Maintenance intervals, etc.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 326
Likes: 3
From: Northlake, IL
Maintenance intervals, etc. Well, I guess I'm here to confess that I don't maintain my cars as religiously as I should. I'm a little more regular on cars that I drive, but on the SS, I really don't do anything. It just sits. It's a 1996 with 3,481 miles as of today. I think I've changed the oil and filter twice, once around 3,000 (1996) and then again around 3,300 (2000?). The original battery died about 2 years ago.
I'm going to be moving it to more permanent long-term storage, so I saw fit to do a coolant flush and oil change. I dumped the original (1996) Dexcool, and it looked fine, like brand new. I was worried that it would be like Jell-O, but there was no problem.
I also filled it up with gas sometime around 2000, and never put in any Stabil. I've started and idled it numerous times, and it was somewhere around empty. I was going to stop for gas on the way to storage, but it finally started to sputter as I was idling it. I put in a gallon of fresh gas along with 1/4 bottle of fuel injector cleaner, just to be safe, and it started right up and ran great while I was flushing the coolant.
To summarize, fuel is supposed to turn to varnish, and Dexcool is supposed to turn to Jell-O. I didn't have any problems after 7 and 11 years respectively. Am I a lucky bastard, are people overcautious, or is a 300 average mile-per-year car exempt?
I'm going to be moving it to more permanent long-term storage, so I saw fit to do a coolant flush and oil change. I dumped the original (1996) Dexcool, and it looked fine, like brand new. I was worried that it would be like Jell-O, but there was no problem.
I also filled it up with gas sometime around 2000, and never put in any Stabil. I've started and idled it numerous times, and it was somewhere around empty. I was going to stop for gas on the way to storage, but it finally started to sputter as I was idling it. I put in a gallon of fresh gas along with 1/4 bottle of fuel injector cleaner, just to be safe, and it started right up and ran great while I was flushing the coolant.
To summarize, fuel is supposed to turn to varnish, and Dexcool is supposed to turn to Jell-O. I didn't have any problems after 7 and 11 years respectively. Am I a lucky bastard, are people overcautious, or is a 300 average mile-per-year car exempt?
it helps alot that the car isnt driven. What makes these things go bad is heat and pressure. Im not sure if oil now days goes bad over time. You anti freeze should stay good for a while if its never driven...a long while. But you need to put stabil in the fuel. Gas will be your worst enemy over time. If i were you i would change the fuel filter out before you store it again. Then put stabil in it and let it run for 15 mins to get it through the engine...
you should start you're own website, and explain how you've ran dexcool for 7 years on the original fill and didn't have any problems.
dexcool is fine as long as you have a radiator cap that works and you're cooling system is full and has no air in it. and it is probably one of the longest life coolants going.
The 2 things you should keep on top of is the engine oil and fuel. When you start the car, warm it up, then shut it off and it cools down, water will get into the oil from condensation and water in oil + combustion byproducts = acid. Not like it will immediately eat away something but it is bad in the long run. Best thing to do is change the oil when motor is hot, run fresh oil thru motor for 10-20 minutes, then shut it down for storage. Don't start the motor periodically, like to charge the battery by just idling for half an hour, the motor will not get hot enough to burn off contaminants in the oil. Put a charger on the battery instead. For fuel, the fuel system is a closed system so moisture can't really get into it. I don't believe in stabil anymore with ethanol in gas, i've experienced problems first hand with boats and carbs but that is a much different type of storage than you. I think you would be better off, regardless of stabil, is running the fuel tank to near empty before storage. Then when you take it out of storage you fill up with fresh fuel. If you're storage is indoors and climate controlled then I would say you're exempt from the usual problems. I can remember when my 2002 only had 3000 miles on it
dexcool is fine as long as you have a radiator cap that works and you're cooling system is full and has no air in it. and it is probably one of the longest life coolants going.
The 2 things you should keep on top of is the engine oil and fuel. When you start the car, warm it up, then shut it off and it cools down, water will get into the oil from condensation and water in oil + combustion byproducts = acid. Not like it will immediately eat away something but it is bad in the long run. Best thing to do is change the oil when motor is hot, run fresh oil thru motor for 10-20 minutes, then shut it down for storage. Don't start the motor periodically, like to charge the battery by just idling for half an hour, the motor will not get hot enough to burn off contaminants in the oil. Put a charger on the battery instead. For fuel, the fuel system is a closed system so moisture can't really get into it. I don't believe in stabil anymore with ethanol in gas, i've experienced problems first hand with boats and carbs but that is a much different type of storage than you. I think you would be better off, regardless of stabil, is running the fuel tank to near empty before storage. Then when you take it out of storage you fill up with fresh fuel. If you're storage is indoors and climate controlled then I would say you're exempt from the usual problems. I can remember when my 2002 only had 3000 miles on it
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 326
Likes: 3
From: Northlake, IL
7 years?! Try 11! I was definitely lucky, especially with the gas. The good/bad thing is I didn't start it as often as I should have... As a result, I think I had fewer problems in the long run, although I'm seeing evidence of possible water pump and front-end oil leaking. Nothing major, and not surprising for an 11 year-old car with 3400 miles.
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