Parked for the winter

[oldschoolrods]

Well after the first of the year the 69 will be parked til summer I will be attending college 4 hours away from my home and can't be driving that old truck back and forth to school, hopefully when I get home for the summer I'll be able to get some real work done on it...

[FORDification]

Is it being store outside or in a shop/shed? If you take a few precautions now your truck will be much easier to wake up this spring. Start off by washing it off completely, to remove any tar, sap, etc. which would affect the paint over time. Then....

1) Fuel System - Fill the fuel tank all the way and add a can of fuel stabilizer to the tank. Then take the truck for a short drive to circulate the stablizer through the whole fuel system. When you go to park it, remove the fuel pumps input line and run the engine until the engine dies (runs out of fuel). This will remove any fuel in the carb which might cause problems from sitting. The fuel stabilizer should prevent that, but it' an added step that might help. Once the engine dies, remove each spark plug and squirt a few drops of oil into the cylinders and replace the plugs.

2) Cooling System - drain your coolant and replace with a rust-inhibiting antifreeze.

3) Critter Protection - Place mothballs on the floorboards and under the dash. Place a couple in the tailpipe(s) and then seal the tailpipes off from the outside. This prevent critters and moisture from entering through the tailpipes.

4) Lubrication System - Change the oil and filter, making sure your oil has corrosion protection. (Acids in used oil will attach the engine's bearings over time.)

5) Interior - Coat all vinyl surfaces with a protectant (like ArmorAll). Either use a breathable car cover (NOT plastic!) or at least a sunshield (one of those foldable cardboard ones) to reduce interior heat and ultraviolet rays. Make sure the doors and windows are shut tightly and that all firewall and floorpan plugs are in place.

6) Remove the battery and store in a cool dry place, giving it a trickle charge every few weeks. A battery will normally slowly discharge, but storing in a cool dry place will reduce the discharge rate.

7) Relieve the tension all all drive belts.

While a majority of these suggestions might not be necessary for storing a car for only a few months, it's certainly not going to hurt, and will probably help when it comes time to fire it back up.

[oldschoolrods]

its gotta be stored outside, thanks for the tips

[dotcentral]

6) Remove the battery and store in a cool dry place, giving it a trickle charge every few weeks. A battery will normally slowly discharge, but storing in a cool dry place will reduce the discharge rate.

I put a piece of wood under mine to get it up off the concrete floor. Might be an old wives tale, but I hear that they discharge faster if directly on the floor.

[oldschoolrods]

Mine will be put on a work bench so ehh better than concrete i guess

[FORDification]

When I was in the Army we were taught the same thing. But it no longer applies to modern batteries...storing a battery on concrete has no affect on discharge rate. I found the following at THIS URL:

Will storing my battery on concrete drain the charge?
No. Regarding today's batteries, this is a myth. A battery placed on concrete will not discharge any faster, but a battery will discharge over a period of time wherever it is placed. If the battery has a surface layer of acid or grime which is conductive, the battery will self-discharge more rapidly than if it were clean and dry.

This myth does have some historical basis. Many years ago, wooden battery cases encased a glass jar with the battery in it. Any moisture on the floor could cause the wood to swell and possibly fracture the glass, causing it to leak. Later came the introduction of the "hard rubber" cases, which were somewhat porous. A current could be conducted through this container, which had a high carbon content, if the moist concrete floor permitted the current to find an electrical ground. The wise advise of the old days to "not store batteries on concrete" has apparently been passed down to us today, but it no longer applies.

[Comet]

Or, better than storing it-drive it when you come home on weekends or what ever.

[heep70]

Someone needs to invent a big Vac-pack, so we can vacuum seal our rigs in a huge bag.

[willowbilly3]

Actually they have a sealed bag thing. I was reading about them on another site. But the guy who posted had something go wrong with his and a
when he took his car out there was water standing in the bottom from condensation. It pretty much messed the car up.
I also go for starting it up and letting it warm all the way up about once a month.

[crazy larry]

my little buddy is going off to college.

[jreb333]

3) Critter Protection - Place mothballs on the floorboards and under the dash. Place a couple in the tailpipe(s) and then seal the tailpipes off from the outside. This prevent critters and moisture from entering through the tailpipes.

try some mothballs in the gas tank too.....JUST KIDDING LOL

[FORDification]

try some mothballs in the gas tank too.....JUST KIDDING LOL

You must have been watching Mythbusters on The Learning Channel too!

[morganater]

I didn't do anything to my truck to winterize it, but I drive it about every month, and leave like vapor for gas in the tank. Our winters are cold as hell in Alaska.

[jreb333]

try some mothballs in the gas tank too.....JUST KIDDING LOL

You must have been watching Mythbusters on The Learning Channel too!

did they test that one? i didnt catch it. what was there conclusion?

we used to make napalm when i was a kid with mothballs, gasoline, styrofoam and tide detergent back when it had a high phosphorus content

[FORDification]

...did they test that one? i didnt catch it. what was there conclusion?...

They were doing a test of sugar in the gas tank...to see what it did. They determined that sugar won't mess up an engine....it ran just fine and reported the myth as 'busted'. However, from what I understand, it's not what sugar does while an engine's running, it's how it tends to harden up and block carburetor passages after the engine is shut down.

Anyway, they were trying different things in the gas tank to see what the effect was, and tried mothballs....and afterwards they thought the engine actually kinda smoothed out a bit and ran better. Of course, you'll never catch me trying that to my vehicles!