Winter storage question(s)

[Chris Lovell]

I am reluctantly going to moth ball the P-car for a few months this winter. (Ran out of garage space) I plan to disconnect the battery and would like to know if: 1. I need to do this, 2. Can I use one of those knife blade disconnect switches? I also wonder if I should change the oil before or after storage or not at all. And lastly, should I put the car on jack stands for helping keep the tires round or can I just leave it as is.
Thanks for the help. I am certain there are other threads on this and I confess to having not looked yet.

[David McLaughlin]

If you must put it away then do it right.

Disconnect the battery or better yet, hook it up to a battery conditioner. Sears sells these or you can get a small Schumacher unit like I have at many hardware stores for around $25

Change the oil before AND after storage if it's more than a few months. I know it seems like you're throwing away good oil, but it's cheap insurance against... something or other. Hey, it's hear-say.

Fill your tires to spec with good winter air and leave it on the ground. Make sure you change to spring air when it comes out of storage though.

I'm sure you'll find many threads on this subject. I plan on driving mine this year as it spent the entire summer at the garage and I really need some quality P-car time.

[stealthn]

Chris,

Alot depends on your type of winter; moist, dry, etc.

I know some people that run the car a little every once in awhile, but I think the condensation would be worst on the motor.

I add fuel additive with a full tank (long winter), add more air to the tires because they will loose air over the winter. Disconnect the battery, and remove it. Leave the car on the wheels unless you need to do some work on it, but then put it back after.

This works for me, and I change the oil once back on the road.

Good sleep...

[Sarah]

We have had our 930 for a little over a year. Due to MN winters (snow, salt, ice) & garage space, we stored it last year from late Oct. to early April.

Our porsche techs told us to disconnect the battery, cover it and let it sit. The tires lost a little air, but no biggie. We also had some oil leak because some rubber tube cracked. But it was also easily fixed.

This October I'm sure we'll have to figure out something again. We're hoping to keep it in our own garage. But we'll see....

Good luck!!

[Jgordon]

I thought I heard of an alarm code that you might need to have before disconnecting the batter? I know that the factory put an engine kill in (lock the door with the key and try to start the engine, no luck) and I thought this might come into play with the battery disconnected as well. Just a thought, I'm not certain.

Jared

[Argo]

Here's a good summary thread .........

the iceman cometh

Argo
88 Targa

[jmohn]

Parking a car for the winter is just that "long term parking" not storage. If you should need to put a car away for an extended period of time (i.e years) talk to a professional automobile storage/preservation company. For merely winter parking (4-5 months; I'm in Minnesota so I do this each winter) it's a simple procedure. Keeping in mind that I store in my own garage (so I can "keep an eye" on it and work on it), here's what I do just before parking it: clean inside and out (includes waxing exterior, conditioning interior vinyl and leather and put a little glycerin on the door seals), change oil, fill with gas (modern fuels have enough stabilizer blended in for this short "storage" period), air tires to spec. (over-inflating isn't necessary, but low is very bad), flush brake sytem if needed (this depends on your usual schedule, I do it each spring), take it for a drive and bring it to normal operating temperature, park it where it's going to stay all winter, shut the doors to half-latch (allows the seals to relax for a few months), put a battery maintainer on it and (this is the hard part) leave it alone. If you must store "off-site" you'll want to put a cover on it (use one that breathes, I use a cheaper cotton one in my garage so I can save the fancy silver, Porsche logo'ed model) and remove the battery (be careful here, the newer models have sustems that do not react well to extended lack of electrical power or will cause you other problems in the spring (electrically operated deck releases come to mind) - if you don't know check with the dealer.

Good luck,

Jerry M.
'78 SC

[Denis54]

I have been storing my SC for the last 23 years. Here is what I do:

Disconnect the battery

Inflate the tires to 50 lbs

Cover it

Open windows 1 inch

Slide 1 inch "Styrofoam" sheet under the car to cut humidity from the cement

Drive for 30 minutes every 4-8 weeks when the weather is very cold and the road is dry

I do not pretent to have the perfect procedure but this has worked well for me.

[cegerer]

Ya know, I was really hoping the first 'winter storage' thread wouldn't appear until at least October! This is depressing. -- Curt

[Sarah]

Wow. Thanks for all the extra info. I'll print this.