Question: Soon winter will be upon us - Is there a proper way to store your dream car for the winter?

Answer:  A FEW POINTERS ON WINTER STORAGE

There are many tiers to this - - - the short answer is that the vehicle should be spotlessly clean - - the oil should be fresh and any fluids such as brake fluid should be flushed and changed - - - coolant if it has any should be fresh and changed etc.----- the tire pressure should be at least about 10 pounds above the normal operating pressure to help support the tire carcass and the car should not sit in the same exact spot It needs to be rolled back and forth slightly and sit in a different position on the tire - - The best storage is in a warm (not hot ) dark place with a light cover that can breathe over the paint work - - - if the environment is dusty then the cover should be a bit heavier with possibly a plastic cover on top to keep the dust off . The battery needs periodic charging - -- the easiest way to accomplish this is to purchase a charger that senses battery condition and automatically switches on and off; do not leave even the tinniest charger on all the time the battery will boil dry or at least sustain irreparable damage - - - these chargers are usually sold by bike shops as motorcycles have the same storage problem with batteries -- the other method is to monitor the battery and periodically charge it. You can just disconnect the battery and hope for the best but what sounds good now will be a potential source of aggravation come the first sunny day in spring 

WHY?

Fluids: The oil should be fresh because oil just doesn't lubricate (see earlier article on oil ) the oil in the system collects and removes contamination so we want all the contaminants out when we let the car sit. Brake fluid is hydroscopic (takes on water ) the water content and contamination content of the fluid is what eventually damages the seals and components of the brake system so it is better if it is fresh (it should be changed at least annually anyway or after each trip to the track ) it wouldn't hurt to have the brake fluid flushed and changed in spring again as its boiling temperature changes with it taking on moisture and it takes on moisture when it sits exposed to the atmosphere -- and last time I looked every brake reservoir in existence has a breather hole to atmosphere. Coolant can go bad and still test OK so we don't want our cooling system freezing so fresh is best and we don't want also the contamination (sediment) of the coolant sitting in one spot in the system potentially plugging up passage ways that have to cool the engine in spring. Other fluids in the vehicle are perhaps less critical (power steering fluid, transmission oil) if they are changed however it doesn't hurt to change them periodically and now is as good a time as any. Unless there is a component problem the power steering oil very seldom takes on any contamination and it isn't hydroscopic. Transmission oil is actually designed to last a long time and doesn't require too frequent changes (depending on the drive cycle that the vehicle is subjected to) in the case of an automatic visually inspecting the oil for clarity and discoloration is sufficient , In the case of hypoid type gear oil the oil has an additive for differential break in and if you change this stuff too frequently it can actually cause a breakdown of the gear surface but this is only if you changed it on a ridiculous frequency-- but needless to say once per year is more than sufficient. 

Tires: Tires age and they are affected by temperature and light UV breaks the compound down and they tend to heat age so hot storage will cause the rubber to get harder. They are also flexible and are made of a fiber carcass saturated and coated with rubber any flexible polymer has the tendency when it sits in one place with load on it for an extended period of time to conform to the surface that it is sitting against if it is the floor then you get a flat spot forming so a little extra tire pressure will help combat this effect by making the tire a little more rigid - -- this effect can even occur on some tires over night depending on the cord construction (rayon belted tires are particularly bad for this you get a square wheel ride until a bit of temperature gets into the carcass after the first few miles ). If you periodically move the car a foot or so and get the pressure point moved this also helps the flat spot not to develop (once every couple of weeks or so ) the other advantage to the harder tire pressure is that the vehicle pushes easier. It doesn't hurt to periodically check the tire pressure as they will loose a bit of air pressure through seepage and when the temperature drops the air inside shrinks and you need to add more pressure from this alone.

Blocks or no Blocks: That is the question ! Whether it is nobler to put your car on blocks or leave it standing lonely on the cool concrete floor . The Idea of suspending the car to take the weight of the suspension and wheel bearings is more a consideration of the bearings. What happens is this when the ball in bearing sits on the outer race with the vehicle weight pressing on it the ball is slowly pushed through the grease separating the metal of the race and ball and when they contact you can get a minute mark in the race and or ball on the highly polished surface of either component and when the bearing starts turning again you will have a premature failure. So pushing the car forward or back a bit to help the tires also will cut this phenomena off at the knees. Now there are exceptions to everything - - if the sitting in one spot bearing is aggravated by vibration the ball will not just squeeze through the grease but it will actually micro weld itself to the race surface then break free then weld again and so on so you can imagine what happens when the bearing is required to roll again - - it's scrap! If you plan on storing you car near a railway or in a corner of your Uncles stamping plant you might want to consider blocks or increase the frequency of rolling the car to every few days. We know about this phenomena from cars being shipped by rail and tied down too tight where they couldn't move around and circulate the grease in the bearings. If a vehicle is going to sit for an extreme amount of time like years - - springs can take a set but not as much as years ago - - the steels that are used to day are far superior and unless the time span is long blocking to save the suspension and springs is probably not necessary for the couple of months of the winter and the shocks don't know that they are sitting still unless you spill the beans and tell them. 

Paint Exterior
Common sense say's that if you leave debris and dirt sitting on the paint-work for an extended period of time that it will lead to damage to the surface -- if you move the dirt around you get scratches (check out the hood or roof of your average leased business coupe you can probably see the sliding briefcase imprint from across the underground) So it stands to reason that if you put a cover on dirt it will damage the surface - - clean and polished before storage is the word for paint and a nice soft cloth cover that won't scratch - - if there is a situation where dust will accumulate at all you may want to put a second covering on top to keep the first layer clean and keep the dust from saturating your nice soft cover. The exterior rubber surfaces of the vehicle should probably get a coating of whatever magic elixir that you have discovered in your search through the jungle of products out there that promise eternal youth to anything flexible. If you have the resources then under the vehicle will benefit from an oil based spray or reasonable facsimile (that won't dissolve the factory under coating) This will keep away the evil effects of condensation on any bolts or hardware (corrosion) to maintain a new just installed by the factory look . In a storage facility condensation is probably the no one enemy so a heated but cool place is best or a facility where at least the effects of the outside temperature fluctuations are dampened. A steel building with a concrete floor and a cool humid foggy day and anything metal inside the building will appear to be sweating - - - this is not a good storage facility - - - insulate the building and it is substantially better - - add enough heat to take the chill off and we have a winner -- you get the idea !

The Battery
The little black heavy box filled with engine cranking juice can be quite cranky if it doesn't get all charged up or a good sleep for the winter. Inside the black box there is a chemical reaction that produces electricity and a few things can happen to slow down or stop the process over the storage period. If a battery for instance sits idly on a cold concrete floor the cooling effect of the concrete can over time chill the reaction and slow it down to a stop and the battery can go dead as a door nail putting it on a piece of wood or something as an insulator will help. Another effect that can also drain the battery down is if the outside of the battery is dirty the dust and dirt can get moist and the moisture will conduct electricity - - over time even a slight conductivity over the outside surface of the battery casing will short it out and it will drain to the point that the reaction inside stops. These days the biggest threat to the longevity of the battery is the on board electric systems that cars have - - everything from cell phones and alarm systems to ventilation systems and clocks that keep demanding even the smallest amount of power from the battery when the vehicle sits -- So the battery needs to have power put back into it when we are driving around town the on board charging system does this job quite nicely but when our toys are sleeping the only way is to periodically charge the battery. There are battery condition sensing chargers available for a lot less than the cost of a battery (I think less that 100) that are well worth the investment you can plug them in to the battery and into the wall and the next time you touch the plugs is the next time you want to drive the vehicle. The next best thing is to periodically put a trickle charger on the battery and charge it up at a rate of about 2 to 3 amps - - just don't forget to take the charger off - - - the battery can boil dry if neglected once it is full. There of course if the mess creating method of draining the acid from the battery and storing it separately in a proper container and storing the battery dry - - - the battery will last an eternity like this but this is messy and angerous - - the sulfuric acid inside has to be treated with respect.

The Interior
Like the exterior - - - spotlessly clean is best and a treatment of the favorite leather elixir is best (or vinyl dressing ) and whatever the local concours winner or her/his detailing shop uses to preserve the carpets and fabrics that make the inside of the classic special and maybe a moisture absorbing box of something or other to keep things dry and non moldy or musty . Oh yeah and environmental tree huggers don't read this it's bad for your heart. You may need something around the vehicle to keep mice or there little relatives from nesting in any part of the vehicle they love to chew up upholstery and the like to make a cozy Connelly leather bed for the winter and their offspring in the spring they also seem to find delight in chewing plastics as well like the insulation on wiring etc. A bad incitement for these little guys is storing any sort of food for the family pet in the same room or in near proximity to the vehicle you not only provide them with a gourmet lunch but the most comfortable bed and breakfast in town. We were told that moth balls would keep these rascals a bay but we have seen them make a nest in the container of moth balls in the vehicle. 

For more long term or permanent storage there are a more considerations like fogging the cylinders with oil mist etc. and coating different materials used on the vehicle with a long term preservatives made for the purpose - - this requires a whole new article. 

If any of the above seems too complicated or confusing sometimes a conversation with the same people that service your prized possession will also provide a cocoon service where they will (for a fee) prepare the baby for sleep store and baby sit for the winter and change its diaper for action in the spring all you have to do is pay and show up brandishing next years license validation sticker .