Winterizing questions

[motion]

Never thought I'd be worrying about questions like this, hehe....

The 993 and most of the bikes will be stored in the garage this winter. Anything special I should do beyond a trickle charger? I have no means to lift any of them, so they'll be sitting on the cold concrete. Anything special to add to the fuel?

On another subject, I sure would like to spend some time in the garage, but there's no heating. I don't want to invest in propane heating since I'm not planning on wintering here after this year. What are good/efficient heating types out there to keep a 3 car garage warm when you need it, and around 50 degrees at all times?

[stealthn]

As far as winterizing, change the oil, put Stabl (sp?) in tge gas with a full tank, and pump up the air in the tires so they don't flat spot. Also pull the HE leavers so mice can't get in. Set out traps as well.

Cheers

[Joeaksa]

Good advise about the mice. I had one get into my 911 engine years ago and in the end ruined the engine.

You might want to put the car on jack stands. That way it does not sit on the tires. Keep an eye on the brake disks and if you see surface rust starting due to the humidity, then rotate the wheels by hand every couple of weeks to knock it off.

Fill the gas tank but put stabil in the tank before filling it.

[RickM]

Some drive the car up onto corrugated cardboard or carpet to better insulate the tires from concrete.

I use a Tyvek car cover with the windows cracked open to prevent dust from building up.

Also place mothballs (or you can use the lavender scented mothballs) in the boot, engine compartment and interior to further repel the mice.


Add: Run the car with the Stabil in the tank for a few minutes or until you can smell it in the exhaust.

If you have polished and untreated wheels then coat with wax and leave until you remove in the spring.

[Christien]

Lots of people will probably disagree with me, but I don't do too much to winterize my 911, and our winters are pretty brutal here (lots of time around -20C). Full tank of gas, Stabil in the gas tank, a couple dryer sheets on the floor, windows cracked just a tiny bit (to allow air to circulate, but prevent mice from getting in), close the heater flappers and maybe some mice traps on the floor, though I think I've only done that once and never had a mouse problem, even with the carbs off and the intakes just covered by a sheet. I usually lay out a tarp over the concrete floor and park the car on that, to prevent moisture coming up and oil dripping on the concrete.

Usually my car is stored in a garage attached to the house which keeps it well above the outside temperature (though still below freezing). I have yet to find a feasible heating method to keep things just above freezing, without installing a furnace of some sort. You could put an electric space heater in there, but that will be ridiculously expensive over the winter - it would probably be cheaper to pay for heated storage!

As for flat spotting, I never move the car during the winter, and I've never had a problem with flat spotting. Last winter I did put a few extra PSI in there just to be safe. I really disagree with the idea of raising the car over the winter because of what it might do to the suspension - shocks are meant to remain in a compressed state, and I don't imagine spending 4 months expanded would be good for them. I'd rather take my chances with flat spotting the tires.

Throw a cover over her and raise a glass to 4 months of misery...

(yes, I hate winter)

Hope this helps!

[Christien]

Oh yeah, pull the battery and store it indoors. I also just learned recently that you should keep your spare set of wheels/tires (if you have one) indoors - not good for the rubber to sit in the garage all winter. Which of course begs the question about the wheels mounted on the car...

[legion]

I don't use a trickle charger. I have a battery monitor that will actually read the voltage and charge as needed instead of constantly charging whether or not it is needed. It was about $50 from Interstate Batteries and worth every penny. It even came with a harness that I wired to the ground and the positive side of the battery so I can just plug the car in.

[livi]

We have pretty long winters here too. Typically a stand still of 5-6 months. My car is sleeping in a semi heated garage and the only thing I have done is connecting a trickle charger. Once every couple of weeks I push it a couple of feet to prevent flat spotting. That´s it.

Well, not entirely...I slip out a couple of nights a week to caress my poor lonely baby in the garage. The car that is. Not the neighbor´s wife.

[RickM]

Originally Posted by legion

I don't use a trickle charger. I have a battery monitor that will actually read the voltage and charge as needed instead of constantly charging whether or not it is needed. It was about $50 from Interstate Batteries and worth every penny. It even came with a harness that I wired to the ground and the positive side of the battery so I can just plug the car in.

Sounds like a Battery Tender, which is essentially an intelligent charger.

[Dottore]

Some good advice here. A couple of other things:

I put a 75w bulb in a shop light and hang this in the center of the car and leave it on. This keeps the interior nice and dry and the leather soft. (To hang it in the center of the car - leave each window open a crack and then run a small bar (I use an old curtain-rod) in one window and out the other.)

I also put a condom over the exhaust tip to prevent mice from getting in.

I also spray all seals once with a silicone spray, and gives the Fuchs' a nice rub with a little bit of Vaseline.

[tcar]

I use an electric space heater in the garage, use it only when I'm out there working. Very nice and it heats up quickly. Not really noticable on electric bill unless you're out there all the time.

Cheap; works great.

Don't do this if you've got gas or propane fumes floating around, though.

Love Denver, there are weeks here and there you can't drive but storage? Nah. But I have a driver, not a pristine queen.

[Tishabet]

Originally Posted by tcar

Love Denver, there are weeks here and there you can't drive but storage? Nah. But I have a driver, not a pristine queen.

I'm of the same mind here in Boston; my P-car (albeit a lowly 944) gets winterized by giving it an extra minute of warmup before I start driving

[Super_Dave_D]

Things are going to get real bad here in the next month!! Tell me what I should do in a case like mine.

[legion]

Originally Posted by Super_Dave_D

Things are going to get real bad here in the next month!! Tell me what I should do in a case like mine.

Get yourself a tire iron, place it vertically in a vice, liberally apply white lithium grease, remove pants and underwear, and sit on the tire iron.

[gprsh924]

Legion, you sound very knowledgeable on this subject....not that theres anything wrong with that

[Super_Dave_D]

Originally Posted by legion

Get yourself a tire iron, place it vertically in a vice, liberally apply white lithium grease, remove pants and underwear, and sit on the tire iron.

LOL i'm a good sport.

So should I roll up the windows on the morning when it gets down to 50??

When I turn on the heat, its way too hot....can I open the sunroof to compensate?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Motion, have you considered a pellet stove for your garage? Running costs are the same or less than for a natural gas furnace. Installation is a single pipe out the sidewall, 120v plug-in, and mounting the thermostat on the wall. After that you set the temp and forget about it. Fill up with pellets every once and a while, that's all it takes.

They put out great heat, most have adjustable fans to distribute it into the room. My inlaws have several, they've really sold me on them.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Motion, have you considered a pellet stove for your garage? Running costs are the same or less than for a natural gas furnace.

I hear Cesiro's got a bunch of paper products he's trying to get rid of (Shredding documents en masse?). Perhaps that'll be enough fuel to get you through the winter.

Another thing is to consider is an oil change right before storage. Might as well rid your motor of all the acidic by-products of combustion instead of storing it there to etch away all winter long at crankcases and sumps. I've also used some sort of Battery Tender (I bought the one from Yuasa for my bikes), Stabil, as well as overinflating my tires to combat flat spotting. I stuck plastic supermarket bags over muffler tips and air intakes to prevent rodent nests. And I fogged the cylinders and lubed the chain.

[motion]

Great advise... I think this will get me moving in the right direction. Matt, I don't want anything that large and complex. An electric heater from Home Depot or Costco sounds like the ticket for occasional work.

[legion]

When it's 30º out, a little electric heater can practically heat my whole garage.

When it's -10º, I need an electric heater on either side of me and a few halogen lamps just to make my immediate area warm enough to work without gloves...