Well at the end of October the TA is going nighty night for the winter..

The car is a 2002 Trans Am with 41k miles

What are some stuff to do before putting it away?

i am going to be doing the folowing..

Oil Change
Coolant Flush. Refil it with Dex Cool III right?
Fuel Filter, i changed it last November

what other stuff to do with it???

 

There is a thread on this somewhere. But anyways.

Add fuel stabilizer.
Put silica packs inside the car to absorb moisture.
Clean it real good if it isn't already.
Put a cover over it if you already don't got plans for that.
Unhook the battery.
Stuff rags in your tailpipes so mice or something can't get in them.

Prolly a couple things i'm forgetting that someone else might catch or give you the link to the thread about it.

 

You're right.........

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IT'S A STICKY!!!
https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-maintenance-repairs/416584-things-do-before-storing-your-vehicle.html

 

lol thanks i will read it when i hav emore time at home.. not going away til sat.

this is the first winter where i will not drive the TA.. i got me a toyota avalon for the winter

 

If this is the first storage year, I would add a complete under side washing. Wash and rinse with lots of water every place under the car salt could sit on top of or salty water could have reached. All lips in fender wells and on top of suspension pieces.

 

where do you get the silica packs from????

 

My TA is going to be at my moms house. The garage is not attached, i will be starting it every couple of weeks..

my questions is and this was not covered in the sticky. shoul di lock the doors or not. will the little red flashing light in the top center of the dash will that drain the battery?????


what esle do i need to know? coolant flush or not? that was not answered either..

 

Don't start it every couple weeks. You'll do more harm than good unless you get it out and drive 15-20 miles to get everything up to temperature and burn the moisture out of the motor. I'll get mine out periodically on nice days in the winter & drive it. If I'm not gonna drive it, it doesn't run.....sometimes for months at a time.
Take the battery out and bring it inside where it's warm. Extreme cold is rough on batteries. Hook it up to a trickle charger if you have one. I store vehicles every year, if you need any more help shoot me a pm.

 

I was told NOT to disconnect the battery due to the computer having to relearn everything, which could take many miles????

I'm still on the fence to weather I leave the battery in the car as is, disconnect it, or take it inside and keep it on a charger?

 

just buy a battery tender and leave it on the battery while the battery is still in the car and hooked up. That's what I plan on doing. Although, I am heating my garage just enough to keep it above freezing.

 

I've been storing F-bodies every winter for 8 years now, and I've never pulled the battery out. I just put a charger on it for a few hours usually once a month to keep it fresh.

Also, I usually start the motor once a month as well, letting it run for about 30 mins. Never caused a problem after all these years.

 

I live in new england. If it's not snowing I drive it in the winter. Makes my long commute better.

 

Also, I usually start the motor once a month as well, letting it run for about 30 mins. Never caused a problem after all these years.[/QUOTE]

The only problem with that is you can't get the oil warm enough to evaporate the moisture buildup that occurs from just starting it. Chances are you probably aren't doing any real harm to it, but it's slightly better to not even bother starting it.

Of course another option is to fog it with Seafoam when you put it away and not start it again until you pull it out for the season, like what they do with the boats around hear. That will keep everything coated and prevent any surface corrosion form happening internally.

 

I dunno goto autozone and see if they got some or i'm sure a walmart has some.

 

Well the t/a is in storage..

I am not completely done with it yet.. Still need to get the damp rid and fill the tires up and add a little more gas. Just below F


Anyways this is what I did.. Took me a long time but well worth it. The paint I will get some pics when I go back on Monday or Tuesday

First after I got off of work I went to my friend’s cousin’s shop. Did an oil change, put in a new fuel filter and did a coolant flush too.

Started by cleaning out my mom’s garage she was nice enough to let me store it there. There is a waiting list for a garage where I live.

Next I vacuumed out the car. Just be fore I put it away the car was already clean btw b/c I went to the track last weekend already washed and waxed. But anyways I vacuumed the car again. I took my time and went over every nook and cranny.

I then proceeded to the interior. The best glass cleaner ever is INVISIBLE GLASS. Been using that for 4+yrs now. Did all the windows, front window, rear view mirror, the mirrors in the visors, pass a drivers side windows and the rear window.. BTW yes INVISIBLE GLASS is safe for tinted windows. All my cars I have ever owned has had tint, and INVISIBLE GLASS has never tuned them purple..

After cleaning the windows I used Meguiars NXT interior cleaner for the dash, door panels, the rear seat all the plastic and by the hatch were the T-tops are held and the plastic where the rear speakers are.

Washing time. I soaked the car with water first. Filled up a bucket of HOT water with Dawn dishwashing soap. Proceeded to wash the Trans Am.. I really washed it really well... got it all nice and soapy. Cleaned the chrome rims too

Rinse.. No need to explain

Then I took the California wiper blade got rid off all the water, what ever was left took the ABSORBER chamois and get the remaining water. NOTE- I highly recommend the California wiper blade it will cut your drying time down by almost 98%

Made sure all the water was off the car. I proceeded to wax. Here is what I used. I got the Meguiars 3 stage wax. 1 step is a cleaner wax, 2nd step is a carnauba wax and the 3rd step is a polishing wax. I don’t really need to explain how to wax a car. I did do it sections at a time. I applied the wax with a terry circular pad and I took the wax off with these little towels that are 1' ft by 1' ft and are diaper soft. Got them both from AutoZone. BTW when I was waxing the car I started at 4 got done at 7. And the temp was around 50* PERFECT waxing conditions

Almost done. Then I did all exterior windows with INVISIBLE GLASS. I also cleaned the headlights and fog lights too.

Next came the chrome rims.. All I did was spray INVISIBLE GLASS on them. Been doing that to my chrome fore ever.

Now I treated the leather with the Meguiars leather conditioner.

Finally I took silicone spray to a terry towel, sprayed it down and took the towel over all the seals. By the window, and T-tops and wiped them all down. Sprayed the 2 door, sprayed the hinges and by the trunk wiped that seal down too..

I am practically all done. I did take the Trans Am for a short cruise. The rotors were sitting all the time with water on them. We all know that rusts builds up on them. So I took it for a cruise to get the rust off, plus I wanted to get any remaining water out of my rear bumper..

Came back parked it in the nice clean garage put the cover on it, said good night till I come back with the Damp Rid..

What is next? Pull the battery or leave it.. Will be sitting November - April.. 6 months...