so winter time is coming, few storage questions

[stant093]

so its almost time to switch over to the impreza, my legacy just wont make the hills here in the winter, 2wd and auto is not my fav anyway...so i need to store her for the winter. now i dont have a garage so im going to have to put her to "pasture" my mothers horse pasture, sounds bad, but she has 10 acres and im going to use up a corner, but i want to know what i should worry about storing her "in the elements". im going to cover her in plastic but is there and precations i should think about fluid wise?

and one more question, my girlfriends 95 legacy comes with stock 15" rims, i recently stumbled upon a good deal for 4 brand new studded 14" hokk's and am wondering if i can put those on her car, im going to use the stock rims that cam on my 91LSI for winter donor rims, but will they clear her calipers and such?
TiA everyone!
Sam

[evolutionmovement]

The main problem with storing over open ground is that moisture collects under the chassis and cover and stays there, expediting rot. I've owned Datsuns, so I know a lot about this. I'd even throw even odds that it might even be beneficial to leave it uncovered over open ground, but I'd probably not try it myself. The best bet for outside is one of those drive in tent-like structures that look like an upside down half pipe. Don't know how much those go for, though. If you could cover the ground with something that doesn't breathe (would kill the grass or whatever though) and cover an area larger than the foot print of the car and then covered it, but made some kind of scaffolding under the body cover to allow it to stand off the paint to allow some air circulation, you may be all set. Snow would be the problem then, but I don't know what else to do.

Steve

[Ogre]

If it's just for this one winter... just park it as normal. Jack it up so it's not sitting on the tires. Put in a couple sun shades. Disconnect the battery and pull it out and keep the battery some place where it wont get so cold. Drain out the coolant so freezing doesn't burst the radiator. Used compressed air to blow it out.
You might want to coat your brake rotors with some grease to keep them from rusting.

Come spring, make sure you clean the rotors back off, refill the coolant, put the battery back in and your all set.

Of course, If I were you, I'd rather just sell it off and not worry about it since you have another you like better and you don't need this one.

[vrg3]

I've never done this before, so don't take any of this as anything other than my thinking out loud:

Should he also empty his gas tank? Or maybe fill it up and add some gas stabilizer? If you use gas stabilizer you'd probably want to run the engine for a while to circulate the stuff.

I've also heard that with floating calipers (like ours) it's good to remove the brake pads so they don't get stuck to the rotors.

Also, some people take out the spark plugs, pour in some motor oil, and crank the engine without starting it. The idea is to protect the pistons and cylinder walls. I don't know if this is legitimate, but I think you could get the car to crank without fueling or ignition by pulling SBF-2.

I think you want to avoid leaving the parking brake on, too, so it doesn't get stuck.

Could it also be helpful to get huge chunks of silica gel and scatter it throughout the passenger compartment and trunk?

Would it be good to also change the oil right before storage, so that the oil is as fresh as possible with additives intact?

It would make sense to wash and wax the car; the fresh coat of wax would help protect the finish. Probably better to do a few days early so you have time to get all the moisture out of the door panels and whatnot.

You might want to put some stuff around to deter rodents from making nests in your engine bay. The engine bay is accessible from outside the car and has lots of fun crevices and crannies. I don't know what you could put there, though -- maybe something that smells bad?

[import_freak]

I havent tried it but I heard if you put mothballs in the engine compartment, trunk etc that keeps critter away

[czo79]

I've been told that concrete/cement/ashpalt floors/surfaces are bad to store cars on because of moisture issues. I can't remember the exact reasoning. Anyways, he always suggests putting plywood under the car. He collects some classics, so it may have some merit.
Gas stabilizer good...why would you need to drain coolant? As long as you have enough anti-freeze, and its in good working condition still, shouldn't it not be a problem?
Micum

[Dr Nick]

Don't forget to leave the parking brake off!! It's always a pain trying to free it off the first time you drive the car again...

[stant093]

so far, its recommended to place a good sheet of plywood under the car, and im thinking of jacking it off the ground, i might use my rims on my impreza, so that will eliminate any possible chance of ground rot...
and i think moth balls in the engine compartment would deter any fuzzy animals from making a home oout of my car, so i think ill go that route also, the silca gel is a good idea but where would i find any of that, not to mention enough to keep the moisture out of the trunk?
I would sell off the legacy but, that would mean i only have one car, and i like the option of having two, this impreza has 209k on it and i dont know how reliable it is yet, so if it did break down atleast i could go to my legacy and have a car to atleast get around with, and selling it would mean i dont have a legacy anymore, ive had them so long though, i dont know what i would with myself then....

anyone know about the rims? will 14" rims fit on a 95 legacy, maybe a stupid question, but im kinda curious....

Thanks for the input eveyone, i definatly appreciate it!
Sam

[vrg3]

also, the silca gel is a good idea but where would i find any of that, not to mention enough to keep the moisture out of the trunk?

McMaster-Carr. They have a wide variety of dessicants, so search through the catalog. The first page of the section should explain some of the theory behind choosing one. http://www.mcmaster.com/

anyone know about the rims? will 14" rims fit on a 95 legacy, maybe a stupid question, but im kinda curious....

Could you try test-fitting one? I've definitely seen several 1995 Legacies that came with 14" steel wheels from the factory, but I don't know if some have larger brakes.

[evolutionmovement]

In my experience Subarus are not that bad to store as far as mechanics go. I'd fill the tank with fuel and ad stabilizer and make sure there's plenty of antifreeze in the cooling system. I would change the oil so no corrosives from blow by will eat at anything and maybe spray the rotors or inside the cylinders with an oil just for the hell of it, but I haven't found it necessary myself. Better to spray the body where you can with a wax or something in key areas to hold off cancer. Fill the tires max with air or better yet put the car on blocks, leave the parking brake off as everyone's said - the discs don't freeze up easily, but the drums do. It's only a few months, so you should be fine. I'm always more worried about rust.

Steve

[Ogre]

Some folks tend to run lean on the anti-freeze stuff in the coolant because of the richer the water/anti-freeze mixture is, the less heat it transfers. So if you run a bit hot, you back off on the Anti-Freeze. You want some, to lower the boiling point... but it's a balance.
Redline's Water Wetter is great stuff for lowering the temp as well. But to do that, you want to reduce the Anti-Freeze even further.
If your running like this... drain that radiator, because if it gets really cold... then it CAN break your radiator.
I lived in Northern Wisconsin... I have seen it happen to several cars that got put into storage.

If you are only storing the car for a short while... the oil in the piston thing... you don't need to do that. You only need to do that if you are going to be storing a vehicle for a long time.

Fuel stabilizer... pour some in, then top off the fuel tank to prevent condensation and corosion inside the gas tank. Your other fluids, top them off too.

Plywood is fine. Kitty Litter is better. Kitty litter will absorb moisture (and any fluid leaks) and not release the moisute back up into the car's underbelly.

Yeah, rust can be an issue... before you store it, make sure the underside is sprayed clean... Wax the whole thing and you should be fine. This isn't long term.

Couple years ago I stored a Suzuki and didn't mean to. I parked it and forgot about it. It snowed a few feet and I never had a chance to do anything to it. Come spring I recharged the battery, poured a little gas into the carb and she fired right up. No problems.