Storing the 100 for 7 months

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tplane2

tplane2

10 Year
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Threads
71
Messages
646
Location
Yokosuka
Headed out on deployment and am going to store the old girl for about 7 months. Looking for any insight or checklists on things that should be done prior to departing.
Storage is inside a garage here in Hawaii. Weather never gets too hot. Air is salty so its why I paid more for inside storage.
Unplugging the battery and fuel stabilizer are first up on the list. Let me know if yall have any ideas!
 
Make sure the tires are inflated, the tank is full, and that should be it. I parked mine at a rural airstrip in Alaska for 7 months, in the open and uncovered. I unhooked the battery and made sure the tires were full of air. Also made sure my parking brake was OFF so it didn't lock on. That was it. No fuel stabilizer needed. When I returned in the spring I hooked up the battery and turned the key. No issues. Fired right up.
 
Whenever I park my boat over the winter (Sept-June) I put it on jack stands so flat spots won't develop on the tires. That and disconnecting the battery terminal should be good enough.
 
You may want to spend $15.00 on a cheap battery tender just you won't need a jump when you come back. Doing that, you will not need to disconnect your battery, just plug it in, alligator clamp to your positive and ground of the battery and your good.

stonepa said:
the tank is full
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Stonepa, not sure why a full tank? I know gas can go bad, so my thought (suggestion) would be to leave an empty tank so he can fill it up with fresh gas when we comes home. Unless you're considering the "bomb" aspect of an empty tank.

Regarding the tires, as long as you have no slow leakers, and fill to operating pressure, I, myself wouldn't bother with jack stands for only 7 months. The wee bit of flat that "may" develop will round out the first time you take your rig out and warm up the tires. Radial tires these days aren't like the bias tires of the last century that actually would get very flat spots if left unattended.
 
r2m said:
You may want to spend $15.00 on a cheap battery tender just you won't need a jump when you come back. Doing that, you will not need to disconnect your battery, just plug it in, alligator clamp to your positive and ground of the battery and your good.


Stonepa, not sure why a full tank? I know gas can go bad, so my thought (suggestion) would be to leave an empty tank so he can fill it up with fresh gas when we comes home. Unless you're considering the "bomb" aspect of an empty tank.

Regarding the tires, as long as you have no slow leakers, and fill to operating pressure, I, myself wouldn't bother with jack stands for only 7 months. The wee bit of flat that "may" develop will round out the first time you take your rig out and warm up the tires. Radial tires these days aren't like the bias tires of the last century that actually would get very flat spots if left unattended.
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When I used to lay my boat up, I'd top off the tank to keep condensation/fuel separation inside the tank from happening. I also used a fuel stabilizer (StarTron or Stabil). I add star tron to all my garage gas, and no problems with year old fuel.
 
TXLX100 said:
When I used to lay my boat up, I'd top off the tank to keep condensation/fuel separation inside the tank from happening. I also used a fuel stabilizer (StarTron or Stabil). I add star tron to all my garage gas, and no problems with year old fuel.
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^This. And drive her for 10 miles or so, so the stabilizer goes through the entire fuel system. TXLX is spot-on as to condensation in a partially filled tank. A Battery Tender Jr. or something similar is also good.

OP, thanks for your service and God bless.

Stay safe.

Steve
 
Thank you for your service, sir!

I stored my BMW M3 for 4 months in my in-laws barn. All I did was brim the tank, fill the tires up to the max pressure, disconnect the battery, left an open box of baking soda on the floor for moisture/odor, and threw on a cover. When I uncovered it, just connected the battery and it turned over with no issue. Good luck. I'm sure your rig will be just fine.
 
I've never had any sort of issue with bad gas as long as the car sat less than a year. Think about it - lots of new cars leave the factory with fuel then are in transit or sit at a dealer lot for many months before being sold. The gas doesn't go bad during that time. However, if some sort of fuel stabilizer makes you more comfortable then go for it.
 
being in hawaii it might be wise to put some sort of humidity control inside the cabin. they make some specifically for automobiles. i've heard bad stories about cars in storage in the midwest and the south, where mold growth occurs inside upholstery from the humidity.
 
tplane2 said:
Headed out on deployment and am going to store the old girl for about 7 months. Looking for any insight or checklists on things that should be done prior to departing.
Storage is inside a garage here in Hawaii. Weather never gets too hot. Air is salty so its why I paid more for inside storage.
Unplugging the battery and fuel stabilizer are first up on the list. Let me know if yall have any ideas!
Click to expand...
The biggest problem are gaskets and seals -when car running they are naturally lubrication - when you put car in the storage for that long, they will dry out and gets hard and brittle and then car starts leaking fluids. under normal storage condition you want to run car for 10 min at least once a month every 2 weeks recommended. 7 months is a stretch, people usually not not aware of this problem purchasing for example a car from 2000 with 40,000 miles telling that car was mostly in the garage not driven much at all , I be afraid of those purchases with huge age and low milage, because you will end up replacing most of the seals and some seals are labor intensive like main crank seal that will run you to lot of mulla $$ . So I'll rather have someone driving my rig for 7 months , then sit still.
 
skhochay said:
The biggest problem are gaskets and seals -when car running they are naturally lubrication - when you put car in the storage for that long, they will dry out and gets hard and brittle and then car starts leaking fluids. under normal storage condition you want to run car for 10 min at least once a month every 2 weeks recommended. 7 months is a stretch, people usually not not aware of this problem purchasing for example a car from 2000 with 40,000 miles telling that car was mostly in the garage not driven much at all , I be afraid of those purchases with huge age and low milage, because you will end up replacing most of the seals and some seals are labor intensive like main crank seal that will run you to lot of mulla $$ . So I'll rather have someone driving my rig for 7 months , then sit still.
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7 months a stretch? Not buying it with a modern car.
 
I recommend that you hook the battery to a BatteryMinder so it stays charged/conditioned/maintained. I've pasted the link below to the one we purchased. This particular model is very popular with the RV crowd when they store their RVs for the winter. Also, I'll second the recommendations from TXLX and Hankinid about fuel stabilizer like Sta-Bil. I've had boats for years that sat in a barn all off-season, and I found without a doubt that we had MANY fewer problems in the spring when we used a fuel stabilizer in the fall. And, as others recommended, you should fill the tank completely so that condensation doesn't form.

http://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Charger-Maintainer-Desulfator-System/dp/B00D7HZ6FC?tag=ihco-20
 
I've never laid a car or a boat up for a long time without topping off and adding fuel stabilizer. But I've had a LOT of problems with 2 stroke engines with 6 month old fuel with ethanol. Just from my personal experience with that, it's a cheap fix.
 
Will your inside storage be rodent-proof? Rodent damage to wires/hoses/etc can be pretty bad in longer term storage.
 
I left my two LX's parked for almost eight weeks while I was on vacation during the holidays and out of town for work. I did the following:

Battery charger's on both rigs (charges to full and then trickle charges)
Tires full of air
Left the gas as is (for 7 months I would put Stabil or an equivalent in my tanks)
Nothing else

Both rigs fired right up. I did notice that one of them (with 255/85R16 Toyo M-55 tires) had a tiny bit of flattening on the tires (heavier rig as well). The other LX with OEM Michelin's did not. The flat spots went away within the timeframe of a 20 minute drive. If I take time off like that again, I will use jack stands and take the weight off the tires. I would feel seven months would be a long time to be on the tires.

Otherwise, I concur with what everyone else has written.
 
TXLX100 said:
I've never laid a car or a boat up for a long time without topping off and adding fuel stabilizer. But I've had a LOT of problems with 2 stroke engines with 6 month old fuel with ethanol. Just from my personal experience with that, it's a cheap fix.
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Slightly OT, but if I'm not using my brush cutters or chainsaws within a couple of weeks, I drain the fuel and run the tool dry. My local Stihl notes major pita's with ethanol fuel left in the tools over a relatively short time. Part of that I fixed by buying 91 octane no-ethanol gas.

Steve
 
7 months is nothing for storage...

Disconnect battery. If it's worth a damn it won't go flat in your climate. If you don't trust it bring booster cables when you return. If you have issues when you return replace the battery.

Bad gas is not something you need to worry about for only seven months. It goes years without being an issue provided the EVAP system is working properly (i.e. sealed). If you don't have EVAP OBD-II codes don't worry about it.

i'd over inflate the tires (whatever max pressure on the sidewall is) to keep them from flat spotting. Not really an issue with radial tires. Even if you notice them flat sptted when you set off after your return driving will bring them back. If bias ply tires that's another matter.

Get some "perfumed" Bounce style dryer sheets and stick inside the cabin near any wiring harnesses, cubbies, under the seats, in the engine bay around wires, around any flat surfaces in the engine bay. This will keep mice and other vermin from setting up shop and eating things they aren't supposed to eat.

I wouldn't bother with fogging the engine. I do it when I am storing engines on the shelf in the barn for years at a time but for your situation I wouldn't be bothered.

Wouldn't hurt to have fresh, uncontaminated oil in the engine sump. If your anal do the rest of the driveline but I wouldn't be bothered to do it. Gives excuse for fresh PM though.

HTH
 
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