Advice on Garage Climates for a New Englander

How's this for a self-proclaimed Archive Search Nazis response:

There's been a lot of discussion on this in the old fourm (accessible under it's own tab under Search, try "garage" "heat" "Winter" etc), but I don't recall much of it, so let the opinions fly!

 

I looked into this awhile ago, for Minnesota. A problem occurs if you get some road salt on the undercarriage, and keep it warm and wet.

 

as has been pointed out, it does in part depend on whether you plan to use it or not.

if we have another winter like last one, then heat is a GOOD thing regarldess though! but that was a 100 year winter.

doody.

 

For years I've been storing cars dry & cold for the duration of NE winters w/o any observable problems. Fresh oil,brake fluid, 50-50 antifreeze-distilled water mix, & boosted tire pressure to 40psi.

I agree w/don_xvi, there are some very detailed threads in the old Fchat archives that you ought to read & form your own opinion.

In NE worst thing you can do to a car is drive it in salt, then park in a heated garage. As the water evaporates from the salty slush, the salt % increases, rapidly corroding almost anything metal (eats concrete garage floors as well!). Better to park a NE driver in a cold garage. Put a battery heater & engine/coolant heater in if you want it to start readily.

My 308 tends to spend a big % of it's time in the garage on the lift as I do my major projects during the salt season. However, the rest of the time it's stored cold & dry in my car shelter. My son's Rx7 is stored in the shelter for the entire salt season, as is my '91 Olds wagon & motorcycles.

A possible CON:
I've heard a couple of reports of cars developing oil leaks, allegedly due to uneven thermal expansion after storing in severe cold. Not sure if the cold is the issue, or if they'd have developed the leaks anyway with time.

 

I put stabil in the gas and have at least one good run on it, this way the injection doesnt get gummed up. The tires get pumped up to 50 psi to avoid flatspotting. Lastly you can order an omnibag which is a giant plastic bag into which goes the car and some desecant. The desecant ensures the humidity stays below 50%. Garage tempreture is not then an issue and the car is inert.

I have stored my car this way for over 10 years. In some years due to work in foreign lands the car has not moved for up to 13 months. At then end of the starage period all I ever had to do is drop in the battery turn on the ignition wait a few seconds for fuel presuure to build turn the key and go. I tend to drive softly for the fist 15 miles or so. Also If tank is full I drain it and put in fresh gas.

Lastly i try to change the oil if possible fairly close to storage time so as to not have old oil in the engine, If I know I am storing for more than 6 months then I change oil immediatly prior to storage. Brake and tranny fluid get done every two years.

Some people claim running engine over winter helps preserve belts and other rubber bits. My feeling is that unless car driven on road you dont really get it up to temperature so oil and engine can become contaminated with moisture.

I ran the last set of belts for 8 years, and I drove vigorously although total mileage was probably under 1000 per year. Some people change belts every two years others go longer. From what I have heard the belts these days are much better than those available 20 years ago. That being said due to paranoia I will probably change every 5 years.