I'm wondering what to do if I don't really have the option to start and drive my car every once in a wile wile its stored. I would change the oil and put a full tank of freash gas with stablizer in it. but I am in the army and wile I am deployed i don't get a chance to come back and starter up every three weeks or so. any tips would be great.
we never have run the stangs in the "storage" period (dont like calling it winter). noone i know does up here for any car, and everything is fine. never had problems, and noone else ever has.
I start mine once every 10 days or so for about 15 mins. I turn on the A/C as well to keep the O rings lubed and prevent cracking which causes refrigerant leakage.
Move it to a different spot in the garage to keep the tires good. I know some guys who put styrofoam under the tires thinking this will prevent flat spotting (maybe it does).
In addition to stabil, I pour in a bottle of gas line anti freeze as extra protection to keep water from condensation from screwing internals up.
Keeping it covered is a good idea.
As much as I hate storing it, the feeling of taking it out for the first run in spring is AWESOME!
damn , and i was wondering why mustangs get stored for winters , im getting one in the next couple of weeks , and i wanted to know , ''is it impossible to drive it while raining?''
I just got a 2004 Cobra in october and it has been in the garge for about a month and a half. I don't want to mess anything up so any sugestions. I have let it warm up a couple of times but it hasn't moved since then. Any IDEAS?
It may sound fun to take your stang out for some snow abuse, but I had to spend a whole winter driving my dearly departed 66 coupe...no fun, no traction, no more rustfree body. I am now a firm believer in winter stang' storage. My 91 LX will never touch snow again, unless it slings from my boots as I walk by to jump in the 94Ranger beater truck.
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91 lx vert,swapping in 450hp 351w-carbd', 66 LTD 390cid, 66 Mustang 289 HiPo Coupe, 74 Nova SS
While I'm up at school, both my mustangs get stored. I don't really prep them much because if anything they will sit a maximum of 3 weeks. Whenever I go home though I start both and let them run for a good 10 minutes each.
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1998 Mustang GT Coupe: Intake/Exhaust/Tune 2001 Mustang Cobra Convertible: Stock 90-93 LX Notch: Still looking 2008 GT500: Coming this Winter
damn , and i was wondering why mustangs get stored for winters , im getting one in the next couple of weeks , and i wanted to know , ''is it impossible to drive it while raining?''
I haven't had too much of a problem in the rain, but with the stock tires, you definitely lose a LOT of traction on wet roads... I really couldn't imagine it on an icy road.
I tested fate last winter, never again. You spin a LOT.
I bought my 07 GT in Feb this year left for a couple months...military overseas crap....and since I have been in the military and made several lengthy overseas jaunts. Also I was born and raised in Alaska so other than tribal knowledge, this is what I found to work on ANY vehicle:
If you're leaving for an extended period of time, have someone you trust at least start the car once a week to keep the engine parts lubed and the battery charged. To avoid flat spots on the tires, take them off, their not being used so why leave them on? When somone starts the car, oh yeah make sure its on blocks/jackstands, you can manually rotate the axle when its out of gear. For mustangs it just isn't good to leave it out in the elements, its worth the storage cost over a winter or long away period vice a new paint job or replacing cracked/warped interior parts. Car covers/bras are evil!!! dirt/debris gets under them and your paint job is ruined. Not too mention they trap moisture causing rust/mildew and bug living quarters. Deflating the tires will prevent cracking and splitting. Of course when you come home or you are ready to drive it you have to re-inflate them. Put dessicant packets inside the car...this will absorb moisture and prevent rotting and that musky smell. Drain the tank to less than 1/4 of fuel. When you're ready to drive it again get an octane booster/fuel system cleaner to put in the tank before you fill up...this does actually save the fuel and intake system. Change the oil when you're ready to drive it again. If it is going to be garaged then by all means keep the tires on, but don't keep the performance tires and wheels on, this is why its a good idea to save the stock ones, take it out on a sunny/dry day. beware of cold climates that sand just doesn't dissapear. So probably not a good idea to beat on it too much and end up sand blasting your undercarriage and fenders. Stay off highways and from behind trucks/tractor-trailers they'll sandblast your whole front end (and even more so if you've lowered your car). Buy a can of rust inhibitor, they aren't expensive and next time you take your car to your mechanic or for you do-it-yourselfers spray it on underneath if you really do want to drive in the winter. For vehicles with TCS, it works, I picked up my mustang in Alaska in FEBRUARY and drove it to the shipping port to be sent where I am now. So don't disable it for any reason in the winter. Black ice will end your dream car's life real quick. Studded tires on a mustag are just a bad idea. You'll kick up rocks, dirty snow/ice. A bottle of HEET does wonders. REALLY Zymol is a good PROVEN wax by auto crossers/World Rally/Show car owners. Subaru has a clear bra and I'm sure Ford has it too, if not Subaru can match your paint. Its basically a vinyl decal that goes over your whole front end. It doesn't hurt paint/clear coat AT ALL and best of all it WORKS. Its virtually invisible from about 5' away, and shines just as well as a good clear coat. That Teflone crap the dealerships sell is bunk, avoid it! It does nothing to protect your car.
And give it a good wash before and after storage.
< Message edited by 07BOSSGT_S197 -- 9/1/2007 4:09:00 PM >
If the salt doesn't kill your car, sliding off the road from NO traction will. I couldn't even imagine driving it in the snow. I think i'd just sit in the car and cry.
1 Inch of snow completely crippled me with stock tires. I had snows for 3 winters and I could actually get places, but it won't see a flake ever again.
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2000 GT Convertible BBK Cold Air intake BBK Under pullies Excalibrator 3 tune for 93 octane Mac Pro chamber pipe Uncatted, MIL Eliminators Flowmaster American Thunder Catback
My wife is scared about driving the stang in the winter. I'm getting a part time job so I can buy a front wheel drive beater for her to drive. So we can keep the stang stored. Thanks for all the great storage tips...
This is my first year with the Mustang so I am just going on what I was told. I need an oil change anyway..will prob get one within two weeks so depending on when the snow starts to fall I may have to park it that day. I plan on covering it, and parking it outside covered up with my car cover as well as a lined tarp to cover the car/tires completly and than put some bricks to keep the cover from flying away and keeping any snow from getting under the car. I also plan on parking the car in the driveway with a plastic liner underneath the car on the ground (was told to do this by two other mustang owners). As of now I plan on going out to start it at least every week or two, starting it up, move it up a foot, and bounce on it to keep the shocks good. Now, since I will be starting it and most likely not running it all winter should I hold off on the oil change until the spring or get it now. Also whats the point of getting an oil change now and than again in the spring if I do not put any miles on it? Full Syn oil is $4 a quart...seems a waste to change the oil with zero miles on it.
I would recommend at least turning the crank 1 revolution a month so the springs get some relief. Leaving a few springs compressed for many months can weaken them and eventually cause valve float.
I hadn't thought about that, but it makes sense to me. I think I'm going to pop the hood, reconnect the battery and then crank it over, but without starting it up. I dont really want to get it up to temperature in order to avoid any sort of condensation that might result. Any suggestions on what I should disconnect? I was thinking of pulling the fuel pump fuse and also disabling the ignition system. Anything else I should pull? Any body know which specific fuses I should pull? I dont have the manual for the car, so if anyone could chime in I would really appreciate it. Oh yeah, its a 2002 GT 4.6.
Any other ideas as to what I should do? The car has been in storage since Nov. 8th.
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Mods: All FreeMods I can Find, and some Photoshoped Dark Charcoal Bullits :)
yeah, i really don't recommend driving it in the winter or rain. if you really have to, like i do, then try to put on all season tires. the traction sucks. i crashed in the rain after fishtailing from a stoplight and hydroplaning into a garden center. a foot over and i would have hit a telephone pole. tehy're crappy on ice too. i got mine stuck at school and had to have two of my really big guy friends push it out for me. make sure you start your car up for a few before you drive it. the block will crack and then you're screwed.
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RE: Gen. TECH: Seasonal Storing of your Mustang help/tips - 
winter
I am now a firm believer in winter stang' storage. My 91 LX will never touch snow again, unless it slings from my boots as I walk by to jump in the 94Ranger beater truck.
