Winter storage

Hey Stangers,

I am putting the Mustang away for the winter, kind of a must do in my part of the country. I have heard royal purple Maxlife is a good product for this to maintain the vehicle over the storage time. However starting and running the car is an option. Since this is the case should I even bother?

thanks

I just moved mine over to the far corner of the garage. I used the RP Maxlife for the first time. Wont be able to give you much input until next year. I plan to start and run mine on occasion though. The plan is to start and let it run until completely warmed up and pull it forward or back each time.

Wyostang,

One of my biggest issues is with moisture that brings in mold and musky smell. One Product that I am looking at is:

http://www.damprid.com/

DampRid Moisture Absorber with Charcoal

Home Depot carries it

http://www.homedepot.com/p/DampRid-18-oz-Disposable-Moisture-Absorber-with-Activated-Charcoal-FG118/202689196

For your ethanol enhanced gas - http://www.goldeagle.com/product/sta-bil-360-marine

I used the Sta-Bil fuel Red in the ethanol enhanced fuel and it caused me a lot problems. I should have used the Marine version.

mustang7173

I had not thought about the moisture issues. I have used the damprid in some of our garden apartments in the past and it works really well. I will have to pick up one for the car. Thanks for the heads up.

Wyostang,

One of my biggest issues is with moisture that brings in mold and musky smell. One Product that I am looking at is:

http://www.damprid.com/

DampRid Moisture Absorber with Charcoal

Home Depot carries it

http://www.homedepot.com/p/DampRid-18-oz-Disposable-Moisture-Absorber-with-Activated-Charcoal-FG118/202689196

For your ethanol enhanced gas - http://www.goldeagle.com/product/sta-bil-360-marine

I used the Sta-Bil fuel Red in the ethanol enhanced fuel and it caused me a lot problems. I should have used the Marine version.

mustang7173

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I believe that the Sta-bil red 'Storage' product can also be used for ethanol fuels but they do make a Sta-bil 360 Protection that is similar to the Sta-bil 360 Marine but at half the cost. The descriptions of the two sound pretty much the same except that the marine one mentions that it is for higher moisture use / environments.

i don't use anything for the fuel for short term storage up to a year.

just drive the car the last time and fill up with fresh gas and then store the car.

the issues with fuel stabilizer.

1) staining/contamination of spark plugs.

2) residue in tank and carb, filter clogs.

3) not mixing in fuel tank.

there are more...

basically you pour a can of stabilizer in the tank and call it a day. no you must somehow agitate the fuel tank and make it mix with all the other gas and then get that new fuel mixture through the fuel lines and in the carb.

that means you actually need a 6 pack of the stuff and you need to mix it into the fuel multiple times for a couple of fill ups before storage.

verse...

fill up the car with good gas one last time. put the cap on the filler neck and put the car to sleep.

if the car is going to be sitting over 9 months then you might get concerned. I've had cars sitting for 1.5 years indoors with no problems. just remember the battery tender... outdoor car storage is another story.

A full fuel tank and this(wheels of the ground):

Hello 72HCODE,

It is a shame there was no drain plug for our gas tanks. It would make it easier to maintenance the tanks and put it up for storage. Another option would be is buy a cheap electric liquid style pump and drain the tank that way. Run the engine until it runs out of gas.

I am still not crazy about the additives either.

mustang7173

i don't use anything for the fuel for short term storage up to a year.

just drive the car the last time and fill up with fresh gas and then store the car.

the issues with fuel stabilizer.

1) staining/contamination of spark plugs.

2) residue in tank and carb, filter clogs.

3) not mixing in fuel tank.

there are more...

basically you pour a can of stabilizer in the tank and call it a day. no you must somehow agitate the fuel tank and make it mix with all the other gas and then get that new fuel mixture through the fuel lines and in the carb.

that means you actually need a 6 pack of the stuff and you need to mix it into the fuel multiple times for a couple of fill ups before storage.

verse...

fill up the car with good gas one last time. put the cap on the filler neck and put the car to sleep.

if the car is going to be sitting over 9 months then you might get concerned. I've had cars sitting for 1.5 years indoors with no problems. just remember the battery tender... outdoor car storage is another story.

Click to expand...

Fresh tank of the best gas I can find, drive it at least an hour then top it off. Clean it top to bottom and underneath. Throw your used dryer sheets in the car to help keep smells and rodents away. Wipe your rubber seals down with a good cleaner and then treat with a conditioner. I use a mix of 4 parts water, 1 part murphy's oil soap to do both cleaning and preservation at one time-but there are a lot of other products available. If you put the car up off of the ground, don't lift the front wheels completely, it is easier on the suspension to not hang with the weight of the wheels and tires Just set your jackstands high enough to take most of the load off of the tires. I disconnect my battery (I have a switch) and reconnect on pretty days when I can run the car long enough to get up to operating temperature. In cold weather running the car for less than 15 minutes probably does little good.

I also leave my hood and trunk unlatched to allow air to circulate and leave my windows partially down, my car stays garaged, so I see it at least 3-4 times daily. If remotely storing your car, you might not want to do this.

I use Stabilizer, driver the car a few miles, and put her away, under a cover with some moisture packs in side the interior and trunk.

but also during the winter I might start the car up once or twice.

A full fuel tank and this(wheels of the ground):

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Wheel dollies are also good. They hold the sides of the tire so that the very bottom of the tire is not sitting on anything. Plus, since everything rolls, its easier to move the car around if needed.

Hey Stangers,

I am putting the Mustang away for the winter, kind of a must do in my part of the country. I have heard royal purple Maxlife is a good product for this to maintain the vehicle over the storage time. However starting and running the car is an option. Since this is the case should I even bother?

thanks

Click to expand...

I HAVE BEEN USING STA-BIL, FOR A LONG TIME IN ALL MY CLASSIC CARS, WITH NO PROBLEMS. I PUT IT IN THE TANK BEFORE I FILL IT WITH GAS (SO IT WILL BE WELL MIXED) I MUST TELL YOU I USE IT FOR EVERY FILL UP BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW "FRESH" THE GAS IS AT THE STATION. I ALSO PUT STA-BIL IN MY LAWN MOWER AND SNOW BLOWER BECAUSE THEY SIT FOR MONTHS AT A TIME, AND I'VE NEVER HAD AN ISSUE.

Because I have more than one "summer car" I put the stable in with every fill up because I never know which car I will be putting the most miles on.

:run_horse: Larry hope this helps

Hey Stangers,

I am putting the Mustang away for the winter, kind of a must do in my part of the country. I have heard royal purple Maxlife is a good product for this to maintain the vehicle over the storage time. However starting and running the car is an option. Since this is the case should I even bother?

thanks

Click to expand...

I don't know about Royal Purple, does it have enough zinc in it? Zinc is important for the classic engines because of cam wear, I use Brad Penn oil.

Or you can check out this web-site for more info:

wwwcam-shield.com

Thanks guys, good info as always.