Finally got her/ storage help

[dragonwiddd]

I have been a long time reader and have always been holding out on buying as im deploying in September and did not want to leave a new car sitting for 8 months, but then i gave in. Did not wake up expecting to buy a car today, but after work I saw the dealer down the road had an asphalt one in manual and a few hours later I went from this to this:







I will miss the sex box, box nasty, ice cube, toaster, what ever you want to call it

What should i do to her when i leave her for a few months? Take the batt out? Let the gas and oil sit or drain it? I know gas breaks down over a period of time. Car cover? what about my rotors? I dont want to come back to surface rusted brakes. The last time i left my XB for a few months the relay for my key-unlock- button got stuck so i had to use my key to get into my car -_-

[Wo6M]

Great buy and good luck on your future endeavours.
What sort of storage options are you looking at? I feel this will effect on how you should store your FRS.

Regardless of the form of storage I think the biggest problem will be the eventual brake down of your fuel .

I suggest filling up with ethanol free gas and have about 1/4 th of s tank max.(so the pump is not exposed)
Then add a bottle of staybill (correct my spilling)
It's a fuel additive that preserves the fuel for extended time periods of fuel.

Anyone like to chime in? This is just my 2cents

[P@ul]

You don't need to do much. Pull the battery and change the oil. I would add some fuel stabilizer and just put it in storage. When you start it back up, make sure you pull the fuel injector relay, and run the car for 60-90 seconds to prime the fuel pump and build oil pressure. Put both back in and start the car up. The only other major step some people like to do is cover plastic parts with aluminum foil to keep it safe from animals. They like to nest!


I've stored my miata two winters, without fuel stabilizer, and it was fine. I told my friend to do the same relay trick for restarting his S2K after he got back from deployment. He didn't use fuel stabilizer but siphoned out the old gas and put in some new stuff and he was fine.

You can put in some more air, or just store it on crappy tires. If you have the space, some people like to the car on jack stands. Here's the Miata.net storage guide if you want to be OCD:

http://www.miata.net/faq/faq3.html

How do I prepare my Miata for Winter Storage?

1. Clean all painted surfaces, use touchup paint as needed, and wax the exterior and door jams, under the hood and trunk lid, and wheels.
2. Flush with generous quantities of water: the undercarriage, behind inner front fender liners, inside rocker panels (being sure that all 8 drain slits are unblocked).
3. Use a good rubber/vinyl cleaner-conditioner on all vinyl and on rubber gaskets, seals, and other rubber parts.
4. Change oil and filter; do lube job. (Optional: Remove four spark plugs, squirt oil in cylinders, and turn engine over. This may be unnecessary with modern engine oils and their additives.)
5. Check that engine coolant has 50-50 mixture, or that coolant is good for 35-below temperature.
6. Lubricate door window channels and tracks with silicon (on power windows, keep silicon away from electrical contacts and use white lithium in the metal tracks).
7. Fill gas tank as full as possible. Add a can of dry gas made for use with fuel injection. (Optional: Add fuel stabilizer to gas; some believe this is unnecessary for modern gasoline with its additives.)
8. Stuff rags (steel wool or crumpled foil should foil rag-eating rodents) tightly into tailpipe and intake snorkel under hood in order to keep out rodents. Tape a note to the steering wheel that reminds you to unplug the pipes before trying to start the Miata.
9. Jack up car and store on blocks under the jack points; this takes weight off springs, shocks, and tires. (Alternative: Store car with at least 40 pounds of air in tires, to minimize flat spotting of tires.)
10. Transmission in neutral and parking brake off. (The MCA has recommended that you also depress the clutch pedal by using a stick between base of driver's seat and the pedal; however, no one has seen a sticking clutch pedal on a Miata and some experts question whether you should follow this step, which would put the linkage under stress.)
11. Battery
    1. Disconnect battery and store it where temperature is above freezing and NOT on a concrete floor. (Be sure to record the radio code, which you will need to re-enter when reconnecting battery.)
    2. An alternative approach, at least with indoor storage, is to leave battery in car and use a trickle charger set at 2 amps, approximately once each month. An even better approach is to use a timer on the charger, set weekly. Best of all is use of an automatic trickle charger which is attached to the battery, plugged in, and then forgotten.
    3. It does NOT work to start the car up weekly or monthly when it is in storage.
12. Store car with convertible top up, to ensure that it is dry and does not mildew.
13. Where mice are a problem, a few mothballs placed in the car will discourage the building of nests.
14. Cover car with a soft breathable cover, to keep away sunlight and to keep dust off Miata.
15. In choosing location for storage, remember that moisture, rodents, and direct sunlight are the enemies, to varying degrees in different parts of the country.
16. Wait in agony for winter to end, then to restart, pull the fuel injector relay (under hood, on fender, N. American passenger side) and crank until you've got good and steady oil pressure -- about 8 psi on the gauge. This will take 45 seconds or so. Plug relay back in and away you go.

Credits and appreciation:

Lester Seal, apex@miata.net

Richard Dekker, dekker@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca

John Emerson, jemerson@panther.middlebury.edu

[ntron1]

First and Foremost. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

When my Brother in Law deployed he left behind his precious new Jeep. Fortunately, he lived only a few hundred miles away and together we decided he would leave his Jeep with us. We parked it in our Garage and drove it 2 miles every Sunday until he returned. He was deployed for 27 weeks and when he returned, It was Washed, Waxed, Oil Changed and had 54 more miles on it than when he left.

I realize this may not be possible in your case and I do not know much about storage but if this is at all possible with someone you trust with your life, I highly recommend it.

Again, THANK YOU and STAY SAFE!

[dragonwiddd]

Thanks paul, that is deff a big help. I'm looking into climate controlled storage units right now but if worse comes to worse i might just have to store it in someones driveway.

And thanks Ntron1!

Just one more question. I looked after my friends accord for a few months while he was deployed. After 2 months of not starting it I noticed his fuel went from 1/4 to full. I opened the cap and pressure came hissing out. I had to start the car to relieve excess pressure and it made a loud whistling sound like a jet taking off the second i started it. Like pounds of pressure escaped at once. What caused this and will pressure build in my tank as it sits?