Best Practices for storage of a Dak
Thread Starter
|
Professional
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 141
Likes: 0
From: Live: Silverdale, WA; Work: WA, CA, VA, GA, FL; From: WV
Best Practices for storage of a Dak
Unfortunately, I have to travel for months at a time and have to leave the Dak at home. Other than disconnecting the battery (which will be fun as the positive clamp screw does not want to give), are there any other things I should do so that I won't have any issues getting it back on the road? I'm looking at it not being used for up to 4-5 months at a time.
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: Far NorthEast Texas
OK, here goes.
Fuel stabilizer- excellent idea. Run the truck long enough so that fuel with Sta-bil(or other stabilizer) is going through the injectors.
Oil; If it's getting near time/mileage for an oil change, a fresh oil & filter change *Before* you park it is a good idea, doesn't have to be anything exotic. Just before you park the truck, drive it long enough for it to get well warmed up- at *Least* 20 minutes or so- that'll cook any residual moisture out of the crankcase system. If you already have stabilizer in the gas tank you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone here. And when you come home your truck will have nice fresh oil in it- at worst, from warmng/cooling due to ambient temperature it may have a bit of moisture in it. If it does, 20 minutes driving will take care of that- see above.
Tires- it's a lot of trouble to remove 'em, or put truck on blocks so they won't have any weight on them. While that's probably the best thing to do, you might settle for just airing them up good & tight, say a few psi over max rec pressure. EX: tires say 35 psi max, air 'em to ~38, no more than 40 psi.
Coolant- if truck will be stored where it gets cold, be sure your anti-freeze is up to snuff! You'd hate to come home to a cracked engine block. If you *really* want to get hard-core you could even drain the coolant, but that seems a little extreme with modern antifreezes.
Battery disconnected- check. Maybe a trickle charger?
Brakes- the one thing I'd recommend here is, do NOT leave it with the parking brake set. If you do, the rear brake shoes may stick/bond to the inside of the brake drum. Best to settle for just putting it in "Park" for this purpose. And BTW, parking it level is a nice idea too.
Have all doors & windows fully shut of course- no telling what might invade your truck! Mice, wasps, whatever- have it shut up tight.
All I can think of for now- and the grass grows taller by the minute! Gotta go mow now.
Fuel stabilizer- excellent idea. Run the truck long enough so that fuel with Sta-bil(or other stabilizer) is going through the injectors.
Oil; If it's getting near time/mileage for an oil change, a fresh oil & filter change *Before* you park it is a good idea, doesn't have to be anything exotic. Just before you park the truck, drive it long enough for it to get well warmed up- at *Least* 20 minutes or so- that'll cook any residual moisture out of the crankcase system. If you already have stabilizer in the gas tank you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone here. And when you come home your truck will have nice fresh oil in it- at worst, from warmng/cooling due to ambient temperature it may have a bit of moisture in it. If it does, 20 minutes driving will take care of that- see above.
Tires- it's a lot of trouble to remove 'em, or put truck on blocks so they won't have any weight on them. While that's probably the best thing to do, you might settle for just airing them up good & tight, say a few psi over max rec pressure. EX: tires say 35 psi max, air 'em to ~38, no more than 40 psi.
Coolant- if truck will be stored where it gets cold, be sure your anti-freeze is up to snuff! You'd hate to come home to a cracked engine block. If you *really* want to get hard-core you could even drain the coolant, but that seems a little extreme with modern antifreezes.
Battery disconnected- check. Maybe a trickle charger?
Brakes- the one thing I'd recommend here is, do NOT leave it with the parking brake set. If you do, the rear brake shoes may stick/bond to the inside of the brake drum. Best to settle for just putting it in "Park" for this purpose. And BTW, parking it level is a nice idea too.
Have all doors & windows fully shut of course- no telling what might invade your truck! Mice, wasps, whatever- have it shut up tight.
All I can think of for now- and the grass grows taller by the minute! Gotta go mow now.
Champion
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 3,300
Likes: 2
From: Plattsburgh, NY
It's actually not good to just have someone start it once a week. The engine won't get up to running temp and therefore it is actually not good. If there was some on to go drive it 10 miles thats okay. But it's not good to just start it for 15 minutes.
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 390
Likes: 0
From: Shelton, WA
everything unclestu said, other than worrying about the tires. Tires nowadays dont flatspot for years, unlike the old polyglass ones.
and you might consider a cover of some kind if its not going to be in a garage.
and you might consider a cover of some kind if its not going to be in a garage.
Trending Topics
Professional
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 228
Likes: 0
From: Okemos, MI
I store my car every winter.
Stabil in a full tank of gas, fresh oil change, drive for 30 minutes.
Disconnect the battery and take it out of the car. Don't know exactly why.
I try to make sure everything fluid wise is full as there is the possibility my car will experience sub-zero temperatures, but I am not sure if that applies to you. Just little stuff like the washer fluid and whatnot. Basically, I want to limit the space for condensation to form in sealed systems as much as possible.
Finally, Bounce regular dryer sheets. Put them under the dah, in the negine, under the seats. Use a whole damn box. It will smell really good when you open it up, and mice seem to be adverse to the things. An old guy told me this quite a few years ago, and then proceeded to demonstrate that it worked to me. One of his friends had a motorhome stored in his barn, and he had a really sweet Chevelle stored in there right next to it. He did the Bounce dryer sheet thing, his buddy didn't. The motorhome ended up with chewed wires and interior and quite a collection of droppings in it. The Chevelle did not appear to have been touched by mice.
Stabil in a full tank of gas, fresh oil change, drive for 30 minutes.
Disconnect the battery and take it out of the car. Don't know exactly why.
I try to make sure everything fluid wise is full as there is the possibility my car will experience sub-zero temperatures, but I am not sure if that applies to you. Just little stuff like the washer fluid and whatnot. Basically, I want to limit the space for condensation to form in sealed systems as much as possible.
Finally, Bounce regular dryer sheets. Put them under the dah, in the negine, under the seats. Use a whole damn box. It will smell really good when you open it up, and mice seem to be adverse to the things. An old guy told me this quite a few years ago, and then proceeded to demonstrate that it worked to me. One of his friends had a motorhome stored in his barn, and he had a really sweet Chevelle stored in there right next to it. He did the Bounce dryer sheet thing, his buddy didn't. The motorhome ended up with chewed wires and interior and quite a collection of droppings in it. The Chevelle did not appear to have been touched by mice.
Captain
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 511
Likes: 0
From: California
I store my car every winter.
Stabil in a full tank of gas, fresh oil change, drive for 30 minutes.
Disconnect the battery and take it out of the car. Don't know exactly why.
I try to make sure everything fluid wise is full as there is the possibility my car will experience sub-zero temperatures, but I am not sure if that applies to you. Just little stuff like the washer fluid and whatnot. Basically, I want to limit the space for condensation to form in sealed systems as much as possible.
Finally, Bounce regular dryer sheets. Put them under the dah, in the negine, under the seats. Use a whole damn box. It will smell really good when you open it up, and mice seem to be adverse to the things. An old guy told me this quite a few years ago, and then proceeded to demonstrate that it worked to me. One of his friends had a motorhome stored in his barn, and he had a really sweet Chevelle stored in there right next to it. He did the Bounce dryer sheet thing, his buddy didn't. The motorhome ended up with chewed wires and interior and quite a collection of droppings in it. The Chevelle did not appear to have been touched by mice.
Stabil in a full tank of gas, fresh oil change, drive for 30 minutes.
Disconnect the battery and take it out of the car. Don't know exactly why.
I try to make sure everything fluid wise is full as there is the possibility my car will experience sub-zero temperatures, but I am not sure if that applies to you. Just little stuff like the washer fluid and whatnot. Basically, I want to limit the space for condensation to form in sealed systems as much as possible.
Finally, Bounce regular dryer sheets. Put them under the dah, in the negine, under the seats. Use a whole damn box. It will smell really good when you open it up, and mice seem to be adverse to the things. An old guy told me this quite a few years ago, and then proceeded to demonstrate that it worked to me. One of his friends had a motorhome stored in his barn, and he had a really sweet Chevelle stored in there right next to it. He did the Bounce dryer sheet thing, his buddy didn't. The motorhome ended up with chewed wires and interior and quite a collection of droppings in it. The Chevelle did not appear to have been touched by mice.
haha jkjk