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Garage => Mechanicals => Topic started by: raueda1 on 17 October 2020, 03:40 PM

Title: 6.9 winter storage
Post by: raueda1 on 17 October 2020, 03:40 PM
Soon the snow will be falling and the salt will be on the roads - time to think about winter storage.  Suspension question:  Is there any advantage to putting blocks under the car so, if/when it drops after a few months, then the car won't be all the way down?  My thought was to raise the car in H position, slide blocks under chassis with about 1cm clearance and then lower car to the N position. That should have it resting on blocks rather than the suspension itself.  Also less weight on the tires (I assume).  Or am I overthinking things?  Comments and suggestions on best practices welcome.  Thanks and cheers,
Title: Re: 6.9 winter storage
Post by: daantjie on 17 October 2020, 05:46 PM
Dave for me personally I would not bother with blocking it up if only for a few months.  Granted here in Vancouver we rarely get snow/salt on the roads,  but I also don't drive it much if at all from now until April/May.  I would just fire the motor up occasionally and let the suspension cycle up and down a bit while the motor warms up, that should be fine.  I am sure others might chime in too as  well.
Title: Re: 6.9 winter storage
Post by: PosedgeClk on 17 October 2020, 10:01 PM
Why don't you just start the car and let it idle for half an hour every month?
Title: Re: 6.9 winter storage
Post by: secondslc on 18 October 2020, 08:22 AM
My plan is to visit the car every month or so and let it fully heat cycle. I'm allowed to visit and use the parking lot. Not only will this run the suspension, it'll also make sure my CIS doesn't start going gummy.

Putting a full tank of non-ox gas in, putting a battery tender on it, and calling it good.
Title: Re: 6.9 winter storage
Post by: raueda1 on 19 October 2020, 10:34 AM
Thanks for the comments.  My practice has been to do the occasional warm-up.  I also change the oil late autumn to minimize corrosive stuff that builds up and specs call for annual oil change anyway.  And also turning around, even just in the driveway, helps minimize tire flat-spotting.  And yeah, alcohol-free gas with stabilizer!  And a full tank too, less condensation and oxygen in the headspace.  But what I was puzzling was the suspension since I hadn't seen anything about best practices.  Cheers,
Title: Re: 6.9 winter storage
Post by: PosedgeClk on 20 October 2020, 11:56 PM
How fresh are the bump stops? Just consider what everything will be resting on, and the rest should follow. You aren't going to hurt the vehicle by having the suspension retracted. You will hurt the vehicle if you try to drive it like that. Ask me about the spiderwebbed LR wheel well panel left by a previous owner if you don't believe me. But who would be dumb enough to pull a car out of winter storage and have an inch of ground clearance and drive to the grocery store without letting the suspension rise? Nobody on this forum, obviously. You'll be fine, mate!

As for the periodic starting, I 100% agree. I start the 300SD at least once every few weeks.
Title: Re: 6.9 winter storage
Post by: raueda1 on 21 October 2020, 10:54 AM
Quote from: PosedgeClk on 20 October 2020, 11:56 PM
How fresh are the bump stops? Just consider what everything will be resting on, and the rest should follow. You aren't going to hurt the vehicle by having the suspension retracted. You will hurt the vehicle if you try to drive it like that. Ask me about the spiderwebbed LR wheel well panel left by a previous owner if you don't believe me. But who would be dumb enough to pull a car out of winter storage and have an inch of ground clearance and drive to the grocery store without letting the suspension rise? Nobody on this forum, obviously. You'll be fine, mate!

As for the periodic starting, I 100% agree. I start the 300SD at least once every few weeks.
Actually they're not fresh at all.  The rear is OK but one front bumper has turned into slime.  This was a significant part of the reason for posting in the first place.  And in fact, there's a worse problem.   I replaced rear brake calipers with the wrong ones.  That required new brake lines on the shields.  And I suspect that the new custom lines interfere with the bumpers in an extremely low position. :o  Gotta fix that, but it's concerning if the rear end goes all the way to the bottom.  Cheers,