Storing Car for 2 Years - Tips?

[fika84]

Originally Posted by Decay107

You should definitely still get a battery tender. Lead Acid batteries slowly discharge on their own so you an either get a battery tender now, or a new battery once you get back.

^^ Definitely spend the $20 on a battery tender. You'd be amazed how often those things come in handy!

[FR-S Guy]

Originally Posted by cliff p.

It's better to put carpet squares under the tires, than to put the car on jack-stands for extended periods of time. Granted the car doesn't have much droop when lifted, you'd still end up with some suspension geometry issues if you left the car on jackstands for 2 years (unless you were also supporting the wheels/tires with blocks or something)

What was suggested above is definitely the way to go.

I have some old winter tires on the car now which I don't intend to re-use when I get back. So I'm just going to pump it up a bit higher and leave it at that. No problem there!

Originally Posted by MadeInSweden

Don't forget to put a "dry ball" (called that in swedish) to collect moisture inside the car.

Good call, will do!

Originally Posted by fika84

^^ Definitely spend the $20 on a battery tender. You'd be amazed how often those things come in handy!

I think I will. It would be a terrible tragedy if it somehow started a fire though *knock on wood*....

[fika84]

Originally Posted by FR-S Guy

I think I will. It would be a terrible tragedy if it somehow started a fire though *knock on wood*....

It's such low voltage you should be fine, and I'm sure it has an inline fuse on it somewhere that will break ... It would also be a terrible tragedy if you came back home from work and couldn't drive your baby!!

[Diode Dynamics]

Is there anyone you can ask to drive it every so often?

Make sure you put a fuel stabilizer in the tank! 2 years is a long time to let a car sit

Nick C.

[stevemp5]

2 years is too long! Sell it!

[Tcoat]

Having stored a couple of cars when deployed/posted overseas for extended periods I agree that most of the ideas already given are good.
Here is my thoughts (sorry for the repetition but just to have them all in one spot)
Disconnect the battery if not worried about losing ecu settings. Had a buddy get mice in his engine compartment and chew some wires. The wires shorted and burnt half the car up before it was noticed.
Use a tender on the disconnected battery. This way you reduce fire hazards but still keep the battery good.
Use crappy tires and don't jack anything up. Sounds like that is your plan and it is a good one.
Cover it. Again your plan.
Do what ever you can to seal it all up. Critters seem to be the worst enemy to any long term stored car I have ever seen!
Get somebody you trust to check it every once in a while. You didn't say where you are storing it but if somebody checks on a regular basis they can stop any problems before they get too bad.
Make sure you have some insurance on it (or it is covered by where you are storing it). Just in case!

[FR-S Guy]

Originally Posted by Diode Dynamics

Is there anyone you can ask to drive it every so often?

Make sure you put a fuel stabilizer in the tank! 2 years is a long time to let a car sit

Nick C.

Fuel stabilizer is for sure!
Technically I can ask my dad to start it up every so often. But I've heard that starting it without running it decently hard may actually do more harm. I'm a bit wary of actually having him take it out for a rip because it won't have insurance.

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Having stored a couple of cars when deployed/posted overseas for extended periods I agree that most of the ideas already given are good.
Here is my thoughts (sorry for the repetition but just to have them all in one spot)
Disconnect the battery if not worried about losing ecu settings. Had a buddy get mice in his engine compartment and chew some wires. The wires shorted and burnt half the car up before it was noticed.
Use a tender on the disconnected battery. This way you reduce fire hazards but still keep the battery good.
Use crappy tires and don't jack anything up. Sounds like that is your plan and it is a good one.
Cover it. Again your plan.
Do what ever you can to seal it all up. Critters seem to be the worst enemy to any long term stored car I have ever seen!
Get somebody you trust to check it every once in a while. You didn't say where you are storing it but if somebody checks on a regular basis they can stop any problems before they get too bad.
Make sure you have some insurance on it (or it is covered by where you are storing it). Just in case!

Good idea on disconnecting the battery but keeping it on a tender. I think I will do that.

I don't intend to put a cover on it, but my car will be kept in my garage. For the time being I intend to be back in July and intend to wash and wax it at that point.

Thanks for the tips! Keep em coming!

Also, any tips for when I fire it up again when I get back? My biggest worry is the fuel. I intend to fill the tank and add stabilizer. Should I just try to crank it?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by FR-S Guy

Fuel stabilizer is for sure!
Technically I can ask my dad to start it up every so often. But I've heard that starting it without running it decently hard may actually do more harm. I'm a bit wary of actually having him take it out for a rip because it won't have insurance.



Good idea on disconnecting the battery but keeping it on a tender. I think I will do that.

I don't intend to put a cover on it, but my car will be kept in my garage. For the time being I intend to be back in July and intend to wash and wax it at that point.

Thanks for the tips! Keep em coming!

Also, any tips for when I fire it up again when I get back? My biggest worry is the fuel. I intend to fill the tank and add stabilizer. Should I just try to crank it?

Throw some octane booster in, fire er up and drive. The gas will be a bit stale even with stabilizer but that just means the ecu will have a little more work to do through that tank.
The longest one mine sat was just short of two years and it fired up second crank. Now mind you that was pre ecu days but still...

[Poodles]

Ideally it would be good to fog the cylinders with some cylinder fogging oil, but this is difficult on the twins.

Critters, moisture, and overall dry rot is the biggest enemy here.

Do you have an extended warranty? Cause you could have issues that arise from sitting that long that if you're paying out of pocket could make it wiser to simply sell it.

[cliff p.]

Quite honestly, I would store it without fuel at all if possible. Siphon the tank, and pull the pump fuse. Crank it up to get residual fuel out of the lines, and then let her sit. That's jmho

[Diode Dynamics]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Throw some octane booster in, fire er up and drive. The gas will be a bit stale even with stabilizer but that just means the ecu will have a little more work to do through that tank.
The longest one mine sat was just short of two years and it fired up second crank. Now mind you that was pre ecu days but still...

Octane booster is a big no-no for the FA20 IIRC, perhaps someone else will chime in with more feedback?

Nick C.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Diode Dynamics

Octane booster is a big no-no for the FA20 IIRC, perhaps someone else will chime in with more feedback?

Nick C.

Even when sitting for two years?
I am not talking day to day use.
Always used it is stored cars before but with this engine you could be correct.

[FR-S Guy]

Originally Posted by cliff p.

Quite honestly, I would store it without fuel at all if possible. Siphon the tank, and pull the pump fuse. Crank it up to get residual fuel out of the lines, and then let her sit. That's jmho

Doesn't this pretty much guarantee condensation in the tank, followed by mold and all that good stuff?

[cameronjones239]

Look into "Star-Tron enzyme fuel treatment". We used stabil for years & it was always so/so.. We've had very good luck with this stuff as far as curing our enthenol issues while the machines sit aside for awhile. We use it in our cars, trucks, motorcycles, lawn mowers, chain saws, basically any gasoline engine. Claims to stabilize gas for up to 2 years.