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Nextourer

Storing a vehicle over the winter

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I will be storing my smart during this winter (long story short, 3 of us will be carpooling to work and the smart's a 2 seater), so I'm wondering what are the things I need to know with regards to storing a vehicle. I've never done it before, all our vehicles were year-round vehicles.Other than "keep it in the garage", what do I need to do with regards to:1. tyre pressure2. fuel tank level3. other fluids4. 12V batteryand so forth?Thanks in advance!

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Put it on jack stands if possible, as the Contis are notorious for flat-spotting even over a week.Fill the tank! Disconnect the battery!

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There are a few things that you must do and many that you might want to do.The things that must be done are as follows:- fill the fuel tank to prevent accumulation of moisture from condensation.- change the oil and filter immediately before putting the car into storage. This removes acids and moisture and other contaminants and assures an oil fill that has fresh additives. - disconnect the battery. This prevents a discharged battery due to a constant draw from dark current. A discharged battery will sulphate and if left long in the discharged state hard sulphation will occur which can permanently damage the battery to the point of it being unservicable.- it is also a good idea to protect the intake, exhaust, and interior from rodents. Metal screen, or anything that they can squeeze through or eat can be used - don't use rags or paper because they use that for their nests. I had a mouse build a nest in the exhaust pipe of a mtorcycle last winter - stll can't understand how it managed to climb in. - don't place the car on stands - leave it on its wheels - you could put maximum air pressure in the tires but even that isn't really necessary. If tires do flat spot they will recover the first time you drive the car. Anything else is merely discretionary and will only make you feel better but makes no real difference to the car. All this presumes that the car is being stored for 2-6 months. Less time requires less concern and more requires different precautions.

Edited by fortow

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You can also buy anti-flat spot cradles for your car's tires, which are used extensively in Germany, where 6 month car insurance is typical for classics. That is simpler than jacking.

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Hmm, yeah I was thinking about pumping the tyre pressures up to the max (wasn't even thinking about placing it on jacks!!). It's not like I'm leaving it away from me so I will have to opportunity to drive it (say up and down the alley.... not the street cause it won't have plates so let's just minimise the chance of running into a police officer and having to explain why I'm driving without plates) if I need to keep things going.Disconnect the battery. Good point. I assume all I have to do when I reconnect it is to adjust the clock and the radio presets, right? Should I store the battery inside the house (where it'll be at room temp). If it's for 6-7 months disconnected from the car, is it still useable?oil eh?? Yeah I'm not sure about the 15,000km bit. My oil looks like dino oil after 9,400kms, not synthetic.

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After disconnecting the battery just give it a full charge and leave it in the car. There's no need to bring it indoors, in fact it will discharge at a lower rate if left out in the cold. If you don't have one of the newer Smart multiprocessor battery chargers then it might be a good idea to get one. They charge in three or four stages, charge quickly and safely, shut off automatically when the battery is at full charge, and some will indicate battery faults.Of course, the battery will be usable after the storage period. Just do an initial charge (even though it will probably be at a full charge anyway), then if you are bothered by leaving it all winter, charge it once or twice during the storage period again and it will be good to go when you put the car back into service.Always change oil just before putting a car into storage. You can't tell whether oil is still servicable by looking at the colour. To do that you need an oil analysis. Synthetic oil will darken just like petroleum oils - the darkening is due to combustion by-products, dirt, and chemical reactions which include oxidation and reactions of some of the additives. Regardless of the colour, change the oil before storing, even if you only have little time and mileage on a recent change.

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