That's not something to be proud of sport...

Hey wait a minute, that's not true. You drove your car after the Rural Cruise.

Hey Guys,

I might be storing my car in the garage at my mother's house this winter


What should I be doing to prepare it for winter storage?


Jason

take the keys with you so she doesn't drive it.

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Bad decisions make good stories.
Look at it! LOOK AT MY @SS AND TELL ME IT'S PRETTY!

Oh, I had to give her the keys or she wouldn't have allowed it to go in there.

However the battery is not connected so she will have a hard time going anywhere.

Jason

Is it a heated garage? If not you probably want to take the battery out and put it in the basement or somewhere warmer. Also you should check your anti-freeze to make sure it is still good.

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Superjfly
'92 VR4

I hope it's still good! I just changed it for him last month.

Even on the coldest winter days, it shouldn't get cold enough in the garage to hurt the battery. Then again... It's a oooold garage.

Jason, if you do pull the battery don't set it on any concrete. Set it on a piece of wood or something. Placing a battery on a concrete surface will drain the charge.

I've had bad luck with leaving batteries in vehicles, even if they are in the garage, and then coming back to finding the batteries dead. I even had one in a parked car over the summer where the battery drained.??? That's why I suggested pulling it.

Why is it that a battery will drain if set on concrete? Is it just that it is colder on the concrete? or something chemical?

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Superjfly
'92 VR4

I'm not exactly sure of the specifics (if I had more time, I'd research it), but I know it has to do with the chemicals in the battery.

The battery shouldn't drain if you unhook the negative terminal or pull the yellow I/O jumper in the fuse box under the hood.

I am 34 and am with American Fam and pay about 61 a month for the
91 ES, I have had a good record for about 5 years up until 4 months ago.
I also have 2 other cars. a 2000 Lumina and a 93 Dodge Shadow.
So all things considered and the House insurance included ....I am totally
screwed in life with insurance! I just paid for the Stealth and Lumina
several weeks ago and it was about 500.00 for 6 months. Not that bad
actually.

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Is it true that cannibals won't eat clowns because they taste funny?
What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

Well as far as the concern about my battery goes, it's allready dead.

It was dead a while ago, no point in buying a new one until I intend to drive it somewhere.

What are some other things besides pulling the battery that I should do to make sure my car endures a winter of not being driven.

Should I take the wheels off? Put antifreeze in the tank etc?


What do you guys do?

All I do is put stable in the gas tank (which is low enough for the fuel light to be on). This year, I might actually jack up the car and take the wheels off as I've got new tires to put on...

The only thing you should really be concerned about is restarting the motor after having it sit all winter. I always change the oil/filter and before starting it for the 1st time. Then I disconnect the CAS and crank the motor over for about 20 seconds with the starter, then plug it back in, and fire it up.

I've also gotten away with just starting the motor every 2 weeks, backing the car out of the garage, and let it warm up completely (reving it a few times). If you do this, you can just disregaurd everything I've said above.

If you fill your gas tank before storing it, you will help prevent condensation on the sides of the tank. This does 2 things for you... a) it helps keep your gas tank from rusting and b) water in your gas is bad. If your car is being stored in a garage that is relatively temperature stable, yuo won't need to worry about condensation being an issue.

If you are reeaaally worried about damaging your cylinders on a "dry start"... Pull your spark plugs a day or two before you will be starting it and squirt about a teaspoon of motor oil in each cylinder to wet them down. Make sure you put it all back together before you try to start it.

Well the time is getting even closer for me to park the VR4. I'm waiting until after Thanksgiving so my wifes brother can check it out. Just him and his dad are coming up from Detroit for the holiday. He's just turing 16 so I know he will like to see it and get a ride in it. No way is he going behind the drivers seat.....ever!!! Then it will be parked until next spring. I'm really going to miss driving it. I know at least once a month I'm going to have to pull off the car cover and stare at it. If things work out next year will be Ohiospydermans short throw shifter and hopefully VLS hinges. I also would like to install the 99 lifters. Now I just need to get the $$$ put aside to do it.

Kyle

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93 3000 GT VR4

Well the day came sooner than expected. We got 8 inches of snow in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Tuesday night. I took the old 94 Grand Prix out of storage and put the plates from the VR4 on it. So the VR4 is now officially off the road until spring. I did have to drive it yesterday to get a full tank of gas. Now the car is sitting in the garage dirty covered with salt, CRAP!!! I just hope the weather warms up a bit so I can pull the car into the driveway for one last good wash. If it warms up a bit more I would do one last wax job. So it has only been parked for a day or two and I already miss driving it. Its going to be a long winter, one because the snow came so damn early and second because I can't drive the car.

Kyle

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93 3000 GT VR4

I wash my car in the freezing cold all the time. I just use hot water and make several trips in/out of the house. A lot of times I do it in the garage too where it's warmer.

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06 Blue EVO 9