Thread: Winter storage
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Old 09-25-2004, 06:27 AM
Kurt S Kurt S is offline
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Default Re: Winter storage

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DO definitely pull the coil wire off and run the motor over a few times before starting after sitting all winter. This will get things lubed up a little before that initial fire-up after the oil has been draining into the pan all winter. Also, a leaky head gasket can cause a piston to hydraulic and bend a rod, valve, etc. upon initial startup. it's a rare occurence but I've seen it happen. Running the engine over using just the starter will help identify these situations before they're disasterous.

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I don't agree with the oil part. Oil drains back to the pan every night and cars start just fine. A week or a year, there's about the same oil film left on a part. It's not like it's gonna fire on the first crank anyway; the fuel pump needs to pump in some fuel (to replace what's flashed off from the carb).
Not sure you'd find a leaky head gasket. If the cylinder was already full, it wouldn't crank. And if it was leaking it wouldn't fill fast enough to hydra-lock.
I'm with Joe on this one. Park it and disconnect the battery.
Sitting for 3-6 months w/o running is not hard on the car. Running it once a month can be hard on the exhaust. It doesn't get hot enough to burn off the acids and can help the exhaust pipes rust.
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