Maybe you should try a garage sale when even local travel isn’t as limited. Does your neighborhood have a community garage sale day? Maybe a church does. Mrs JT participated in a couple of church parking lot sales near us.
Do you have a local tech school near you that has an auto mechanic program? They might take the lot as a donation
I think I will try to make sure the vehicles are driven at least 30 continuous minutes per month, instead.
Okay, I’ll bite!
What are you talking about and why are you going to do that?
CSA
I dunno, I’ve got that stuff myself but not ready to clean it out yet. I was thinking something like a local old car club like the Minnesota Street Rod Assoc. or something but not sure they would like consumer grade stuff. A lot of these guys are machinist types, etc. that use high priced stuff. I did a pretty good purge of old parts etc, last year. The junk yard takes any metal stuff which is nice.
Changing oil a couple days ago, I did notice that I have two quarts of 10-30 surplus, if anyone wants any. Otherwise I guess I’ll just put it in the used oil jugs for recycling. I’m sure I paid $2 for them.
Since vehicles will be driven less, batteries need to be kept charged.
I just ‘topped off’ the two batteries on our cars. Both tested a bit low.
My car sat in MN for 2 months, and started up just fine
But, why will they be driven less?
CSA
Maybe because Melissa has been told to work from home, as many americans have lately . . .
Maybe Melissa’s governor has told residents to “shelter in place”
duh
I am not working but I plan to use my car(s) to visit a grocery store every 10 days, no battery maintenance is needed.
I’m well stocked up on food and supplies, as usual, and could go 2 or 3 weeks, but bananas only last a few days. So, every few days I’ll be shopping for bananas. No big deal.
CSA
Well I’m gonna have to go to the post office, if they are even open, to mail my Minnesota tax return. Turbo wouldn’t let me e file it. Something to do with calculation of the penalty. So if I’m not around, I caught the big bug and died.
OK since you guys are talking batteries and maintenance, just a question while I decompress from Turbo Tax. I find myself now with two brand new $60 lawn mower batteries that I can’t return. They are the ATV, motorcycle, type sport batteries that you have to add the acid to. I guess my plan was to put a maintainer one one and maybe swap them around every year for who knows. They usually last 3-4 years. Ya think a maintainer would be OK sitting for a year or more? I’ll explain below if anyone is interested.
Bought one and added all the acid in the bottle but after 3 days couldn’t get the thing to charge more than 40 CCA. So tried to take it back but the guy said two of the cells were low. Don’t know how that could have happened. It was the only one on the shelf so I went to another of their stores (farm store) and bought another. Careful to fill it and follow all the directions and got that guy up and running over 300 CCA. Then decided to stop by OReily and got a quart of battery acid for $8 and filled up the two empty cells in #1. Wouldn’t ya know, it started to pop and eventually got that one up over 300 CCA. So neither can be brought back and the best I could do is turn one in for a $10 core charge. I’m not as smart or talented as I guess I once was but now I’ll have to spend more to keep #2 going. Huh? I was pretty close to cutting the hole bigger to take the standard size $25 battery. So at any rate, anyone need a spare motorcycle battery or a little battery acid?
Bing, I use one of the lead/acid lawn/garden tractor type batteries. To keep it alive, I would switch it from summer lawn cutting duty in the tractor, to my Ariens walk-behind 13hp snow blower (with on-board 12v battery start) for winters. That worked well.
Now, I haven’t been in snow country for 3 winters, so I bought half a dozen battery maintainer/trickle chargers from Harbor Freight for $4.99 each (with coupon)! I run extension cords to all parked cars and to the snow blower before I head south in the fall. When I return, everything starts right up! I have not replaced any batteries during that period. They seem happy.
Here it is for 10 bucks (full price). I have coupons for 5 bucks, but 10 ain’t bad, either.
Now, since Harbor Freight gets most of their stuff from China I can’t advise you about purchasing, although I would. Perhaps you could go in there with face mask and gloves and have Lysol ready in the parking lot or order online with equipment standing by to disinfect and then self-quarantine for a couple weeks, eh?
CSA
Thoughts and prayers go out to all you married men who’ve spent months telling the wife…
"I’ll do that when I’ve got time."
CSA
Did my first brake fluid change in the 2017 Tucson.
The reservoir has a non-removable screen which prevented me from first siphoning most of the old fluid out.
That would have saved some time.
The old fluid was the color of apple juice.
The new Prestone DOT3 synth is water clear.
BTW, these speed bleeders fit most Hyundai/Kia models:
Since I’m taking a two week self-quarantine, I’m doing clay bar and wax on all three cars. I do one car every other day or so. And of course I’m doing the obligatory interior detail. BTW, Meguires rubbing compound works good on headlight haze.