Leaving a car for a couple of Months

[tjdixon911]

I have just decided to declare my car as SORN over the next couple of months, is there anything more I should do over and above what I have already done?

The car's currently in the garage on a trickle charger, handbrake is off and it was serviced last Tuesday, I plan to bring it out the garage every couple of weeks just to run it down the drive to keep things moving....

Is there any more I should do?

Thanks

Tom

[PH5121]

When you run it down the drive are you planning to drive it or push it? Might seem an odd question but unless you have a really long drive I would not start the car due to the amount of moisture that will be produced in the exhaust. A run will get rid of this but if you start it and not do 20 or 30 miles the moisture will remain.
I am sure there will be some one more knowledgable about these things than me who can elaborate, but i always thought that on start up unburnt fuel could pass into the exhaust, repeated start ups would exagerate this and cause damage to the catalytic convertor (this may be total rubbish?)
My car can sit for months on trickle charge, it does not seem to suffer.
I thought about SORNING my car instead of taxing it this week, the problem is if you are bound to have a nice weekend and want to use the car you cannot.

Edited by PH5121 on Thursday 2nd November 16:17

Edited by PH5121 on Thursday 2nd November 16:58

[tjdixon911]

Well I was going to run it as I can roll it down the drive but not back up again! Its only 4 or 5 car lengths. If I was to do that would leaving it running help? Or will I be better just leaving it all together?

I have been told that inflating the tyres helps to avoid flat spots?

Thanks

Tom

[verysideways]

As a rule of thumb i would say this:

For a month, fill the tank as far as you can, make sure the tyres are at the right pressures, make sure the car is hot and dry when you put it away (i.e. not when it's raining and after a nice run), stick it on a battery conditioner.

For longer than a month, drain the tank on a good long drive, come home and then leave the car idling until it runs out of fuel, jack it up off the ground and put it on four axle stands, stick it on a battery conditioner.

[verysideways]

p.s. if you decide you are going to roll it out of the drive and run it, make sure youleave it running long enough for the whole lot to get up to temperature (oil, coolant, exhaust, etc.) and when the cooling fans have cut in and run for a while and then cut out again you know it's good and warmed through.

[supermono]

tjdixon911 said:

I have been told that inflating the tyres helps to avoid flat spots?

Oh come one... that bit's a wind up right? Flat spots? Get out!

A couple of months is nothing, I certainly wouldn't bother running it up because of the moisture problem mentioned above. but if you do, make sure and run it for a good 25 minutes, blipping it every once in a while. You'll probably increase the moisture content of the oil and maybe get the PH down to a bit more acidic. If it's fresh oil, blast it around, park it up nice and warm, trickle charge it and rest easy...

SM

[Mogulboy]

verysideways said:

jack it up off the ground and put it on four axle stands, stick it on a battery conditioner.

With respect to putting it on axle stands, what is is technical argument for this?

I had assumed that this is an old idea to raise 'the chassis' off the ground several inches to keep it slightly dryer, on the assumption that damp cold air will sink to the floor. The 'carcoon' type products have solved this in a different way.

Also, I would be tempted to disconnect the battery rather than leave it on a conditioner. Also has the benefit of making it harder to steal!

[softinthehead]

verysideways said:

For longer than a month, drain the tank on a good long drive, come home and then leave the car idling until it runs out of fuel, jack it up off the ground and put it on four axle stands, stick it on a battery conditioner.

is that right? i was once told not to run the car to empty as the accumulated sludge and debris of years of use/misuse that sloshes around in the bottom of the petrol tank then empties into the engine. If you are leaving the car for 2 months is it good that the last drink it has is the dregs of the tank?

or is it that the crp was being fed to me, not my engine?

[verysideways]

mogulboy: getting it off the ground is to stop the tyres from flat spotting. If i leave my car for a week, my first drive when i retunr is always a bit 'wobbly' until the tyres have warmed through and 'unflatted' themselves. Admittedly the advice i gave should probably have said one month versus six...

softinthehead: yes some of the gunk in the bottom of the tank will end up in the fuel filter, but if you leave the fuel in there for 6 months then getting the car started again afterwards will be god's own job, especially with fuels that go off quickly like Optimax/V-power, etc.
Replacing a fuel filter is much simpler than getting a set of injectors out and cleaned...

[verysideways]

I should probably add that one friend of mine who lays his cars up for 6 months each winter tends to disconnect the fuel hose after the lift pump and before the filter, puts the ignition on to run the lift pump until the tank is dry (into a suitable container, and with the injection pump fuse removed), then reconnects the pipe and fuse and fires the car. It stops running in a couple of minutes and the dregs of the tank are in the container, not in the fuel system...

[supermono]

softinthehead said:

is that right? i was once told not to run the car to empty as the accumulated sludge and debris of years of use/misuse that sloshes around in the bottom of the petrol tank then empties into the engine.

That's an old wives' tale. The fuel is drawn from the bottom of the tank no matter how much fuel there is in it. When you're supping your McCoke you drink from the bottom don't you even when it's full -- if there was any sludge in the bottom you'd get it right away.

I don't see how sludge can accumulate anyway because the filling process will mix up what's in there. Any contaminants anywhere near the pipe will be sucked through and filtered on their way round the loop to the injection rail and back.

SM

[supermono]

verysideways said:

I should probably add that one friend of mine who lays his cars up for 6 months each winter....

...and my friend who does the same thing makes sure it's parked pointing North and with all the seats reclined and slid to their maximum forward position, so you should do that too

SM