Winter storage

[iamfine2]

Ok guys and gals,
I have the tank filled to the top with premium and a bottle of Stabil.
I drove it eactly 1 mile home from the station so the Stabil is in the system.
I have it up on Jack stands.
I pulled the battery.
My garage is insulated and stays pretty comfortable all winter for Minnesota.
The question is should I pull the wheels off the car? Or let them hang?
Mike

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

The question is should I pull the wheels off the car? Or let them hang?
Mike

Neither. Take it off the jack stands and put it back on it's wheels. The jack stand thing is another tired old myth.

 

[Wayne robson]

winter storage and tires

I have a different approach to this subject , like Vettehead Mikey says leave your wheels and tires on, but instead of useingjack stands, in the normal recommended place on the chassis, i use four wooden blocks one on each corner of the suspension and only lift the car until each tire is approx one inch from leaving the floor, that means the tires have approx 100 to 200 Ibs weight on each tire instead of the whole weight of the car on four wheels. This is good for your tires,easy to drive of or get your car of in case of emergency, because the car is very low looks like its not on blocks.But i only do this for say one or more years storage, six months i dont bother. on a corvette if left on jack stands in the usual chassis position especially for a long period, there is actually a bit of stress on body and chassis, you will know if ever you have worked on your car with jack stands, especially the front, six ft overhang and weight of the whole front ,engine, etc, the doors sometimes wont even close properly, you can text this by putting a jack under the main cross member under your engine and lift the car there, and it lifts approx a inch before it comes of the front jack stands. regards. Wayne.

 

[JohnZ]

Neither. Take it off the jack stands and put it back on it's wheels. The jack stand thing is another tired old myth.

I agree. Allowing the suspension to hang at or near full rebound will result in rapid deterioration of the rubber suspension bushings, which will be WAY overstressed in torsion. Put it back on its tires and don't worry about it.

 

[Rob]

Long Term Winter Corvette Storage - http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/tech/care/storage.html

 

[muddywaters]

So what we've arrived at is that hanging suspensions weighs more than the auto itself.............. I don't think elevating your vehicle makes much difference in the long run, after all ,there's more weight on everything when the vehicle is on all fours, so the weight of the suspension is minimal, what it might reduce is the set that a suspension takes when it sits loaded for a long period and it is usually the tires that are the culprit..........just my .02 Now, dropping the suspension at speed is a different story..............

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Long Term Winter Corvette Storage - http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/tech/care/storage.html

With all due respect, there's some serious technical flaws in that paper.

Example- "We suggest that when people put their cars away for the winter months, they put the cars on stands and remove and bag the tires. This prevents any moisture from having harmful effects [on the tires]"

Why would moisture have harmful effects on rubber tires?
What moisture?
Why would the moisture be lower (if lower were better) inside a bag than outside.

Also: "Again, we asked David Scott at GM. "It is always best to start your vehicle once a month if possible."

Best for what?

This one has pretty well been proven to do more harm than good. At a minimum, it is completely unnecessary.

 

[fine69]

Ok guys and gals,
I have the tank filled to the top with premium and a bottle of Stabil.
I drove it eactly 1 mile home from the station so the Stabil is in the system.
I have it up on Jack stands.
I pulled the battery.
My garage is insulated and stays pretty comfortable all winter for Minnesota.
The question is should I pull the wheels off the car? Or let them hang?
Mike

I recognize that winters are brutal in your part of the country, but do you plan not start your Vette at all during the winter? In any case, you're talking 4 maybe 5 months? Seems like a bit of overkill to me - particularly if your garage is "comfortable".

 

[Vette79]

In Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb and March I will start and run my Vette at least once a month. I will do this on a day that is most appropriate as far as weather. The rest of the time it resides in the garage covered up waiting to be driven...

 

[Rob]

As I discussed in the Long Term Winter Storage article, my personal feeling is that it is NOT a good idea to start your Vette periodically during storage, UNLESS you intend on taking it out on the roads and driving it until all systems and fluids reach normal operating temperature.

To start a car and let it idle for 10-20 minutes does nothing but circulate oil and coolant. Letting it idle incessantly also creates a buildup of condensation in the exhaust system, which over time, can cause degradation to the system - not as much of an issue if you have a stainless steel exhaust system, but nevertheless, it's not a risk worth taking IMHO.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Another point to consider is that bringing a car in from a cold environment (outside) to a warm(er) garage will cause heavy condensation to form on just about every surface

That's the last thing you need on a 30 year old car that had little or no anti-corrosion protection in the first place.

 

[JohnZ]

So what we've arrived at is that hanging suspensions weighs more than the auto itself.............. I don't think elevating your vehicle makes much difference in the long run, after all ,there's more weight on everything when the vehicle is on all fours, so the weight of the suspension is minimal, what it might reduce is the set that a suspension takes when it sits loaded for a long period and it is usually the tires that are the culprit..........just my .02 Now, dropping the suspension at speed is a different story..............

It has nothing to do with the weight of the suspension. It has to do with how the rubber bushings are designed and operate, which most folks don't understand.

The O.D. of the bushing is bonded to the outer shell, which is locked solid in the holes in the control arms (and the rear trailing arm); the I.D. of the bushing is bonded to the center tubular sleeve, which is locked solid in place by the serrations on the end of the sleeve when the through-bolt is torqued. All up and down motion of the control arms (and trailing arms) is absorbed by the RUBBER portion of the bushing - the outer shell doesn't move relative to the control arm, the rubber doesn't move relative to the outer shell, and the inner sleeve doesn't move relative to either the control arm or the rubber. NOTHING moves - only the rubber in the bushings is distorted torsionally when the suspension moves up and down.

That's why the through-bolts must be torqued with the car at normal design height, on its wheels, so the rubber in the bushings isn't stressed - so the rubber is "neutral" in terms of stress unless the suspension is moving up and down.

If you put the car up on jackstands and let the suspension hang at full rebound, limited only by full extension of the shocks (where it's driven by the springs), that puts the rubber in the bushings WAY beyond their normal torsion limits (twist), and they'll fail prematurely due to being overstressed for long periods of time.

Doesn't matter on C1's, as all their bushings are metal-to-metal (no rubber), but everything from '63-up has rubber bushings. BAD idea to put the car "up in the air".

And, don't start it and run it unless you drive it at least ten miles to get the oil in the pan hot enough to boil off all the condensation and rich-mixture cold-start blow-by contaminants you add every time you start it and cold/hot/cold-cycle it; if you just start it and run it without driving it, it just makes the oil more acidic each time, which creates sludge. The seals won't "dry out" - that's another old wives' tale.

 

[Rob]

Awesome information John! Thank you! I should update my article with some of the information you provided as it pertains to the suspension.

 

[vett boy]

Considering that it's almost Dec 1st and April is only 122 days away ,I wouldn't consider that long term.Just a winter nap.
When I stored mine in Maine winters ,I always got a winter break when the roads we're clean and dry .I'd take it out for a 20 mile run and bring the oil temp up. I agree with others ,if ya can't run 'em don't start 'em

 

[Rob]

Considering that it's almost Dec 1st and April is only 122 days away ,I wouldn't consider that long term.Just a winter nap.
When I stored mine in Maine winters ,I always got a winter break when the roads we're clean and dry .I'd take it out for a 20 mile run and bring the oil temp up. I agree with others ,if ya can't run 'em don't start 'em

Well, if you see a bright red flash running through Hooksett this Saturday, it's just lil ole me running fuel stabilizer through the system before I put the car away for the winter.

 

[Barry08]

Moisture Barrier

Gentlemen,
It's a good idea to place a barrier under the vehicle for winter parking.
When it begins to warm up in spring moisture comes up through the concrete in your garage and will accumulate on the underside of the car.Didn't believe it myself until I checked one spring and found the car was actually soaked with moisture.I lay a tarp under it and drive onto it.


Stay warm.... Barry

 

[iamfine2]

Ok,
So let's say I put it back on the ground, and it is already December 1 and I should be able to run it by the end of March.
Should I over overinflate the tires?
Mike

 

[vett boy]

Ok,
So let's say I put it back on the ground, and it is already December 1 and I should be able to run it by the end of March.
Should I over overinflate the tires?
Mike

No , just check the tire pressure from time to time. Remember it's only takin' a nap.

 

[iamfine2]

You guys are all the best!
This is my first storage and I love my Vette. So I am a bit nervous.
So off the stands it comes.
At least I was able to get under it and see why my front spoiler is crushed!
My first project for next year!
Mike

 

[chevy6673]

ok i vote for no jack stands, no start, and a fast winter