Winter Storage...Canada

Hi Gents;
I will be storing my 17' GT convert shortly, here in Alberta and have been finding conflicting info on the net.
I plan on changing the oil with only 4000 km on it, at about a total of 6000 Km. Regarding oil, should I change to total synthetic or wait til I have 8000 km on it?
I also plan to leave a battery tender on it, pump up the tires, leave the car in a shelter on tarps, full gas tank and mouse proof.

One conflicting item is that most people recommend to not start the car at all which I have done with all my motorcycles, but the Ford manual says to start it every 15 days. This goes against what I've been taught and now I'm not sure what's right or wrong.

I would appreciate your opinions on the topic as this is the first time I will park a car over winter.

Thanks....:shrug:

Yeah..you start the engine every 15 says for 15 mins to keep the additive in the oil
from separating, and to keep the acids suspended in the oil rather than it settling on
bearings etc. I'm 99% positive full synthetics do not have that problem.

Otherwise everything else you listed seems ok.

I just park mine, put battery in the house..never a problem in 40 years in mb! Except for mice!! Now i put bags of that green rat poison under it, and on plates in the trunk and engine.( no prob since i started doing that).they really like wiring ! YUM!
If you have those fat PPac pirellis, watch em crack apart when it gets below freezing! All my buds put them in the basement now.

When I stored my 16 vert last winter, I did as follows:

[1]Changed oil
[2]Pressurized tires to 50 lbs
[3]Rodent proofed (steel wool in tail pipes and sticky rodent traps under car)
[4]Lifted wipers by blocking under wiper arms
[5]Put gas stabilizer in tank. Drove for 50 kms or so and topped up tank.
[6]Washed, waxed and covered
[7]Put a battery tender on the battery.
[8]NEVER started for 5 months+
[9]Visited her every day

When spring FINALLY came, I started the car and idled it for 15 minutes, returned tire pressure to normal and drove away.

My car started like it was NEVER stored...no issues. I will do exactly the same this October/November.:cheers:

I may jack up/block car and remove wheels this year.....still thinking about it:shrug:

I store mine as well. Normally change the oil before storing, wash/wax, put tires on blocks of wood, fuel stabilizer, and charge the battery once every 3 weeks.

I'd get a car cover instead of tarps. Just my .02

I put mine in the garage with a full tank of gas and did nothing else. Started right up 4 months later in Toronto.

Every winter, I have pumped tires to 50, added fuel stabilizer, fresh oil change (full synthetic), full tank of gas, parked on foam pads from Canadian Tire, plugged in a battery tender, and that's it.

Don't know squat about that over here in AZ. What I do know is the snow birds are coming. Our weather is getting cool now.

73MachI said:

, parked on foam pads from Canadian Tire,

Click to expand...

Link to the product?

Another thing I have done to keep the mice away is take several disposable dixie cups, cut them down on height and put some moth balls in them. Some people think mint oil too, I've done both but can't tell if the mint helped or not... sure didn't hurt. Stash the cups around the car, one or two in the cabin, at least one in the engine bay, one in the trunk. It will air out in less than a day when you pull it out of storage, but rarely will you have mice. My '51 Plymouth and my Mom's '62 Thunderbird spent a year in storage that way, only found a couple of bird seed shells. No nests, no signs of rodents living there. Works year after year. The beauty of the cups is it makes cleanup so simple, just grab and go. Also write yourself a note of where you put the cups... just in case its in storage longer than you intended. Only take a minute to guarantee you get them all when it comes out of storage. Drove around with one in my trunk for a week, drove me nuts chasing the smell lol

WildHorse said:

Yeah..you start the engine every 15 says for 15 mins to keep the additive in the oil
from separating, and to keep the acids suspended in the oil rather than it settling on
bearings etc. I'm 99% positive full synthetics do not have that problem.

Otherwise everything else you listed seems ok.

Click to expand...

I've actually never heard this and I run conventional oil in my old toys as they see low miles and are not beat on... plus they ran all those years without synthetic I think the motors can manage haha.

So, what about the oil as it sits on the shelf? Likely to be there more than 15 days. Is this really a thing?