Winter is almost here

[TTJR-CTS-V]

Winters here in Michigan are tons of fun, if you like to ski and ride snowmobiles(I do). High performance cars and snow dont usually mix but I am affraid that my V was bought to be my daily driver. My other cars don't like snow either(2002 T-Bird and 1971 Vette with big block) I am sure when the first snow hits it will be very interesting to drive the V, maybe I will take off in 4th gear!!! Snow tires are an option, but don't want the tire guys damaging my F1's.

[BowenCT]

Thanks for the pep talk TDogg, but there is no way my V will see the light of day after the first sight of a sand-truck on the roads. My V doesn't even see the outdoors if there is a hint of rain in the forecast. I know it's a shame, but that's the way it is.

[steve711]

Im with you on that 1

[BeelzeBob]

Originally Posted by steve711

Bowen i was actually thinking the same thing (about jacking up)
-I KNOW I'VE GOT A DIRTY MIND LOL
Truthfully IMO jacking up the V is a good idea
I think about the BATT. situation,i'll just creep out & start her once month.I hate re-ujusting my setting's.

Either disconnect the battery or put a Battery Tender on it.....

The absolute worst possible thing you can do to a car in storage is to start it occasionally. The WORST. Get it good and hot and park it and leave it until you are ready to drive it again. Do not start it in the mean time. Period.

Starting a cold engine puts lots of water/fuel/blowby into the crank case where it stays until the oil gets hot enough to boil it off. You cannot get it hot enough idling to do this. Starting the engine also fills the exhaust full of water.....so it can sit and rot the exhaust system out. Do not start it.

One of the problems with frequent coldstarts in the winter , especially if the car is in storage and cannot be driven to adequately warm it up, is that the water and fuel and blowby that gets into the exhaust and crankcase sits there and the sulfur that is in the gasoline and blowby starts to turn into H2SO4 what with the abundance of water around.....i.e....sulfuric acid....which will rot even stainless steel given time.


Prep it and park it and leave it. Either disconnect the battery or put the Battery Tender on it to keep the battery up.

A really effective way that I have found to prep the car for storage that I have used for many years on cars, motorcycles, lawnmowers, snowmobiles, etc.... is to put some 2 stroke pre-mix oil into the tank for the last tankful. If you put about a 32:1 premix in the tank it will coat the internal engine parts and the exhaust with a coating of oil for storage. Just a simple way of "fogging" the engine for storage. In addition, in injectors and such where fuel might evaporate and leave varnish the tiny bit of oil in the gas will leave a coating as it evaps and prevent any varnish from forming. This works in carbs great, BTW. Since most snowmobiles have oil injection into the crankcase direct the carbs actually run plain gas so they are very susceptable to varnish formation as they dry out over the summer. I put the premix into the gas tank, run it into the carbs and leave them. Always pull them apart in the fall to prep and they always look brand new with a light coating of oil in the float bowls. I prep my vette's this way for many many years and have never had any sort of start up problems at all.

Really, all you need to do is to clean the car up good, change the oil before storage. Run the premix thru the last tank of gas. Fill it up with fresh fuel just as it is going into storage and park it. Air the tires to 50 PSI to prevent flatspotting (much easier than jacking up and just as effective). Make positively sure the brake rotors are clean and dry so they don't rust up. Put the Battery Tender on or disconnect the battery. Make sure no rodents or anything can get to the underhood wiring/airbox/etc..... Leave it alone until spring.

One more time....starting the engine occasionally is absolutely the worst thing that you can do.

[urbanski]

my answer is....
move to Texas

[steve711]

Wow i had no idea of the damage that could accure durring storage start up
Thank you bbob for that in-depth post
I will deffinetly look into a batt tender & the premix
But i have just 1 Q on you'r post you refurred to the pre-mix crank-case dissasble

is that mandatory on the V as well

[BeelzeBob]

Originally Posted by steve711

But i have just 1 Q on you'r post you refurred to the pre-mix crank-case dissasble

is that mandatory on the V as well

Something is missing in the translation here....I have no idea what you are talking about....

What is the "pre-mix crank-case dissasble"....??? or where is it mentioned in my post...???

[steve711]

[quote]I put the premix into the gas tank, run it into the carbs and leave them. Always pull them apart in the fall to prep and they always look brand new with a light coating of oil in the float bowls. I prep my vette's this way for many many years and have never had any sort of start up problems at all.
[quote]

sorry dont know how to post mini qoutes
I know your refurring to the crank-case in your snow-mobile right?
do you do the same to your autos to ?
Sorry bout the confusion obviously im not mechanicaly inclined.

[T_Dogg8]

Originally Posted by urbanski

my answer is....
move to Texas

my answer is.....
if the roads are slippery....drive it

[BeelzeBob]

[quote=steve711][quote]I put the premix into the gas tank, run it into the carbs and leave them. Always pull them apart in the fall to prep and they always look brand new with a light coating of oil in the float bowls. I prep my vette's this way for many many years and have never had any sort of start up problems at all.

sorry dont know how to post mini qoutes
I know your refurring to the crank-case in your snow-mobile right?
do you do the same to your autos to ?
Sorry bout the confusion obviously im not mechanicaly inclined.

The part that is causing confusion is where I was referring to snowmobiles. What with the previuos references to snowmobiles (which I ride too) I threw that in there.

Snowmobiles typically have 2 stroke engines so the inlet is into the crankcase where is it then pumped or transfered to the combustion chambers. That is why 2 stokes need oil mixed into the gas....to lubricate the crank and rod and piston since there is no oil filled crankcase and lube system like on a 4 stroke engine. The premixed gas/oil is what I mentioned for also prepping a 4 stroke engine for winter storage as it will coat the valves, pistons, exhaust manifolds, etc... with a light film of oil...much like a 2 stroke engine always has a light film of oil on the internal engine parts. Read the post carefully as the dissassembly and inspection I mentioned was for the carburetors on the snowmobile...not the crank case. Many people assume that since a snowmobile uses oil in the gas (injected on most engines since the oil is put into a separate tank for the oil injection) that the carbs on the engine would have the oil in them but not true. The oil is injected directly into the crankcase of a two stroke so the carbs see plain gas. Putting premix into the gas tank will put premix into the carbs to protect them from corrosion and varnish buildup over the summer in storage.

Not much of this applies to a CTS-V...it was aimed at the snowmobile comments earlier. Sorry for the confusion.

If you want to use this trick for storage of a CTS-V or other car just add the two stroke oil to the gas in the gas tank, drive the car for that tank full to distribute the oil thru the combustion chambers and thru the intake system and then park it and leave it. Nothing to dissassemble or inspect.

[globed70]

I never had a problem leaving the car for a few months then starting it right up. Does the manual say anything about long term storage? Before putting anything different in the tank, I would query GM... I'd rather take their advice and have it be their problem. Other than that, check on m5board.com, alot of the M5 guys had discussed winter storage.

[BeelzeBob]

Originally Posted by globed70

I never had a problem leaving the car for a few months then starting it right up. Does the manual say anything about long term storage? Before putting anything different in the tank, I would query GM... I'd rather take their advice and have it be their problem. Other than that, check on m5board.com, alot of the M5 guys had discussed winter storage.

Really, with port fuel injected engines there is very little concern with parking them for long term. Most of the storage problems and the storage old wives tales come from carburetor days where the carbs would dry out and form varnish, the gaskets would dry out and leak, etc..... Adding the 2 stroke oil is not harmfull to anything at all...it is just oil and a simple way of "fogging" the engine without going to the trouble to dump fogging oil down the throttle body before storage. Putting some oil on the valves, seats, pistons, inside the exhuast system, etc... is just common sense for preventing corrosion during storage.

The main thing is to get the engine good and hot with a long drive before putting it into storage, parking it, changing the oil so fresh oil is in the crankcase and then leaving it alone until it is time to take it out of storage. The single most important thing is to not start it frequently due to the condensation buildup from the cold starts.

[Nolimit124]

yeah you possibly could break the jack, and also the jack could just drop and end up causing more problems. I think you should just do any oil change and just let it sit in my garage. I did that to my bmw and i left the aftermarker rims on it all winter too.

[thebigjimsho]

Hey, I didn't do it!!

[tlsmeds]

Thanks to OldRoadDawg when I posted earlier in the year about winter storage, here is a link to a battery tender for extended storage.

http://www.batterytender.com/