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  1. #1

    Post How long can a car sit/not be used?

    A question for the car experts out there

    How long can a car sit/ not be used before things start to go wrong with it? I have a 97 Toyota car and it's been parked in a garage for about 2 months now how long can it sit there before things start to get screwed up in the motor from it not being used any? I'm gonna be in another state for a year and i can't use it! The garage door is always open but it can't rain or snow on my car.

  2. #2
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    I know this one... wow! from a girl...


    Well it depends on where you live....

    You can get away with letting it sit for a year in the southern states... but if you live anywhere where these cold, you wouldn't want to do that -- it will cease.

    There is additive that you can put in your engine -- than you can pick up at pretty much any auto parts store. This will prevent the engine from ceasing.

    But the best bet is if you're leaving the car anywhere where there's going to be people around it (aka watching it, etc) to have them start up the car and let it run for 10 minutes - at least once a month -- and a couple times a month if you live in a colder area.

    Check out your area auto parts store, and they can help you out -- usually there is at least one person there that knows what they're talking about... lol (some of the people that work there are dim wits and don't know what they're talking about half the time).

    If you need any further help trying to find the right additive for the engine, let me know, and I'll look up the exact names of some stuff (I don't know if off hand).

    Hope I could help!
    Tonya
    (I know cars pretty well -- my husband is into cars and we've had our share of fixing them up... )

  3. #3
    How cold below 32? It gets cold at night in the winter but during the day it's almost always above 32. Thanks for the help i just don't wanna come back home and no longer have a car that runs

  4. #4
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    If it gets below freezing during the night -- the best best is to at least run it twice a month -- the more you run it -- the less likely you're going to have it ceasing up on you. The more the merrier..

    There's a way to un-cease a car -- but that would probably be a little too expensive on your end... Its to take out the pistons and put new ones in. But that might be a little expensive to do if you're going to have someone else do it. I wouldnt' suggest you do anything like that on your own, if you don't know what you're doing... You can mess up your engine doing that if you're unsure what to do.

    Let me know if you need anything else...
    -Tonya-

  5. #5
    so if it dosent get below 32 everything should be ok then? Why does it cease if it gets below 32 what does everything to bound togeather kinda? lol

    thanks for your help

  6. #6
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    Well like I said, your best bet is to have someone run the car every once in a while (regularily)...

    But if you can't do that, before you leave, get an oil change -- and have them put in the oil you would during the winter -- thicker vescosity (can't spell today). I can't tell you off hand because I don't know what kind of car you have -- your owner's manual would tell you (winterizing it).

    If you have thicker oil in your car while your gone, its less likely to cease up than if you just had regular oil that you would have during the summer (its thinner).

    But an oil change place could tell you better -- tell them that its going to be sitting for a while, and that you'd like an oil put in that you would normally have during the winter. Each car is different - so your owners manual would have the recommended oil in it.

    --Tonya--

  7. #7
    I've always used 10 W30 for both winter and summer i think that's what the owner's manual says but who knows.

  8. #8
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    rockergrrl,

    Wow! I'm impressed.
    Nothing to add here.
    You sure you're a girl??


    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  9. #9
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    Re: rockergrrl,

    Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
    Wow! I'm impressed.
    Nothing to add here.
    You sure you're a girl??


    Yes, very much a girl... a number of people here can vouch for that.. If I was a man, my husband would be in shock...

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Results may vary!

    There's an 83 Camaro in my yard that sat through last winter hidden under snow and ice. I was amazed, when spring began to show and we tried to start it, it started right up with a turn of the key and a little gas pedal work.

    Someone else I know has an old 67 Mustang that's pretty well rotted out but until recently the engine would run with a good jumpstart.

  11. #11
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    Originally posted by James99
    I've always used 10 W30 for both winter and summer i think that's what the owner's manual says but who knows.
    Hmmmm.. 10 W30 is a thin oil. But if that's what your owners manual says, (usually it will have what to use using during this amount of degrees, etc -- aka a winter and a summer oil).

    Is your Toyota a 4 cyl or a 6 cyl?

    If the owner's manal says 10 W30 as the recommended oil...

    I would either have someone run the car a couple times a month...

    Or take it into the shop and explain to them what you're going to be doing -- and they'll -- if they're not dumb -- know what you're talking about and do what's necessary for you and for your car.

    --Tonya--

  12. #12
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    Although starting the vehicle on occasion is good for the engine; it doesn't help other components that would benefit from actually 'moving' it.
    I would recommend that you have someone back the car up eight or nine feet and then put it back.
    This way other parts get the lubrication they need.
    Any rubber, getting too dry, is a bad thing.
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  13. #13
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    Originally posted by Seer
    Results may vary!

    83 Camaro... old 67 Mustang.....
    Well we all know older cars are better built than the new ones out today...

    My 50 Chevy (Styleline Deluxe) still has the original engine in it... its over 51 years old -- and it purrs like a kitten...


    But the best bet would be if you want to keep the engine you have now -- is to take precautions... and get it winterized...

  14. #14
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    Originally posted by rockergrrl
    . . . My 50 Chevy (Styleline Deluxe) . . . . .
    Now that's a car!!
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  15. #15
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    Originally posted by SoftWareRevue

    I would recommend that you have someone back the car up eight or nine feet and then put it back.
    This way other parts get the lubrication they need.
    Any rubber, getting too dry, is a bad thing.

    Or better yet, drive it around the block a couple times.

    You don't want your belts to dry rot or even your hoses... You'll end up spending $ to replace them all... Granted they're cheap to replace -- but when they're all bad.. .it adds up...

  16. #16
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    Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
    Now that's a car!!

    Its a very nice car... Still has its original straight 6... Had to get all new glass put it - because it was starting to separate and warping. Other than that its pretty much original still (belts/hoses replaced of course). We had to replain it though -- but its still the black - like it was originally.

    We don't have it down here in Florida yet (we moved here in June from Michigan) but we're getting it shipped down in March (when the income tax return check comes in).

    -Tonya-

  17. #17
    And from another gurrl... <g>

    I left the country for a year and had to store my car for that time. I asked around at the local garages, and also asked a dealership, and got the same answers. A car should not be left to sit unused. It should be driven regularly. If you need to leave your car in storage, you should do the following:

    1) Block it up off the wheels. Sitting with the wheels in one position for a year is likely to ruin them. You need to block the car up carefully so it doesn't slip or fall and injure you or get damaged. There are commercial things you can buy to hold up the car -- I forget what they're called but I still have the four I used. Too bad they're so heavy or I'd send them to you.

    2) Syphon the gas out of the gas tank. Over time it turns gummy, so you don't want it left in there for a year.

    3) Remove the battery and put it in a battery storage box. Never leave a battery sitting directly on a concrete floor.

    When you're ready to start your car up again: take the battery to a garage and get it charged, take the car carefully down off the blocks, bring some new gas and fill 'er up, and off you go. My car started on the first try. No one said anything about oil/lube so I didn't.

    You'll be better off if someone can take it for a spin every 3-4 weeks, otherwise do what I did, and also close that garage door -- no need to advertise that no one's around.
    Deb Suran
    Musical Instrument Makers Forum - http://www.mimf.com

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