Preparing my car for storage for less than a year. Got a full tank of gas, added fuel stabilizer and drove home. Changed oil and filter. Air in tires, put battery on a trickle charger. I did not use any fogging oil. What should I do now? Been sitting for about 2 months.
Should I go ahead and pull the spark plugs, and add some fogging oil to each cylinder, not start the car and continue to lit it sit the rust belt winter out? Should I not worry about it at all? How long of a storage would I need to use fogging oil vs when is it not necessary? I am seeing people say if itās less than 6 months donāt worry about it or even a year. Everyone has their own opinion.
My fuel stabilizer said good for a year. So was going to let it sit for a few months and start it back up in the summer to empty out the fuel tank.
honestly man you are totally fine especially since you already did the most important stuff like the oil change and the fuel stabilizer
fogging oil is one of those things that people argue about endlessly but it is mostly a big deal for boats that sit in super humid environments or engines being stored for like two or three years for less than a year in a modern car engine it is usually overkill because the cylinder walls already have a thin film of oil from when you last drove it and your seals are still fresh
since it has already been sitting for two months i wouldnt bother pulling the plugs now opening up the engine in the middle of winter just risks letting more moisture or grit into the cylinders while you are working on it and you might end up doing more harm than good with cold brittle plastics or wires
the ārust beltā worry is usually more about the salt on the frame and body rather than the inside of the engine anyway
if you are planning to fire it up in the summer and drive that tank of gas out you are golden just make sure when you do finally start it you let it get up to full operating temperature so any moisture that built up in the exhaust or oil evaporates away
When I looked around for places to store my Vette several have guidelines for Auto Storage.
Hereās one I found.
To reduce deterioration during storage we suggestā¦
Give your vehicle a good wash before storage to remove road grit, acid rain residues and, in winter road salt.
Clean out interior making sure to remove crumbs, food wrappers, etc. (You may be amazed by what you find under the seats.)
Just before storing, run your engine fully warm to evaporate moisture from oil pan and exhaust system.
Prevent tire flat spots by raising tire pressure to 38-40 psi.
If you opt out of battery tender service. Disconnect battery ā modern cars are prone to parasitic draw. Older cars with electric clocks will also draw batteries flat. Flat batteries tend to sulfite and die.
If storing a vehicle for more than a few weeks? This may helpā¦
Add fuel preservative to prevent gum and varnish formation. Modern fuel formulas break down quickly.
Fill your gas tank to minimize in-tank condensation.
Then run engine 5-10 minutes to ensure treated fuel is distributed throughout the fuel delivery system.
For longer-term storage consider the followingā¦
Change engine oil and filter as combustion by-products trapped in your āusedā oil contain moisture and are measurably acidic.
Flush and replace coolant to renew the antioxidants used in modern anti-freeze.
Flush and replace brake fluid as it is highly hydroscopic and contaminated fluid can cause costly corrosive damage in precision brake systems.
Why does the other cylinder look normal, most of the time you pull a head due to coolant in the oil or cylinder, that cylinder looks like it had water in it, whereas the next cylinder either #3 or maybe #2 still showing the factory cross hatchesā¦ So that could be showing a picture out of context so to speak, but I am not there, nor do I know the history on that engine, just what I am seeingā¦ Also your climate is different than mineā¦ But I have seen engines that have not been run for many years, (and out of the direct weather (rain/snow like in a garage or under cover/hood)), still look good with no rust.. Not arguing, just what I am seeing from a single pictureā¦
Spray fogging oil into air intake of running engine for 10 seconds.
Shut engine off.
Remove spark plugs and spray fogging oil into each cylinder.
Turn engine over to distribute fogging oil.
Replace spark plugs.
In my case, I donāt want to start the engine, and get mositure in the oil due to incomplete combustion. Should I just do step 5-7, and just turn th engine over with by hand with a breaker bar and socket on the crank bolt?
I was hoping to wait until the summer time. So maybe 8 months or so.
If you choose steps 5-7, I would spin the engine with the starter, just put towels over the engine, donāt ask me how I knowš
40+ years ago I stored a carbureted car for 15 months, did all of the above, but used an outboard fogging oil introduced through the carb.
When I got it out of storage, went a step further, squirted oil into each cylinder, with plugs out spun the engine until the oil pressure came up.
How long should I spray fogging oil into each cylinder, like 1 second? So you mean put towels on top of the engine during winter? To help keep it warm? What about like one of these heating pads you secure to the oil pan for really cold places, but I think that would just keep the oil warm in the engine, not necessarily keep the entire engine warm while sitting in the winter?
The average cranking compression of an automotive engine is 120psi to 200psi, that cranking compression will blow liquids out of the cylinders through the spark plug holes in the cylinder heads with the spark plugs removed under the 120-200psi and can/will make a big mess of whatever liquid is in the cylinders, so the towel(s) are used ONLY while cranking the engine with the spark plugs removed covering the spark plug holesā¦ The towels are not used to keep the engine warm in winterā¦
Sorry, that is more of a @Tester question to answer, I was just simply explaining what the towel was used forā¦ I have never used a Fogging oil, never needed it in my small corner of the worldā¦
My boat manual says doing fogging oil through air intake can mess up sensors. Not recommended, 2021 outboard motor. Recommend pulling plugs and applying fogging stuff. My boat guy hooks it up to a mix of 2 cycle oil gas and stability to winterize. Now it may sound silly but a bud asked me what do I do to winterize my 90 horse evinrude. Nothing I said, do the lower gearcase every now and then, seafome in the gas all the time, let him borrow the boat to take his relatives water skiing, sold the boat transom going out, now $180 to winterize new motor, paid for by gas and 2 cycle oil I guess
Iām also wondering at this point, should I wait until it remains above freezing before adding fogging oil? Or does it really not matter? Iām just wondering if itās a good idea to remove spark plugs when itās below freezing for most of the day, to add fogging oil, and then let it sit for a few more months.
Option 1 - Add fogging oil into cylinders. Let car sit for another six months. Total sit time about 8 months
Option 2 - Wait until above freezing for most of the day (maybe another two months), total sit time about 5 months add fogging oil, start up the car, and drive itā¦
Option 3 - Wait until above freezing for most of the day (maybe another two months), total sit time about 5 months add fogging oil, let it sit for 3 months, total sit time of 8 months.
