Winterizing Tips
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Winterizing Tips
I live in NY and will soon be putting my S2K away for the winter (1st time). Does anyone have any advice to offer? The car will be garaged for about 4 months. What is a good level to leave the gas at? How often to start it up for battery health, etc.? Got a Honda OEM car cover for extra protection.
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From: Carolinas
I would change the oil & filter,fill the tank and add some Sta-bil and have a battery tender on.Also,add a few lbs to the tires and have them sit on some rubber mats to help avoid temp flat-spots.Also,DON'T have the ebrake on.
IMO...I wouldn't bother to start it.
\rlr
Carolina
IMO...I wouldn't bother to start it.
\rlr
Carolina
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 158
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From: Oak Harbor, WA
Here is a post I made answering someone else with the same question:
I store my car for a year at a time seeing as I'm stationed in Japan and am only home to drive it on leave. I put it in my storage building a let it sit after I do a little bit of work prior to storage. I don't trust anyone to go a start her up to drive her and I've read that letting it run for a few minutes a month can do more harm than good. So I hard-park the car until I'm back for another visit. I have yet to have any issues, and I have a higher mileage car AP1
- PLace a sheet of plastic (from home depot) down in the storage building. It helps you see fluid leaks that would otherwise seep into the concrete floor. also helps block moisture from the concrete floor.
- Top off the gas tank with fuel and add a full bottle of sta-bil. Make sure to drive some with the sta-bil in the tank to let in mix throughout the system.
- Fresh oil change and check all fluids. In my opinion, if you are close to changing the transmission or diff fluids, go ahead before storage.
- remove the battery and leave it with a friend or relative to put on a battery tender
- place tube sock over exhaust and intake to keep the critters out or to make it obvious that they got into that place if the chew through it.
- wash and wax with a full interior detail before parking. Don't want any smells to get worse while it sits.
- soft top up but not latched and windows cracked. I keep a tub of silicon beads in the passenger foot well to collect any moisture
- air tires up to max psi on sidewall and park with carpet under each tire. Minimizes flat spot and any that are there will go away after maybe 5 mins of normal driving in my experience. (I have read it is terrible to leave the suspension ,OEM or aftermarket, without a load on it, so I never leave it on jackstands liek I would with a different car.)
- chock the rear tires and take it out of gear and leave the e-brake off
- Finish it all off with a car cover.
Following this for the past few years has paid off and I go home every year for a visit with a minty fresh s2000 that's clean and ready to go. I remove the socks and check the fluids. I pull the fuel pump fuse before starting and crank it a few times to get some oil to some parts before letting her fire up. I back out of the storage building and let her idle up to temp outside while I inspect the plastic for any fluid leaks. after She is warmed up I always do a shakedown drive for a little while and then before ending my trip near the end, I always v-tec. After being away for a year at a time, it sure does make me happy. Of course, all this won't be necessary when I come back stateside next year. Hope this helps you out.
I store my car for a year at a time seeing as I'm stationed in Japan and am only home to drive it on leave. I put it in my storage building a let it sit after I do a little bit of work prior to storage. I don't trust anyone to go a start her up to drive her and I've read that letting it run for a few minutes a month can do more harm than good. So I hard-park the car until I'm back for another visit. I have yet to have any issues, and I have a higher mileage car AP1
- PLace a sheet of plastic (from home depot) down in the storage building. It helps you see fluid leaks that would otherwise seep into the concrete floor. also helps block moisture from the concrete floor.
- Top off the gas tank with fuel and add a full bottle of sta-bil. Make sure to drive some with the sta-bil in the tank to let in mix throughout the system.
- Fresh oil change and check all fluids. In my opinion, if you are close to changing the transmission or diff fluids, go ahead before storage.
- remove the battery and leave it with a friend or relative to put on a battery tender
- place tube sock over exhaust and intake to keep the critters out or to make it obvious that they got into that place if the chew through it.
- wash and wax with a full interior detail before parking. Don't want any smells to get worse while it sits.
- soft top up but not latched and windows cracked. I keep a tub of silicon beads in the passenger foot well to collect any moisture
- air tires up to max psi on sidewall and park with carpet under each tire. Minimizes flat spot and any that are there will go away after maybe 5 mins of normal driving in my experience. (I have read it is terrible to leave the suspension ,OEM or aftermarket, without a load on it, so I never leave it on jackstands liek I would with a different car.)
- chock the rear tires and take it out of gear and leave the e-brake off
- Finish it all off with a car cover.
Following this for the past few years has paid off and I go home every year for a visit with a minty fresh s2000 that's clean and ready to go. I remove the socks and check the fluids. I pull the fuel pump fuse before starting and crank it a few times to get some oil to some parts before letting her fire up. I back out of the storage building and let her idle up to temp outside while I inspect the plastic for any fluid leaks. after She is warmed up I always do a shakedown drive for a little while and then before ending my trip near the end, I always v-tec. After being away for a year at a time, it sure does make me happy. Of course, all this won't be necessary when I come back stateside next year. Hope this helps you out.
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 22,657
Likes: 490
From: St-Redempteur,Qc.
Here you go:
The information presented in this document has been gleaned from several posts on the web site www.s2ki.com.
1. Change the oil and filter, unless you are still within the “break-in” period (pre-3,750 or 7,500 miles). Let the engine run for a while.
2. Fill the gas tank to the top. You want the smallest air gap in the tank because temperature changes will cause condensation in there. The consensus seems to be that fuel stabilizers are NOT necessary.
3. Wash and detail the car including treating the inside vinyl and leather. Drive the car to remove any standing water that gets trapped in the nooks and crannies and to remove moisture in the exhaust and engine.
4. Run the air conditioner for about 10-15 minutes on the last drive to ensure all the moving parts get the lubricant circulated so the seals don’t dry out.
5. Clean out the interior really well, leaving nothing behind. Check all small compartments, ashtray, etc. Mice getting into the car can eat wires, vinyl, leather, carpet, etc.
6. Apply a silicone spray lubricant to door and trunk seals to minimize sticking.
7. Stuff a rag into the airbox intake to keep mice out.
8. Stuff a rag into the end of the tail pipes to keep mice out.
9. For those who are paranoid about mice, place several mothballs around the interior, placing them on small paper plates so they are not in contact with the car. Place several mouse traps around the car, bait them with peanut butter.
10. Spray lightly a bit of Febreeze (fabric deodorizer) on both floor mats.
11. Make sure the window wash fluid is the anti-freeze kind and not straight water.
12. Check the anti-freeze and adjust if needed.
13. Top off any other fluids under the hood.
14. Keep the CV joints in good shape by keeping the CV boots in good shape. When stored, the boots do not go through a regular routine of being flexed and this may cause them to develop a sort of “memory” such that when you drive it in spring, it may aggravate the start of cracking. You might want to consider going under there and liberally using some “rubber safe” silicone spray and get those (there are 4 on the rear half shafts) babies dripping wet with silicone.
15. Depending on how long you plan to store the car (more than a couple of months), you might also look into an “oil fog spray”. They sell these in auto supply stores. It is an oil mist that comes in a spray can, specially marketed for this application. Just before you put the car to bed, after your last drive, you take off the intake hose to expose the throttle body. You then spray this mist into the throttle body till the car begins to run a bit rough. Stop the spray and immediately shut the car off, replace the intake hose. This will keep a coat of oil film on all the internal engine parts so that the first start of next season will be less metal-to-metal wear.
16. Open up the battery cells and fill up with distilled water, NOT tap water. Tap water contains impurities that can shorten the life of batteries.
17. Pump the tires to about 45PSI to avoid flat-spotting. Place a piece of scrap carpet or foam insulation under each tire while parked.
18. Support the wiper blade arms with a rag to help maintain the rubber.
19. Put the transmission in reverse.
20. Roll the car ¼ to ½ turn 3 to 4 times per winter to ensure the rotors don’t stick to the pads. Work the pedals.
21. Keep windows down half way to keep condensation and moisture from collecting in the car. Do NOT set the ventilation selector to “re-circulate”. Leaving it selected to “vent/floor” will allow for air to expand and contract in and out of the car.
22. Keep the parking brake off to avoid having the pads rust to the rotors.
23. Sweep the garage floor and lay down a plastic tarp or park the car on linoleum. Concrete can get damp in the winter and if the car sits on linoleum or a tarp it will help to keep most of the moisture away from the car so the underbody does not collect condensation.
24. Disconnect the battery. Some recommend removal of the battery and taking it into the warmth of the heated house. Removing it will completely prevent electrolysis between the thousands of spots in your electrical system where it could occur. If you remove it, do not store it on concrete. Make sure you have the stereo code before unhooking the battery! Buy a “battery tender” which differs from a “trickle charger” in that it knows (has a chip in it) when the battery is fully charged and thus turns itself off. Two sources are: (http://www.griotsgar....jsp?&SKU=77655 ) (http://canadianbiker.com/tender.html )
25. Put a breathable car cover on.
26. DO NOT start the car unless you are going to drive it. When the car sits, all the oil drains into the oil pan. Starting the car is the hardest thing on the engine. Doing it once in the spring is better than several times throughout the winter.
27. You may want to call your insurance agent to suspend some of your insurance while the car sits in the garage. Rumor has it, if we have a nice day in the middle of winter and you want to take it for a drive you can call your agent and get coverage restored for the day. Call your agent to make sure this is an option with your policy first!
28. In the spring, start it up and let it idle until it's almost warmed up before driving it anywhere and then drive it easy for a couple of miles so your transmission, differential & CV joints can get a good lube "workout".
29. Remove the CD from the CD player. If you have a CD changer, remove the CD magazine.
This post has been edited by OhioRacer: 04 October 2011 - 11:35 AM
The information presented in this document has been gleaned from several posts on the web site www.s2ki.com.
1. Change the oil and filter, unless you are still within the “break-in” period (pre-3,750 or 7,500 miles). Let the engine run for a while.
2. Fill the gas tank to the top. You want the smallest air gap in the tank because temperature changes will cause condensation in there. The consensus seems to be that fuel stabilizers are NOT necessary.
3. Wash and detail the car including treating the inside vinyl and leather. Drive the car to remove any standing water that gets trapped in the nooks and crannies and to remove moisture in the exhaust and engine.
4. Run the air conditioner for about 10-15 minutes on the last drive to ensure all the moving parts get the lubricant circulated so the seals don’t dry out.
5. Clean out the interior really well, leaving nothing behind. Check all small compartments, ashtray, etc. Mice getting into the car can eat wires, vinyl, leather, carpet, etc.
6. Apply a silicone spray lubricant to door and trunk seals to minimize sticking.
7. Stuff a rag into the airbox intake to keep mice out.
8. Stuff a rag into the end of the tail pipes to keep mice out.
9. For those who are paranoid about mice, place several mothballs around the interior, placing them on small paper plates so they are not in contact with the car. Place several mouse traps around the car, bait them with peanut butter.
10. Spray lightly a bit of Febreeze (fabric deodorizer) on both floor mats.
11. Make sure the window wash fluid is the anti-freeze kind and not straight water.
12. Check the anti-freeze and adjust if needed.
13. Top off any other fluids under the hood.
14. Keep the CV joints in good shape by keeping the CV boots in good shape. When stored, the boots do not go through a regular routine of being flexed and this may cause them to develop a sort of “memory” such that when you drive it in spring, it may aggravate the start of cracking. You might want to consider going under there and liberally using some “rubber safe” silicone spray and get those (there are 4 on the rear half shafts) babies dripping wet with silicone.
15. Depending on how long you plan to store the car (more than a couple of months), you might also look into an “oil fog spray”. They sell these in auto supply stores. It is an oil mist that comes in a spray can, specially marketed for this application. Just before you put the car to bed, after your last drive, you take off the intake hose to expose the throttle body. You then spray this mist into the throttle body till the car begins to run a bit rough. Stop the spray and immediately shut the car off, replace the intake hose. This will keep a coat of oil film on all the internal engine parts so that the first start of next season will be less metal-to-metal wear.
16. Open up the battery cells and fill up with distilled water, NOT tap water. Tap water contains impurities that can shorten the life of batteries.
17. Pump the tires to about 45PSI to avoid flat-spotting. Place a piece of scrap carpet or foam insulation under each tire while parked.
18. Support the wiper blade arms with a rag to help maintain the rubber.
19. Put the transmission in reverse.
20. Roll the car ¼ to ½ turn 3 to 4 times per winter to ensure the rotors don’t stick to the pads. Work the pedals.
21. Keep windows down half way to keep condensation and moisture from collecting in the car. Do NOT set the ventilation selector to “re-circulate”. Leaving it selected to “vent/floor” will allow for air to expand and contract in and out of the car.
22. Keep the parking brake off to avoid having the pads rust to the rotors.
23. Sweep the garage floor and lay down a plastic tarp or park the car on linoleum. Concrete can get damp in the winter and if the car sits on linoleum or a tarp it will help to keep most of the moisture away from the car so the underbody does not collect condensation.
24. Disconnect the battery. Some recommend removal of the battery and taking it into the warmth of the heated house. Removing it will completely prevent electrolysis between the thousands of spots in your electrical system where it could occur. If you remove it, do not store it on concrete. Make sure you have the stereo code before unhooking the battery! Buy a “battery tender” which differs from a “trickle charger” in that it knows (has a chip in it) when the battery is fully charged and thus turns itself off. Two sources are: (http://www.griotsgar....jsp?&SKU=77655 ) (http://canadianbiker.com/tender.html )
25. Put a breathable car cover on.
26. DO NOT start the car unless you are going to drive it. When the car sits, all the oil drains into the oil pan. Starting the car is the hardest thing on the engine. Doing it once in the spring is better than several times throughout the winter.
27. You may want to call your insurance agent to suspend some of your insurance while the car sits in the garage. Rumor has it, if we have a nice day in the middle of winter and you want to take it for a drive you can call your agent and get coverage restored for the day. Call your agent to make sure this is an option with your policy first!
28. In the spring, start it up and let it idle until it's almost warmed up before driving it anywhere and then drive it easy for a couple of miles so your transmission, differential & CV joints can get a good lube "workout".
29. Remove the CD from the CD player. If you have a CD changer, remove the CD magazine.
This post has been edited by OhioRacer: 04 October 2011 - 11:35 AM
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 29
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From: Brookings Oregon on the Wild Rivers Coast
Got to hand it to those felllow S2000 owners willing to take the extra steps to keep their prized ride running and looking good.
After a long store it must be like saying hello to an old friend.
Damn, I'm spoiled living here in SoCal. Pretty much top down all the time.
After a long store it must be like saying hello to an old friend.
Damn, I'm spoiled living here in SoCal. Pretty much top down all the time.
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 22,657
Likes: 490
From: St-Redempteur,Qc.
Got to hand it to those felllow S2000 owners willing to take the extra steps to keep their prized ride running and looking good.
After a long store it must be like saying hello to an old friend.
Damn, I'm spoiled living here in SoCal. Pretty much top down all the time.
After a long store it must be like saying hello to an old friend.
Damn, I'm spoiled living here in SoCal. Pretty much top down all the time.
Girl friend..."Mine is stored from November 01 to May 01...
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Joined: Sep 2008
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With regards to keeping it on jack stands, how about with the tires off? I am slowly working on a few projects over winter that require it to be in the air and planned on leaving it on stands while I complete these projects. I removed the tires to take some of the load off of the suspension.
Joined: Aug 2012
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If you must store on jack stands, then just make sure suspension is not unloaded and hanging. Either put the jack stands under the suspension, or place jack stands at the regular jack points, and just add another set of stands, or even wood blocks, under the suspension such that weight of car is on jack stands, and suspension supports are keeping suspension somewhat loaded.
