by condor

if started, then will need to let it idle for a while to recoup the charge lost during starting. Better disconnect the battery.

I mean no offence, but this is not correct. Idling speed does not produce enough voltage to provide significant charge to the battery. You should let it idle for a few seconds only, to let the oil cover all the surfaces that it has drained off and dried from, then immediately go for a drive to allow the oil to heat up very quickly and to quickly cover up and dissolve deposits from the surfaces that had been dry. Driving the car will also allow the alternator to generate enough current to charge up the battery.

but like I said, use a battery tender to keep the battery fresh.

[Harbir]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Pardon my ignorance:

But, if the car is not started at all, wont all the engine oils settle down in the oil-sump? And when the engine is started, it will run a few seconds without oil, till the oil gets circulated properly. Is this true?

Yes, it is correct that if the engine is not run for a long time, the oil will mostly settle down into the sump. but not all, as some localized pools of oil will remain in various spots of the engine. still for most purposes, yes, most oil will end up in the sump. THis is normally true in all circumstances, but usually, the longer an engine stays not run, the thinner the oil film of friction surfaces gets, till it gets so thin as to effectively become a non lubricated surfaces.

When an engine is started after a long time of not running, for the first second or so, as the oil system pressurizes, the engine will run for a second or two without enough oil on the friction surfaces.

This happens so rarely that the the net effect on engine wear and tear is very small. but its usually a good idea to use quality oil in general (I use synthetic oil - Mobil 1 in the MX-5 and Havoline in the Elise) and also to change oil and filter immediately after storing the car (after you have driven it a few miles to allow the hot oil to dissolve or wash away any deposits that may have accumulated during storage

[Sahil]

Make sure you inflate the tyres with additional air.
And do get a car cover that fits well to keep it clean.

[carlover98]

The best thing you can do is ask your friend who knows driving to take out the car once a week for 5 - 10 Kms. Whatever precaution you take, if the car is left idle, it is sure to cause some problem or the other. This is the best and most practical solution.

Cheers!!