Oil change before or after storage?

[MNstang]

So - my car is now parked in my garage for the winter here in MN. It is due for an oil change and I am trying to decide if I should change it now before it sits for three months or leave it and change it in late March before it comes out of storage. I have searched the oil change posts here and, like many other topics, there doesn't seem to be a clear answer. When I owned my '65 FB I would always change it in the spring before getting it out to drive it. I never had any issues but that doesn't mean it was the best thing to do. I look forward to any advice you may have. Thanks!

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[IndyRN]

So - my car is now parked in my garage for the winter here in MN. It is due for an oil change and I am trying to decide if I should change it now before it sits for three months or leave it and change it in late March before it comes out of storage. I have searched the oil change posts here and, like many other topics, there doesn't seem to be a clear answer. When I owned my '65 FB I would always change it in the spring before getting it out to drive it. I never had any issues but that doesn't mean it was the best thing to do. I look forward to any advice you may have. Thanks!

I always store with old oil and change in the spring. I don't want my new oil sitting for 3 months.

 

[Strokerswild]

I never do. I go strictly by mileage, and if the car sits for two off seasons during the interval, so be it. I recently upgraded my '15 to aluminum cam covers and it was like new under there, as I knew it would be.

Some seem to think that engine internals magically break down when stored with used oil in them. Not so. Many times I've torn down engines that have sat in the corner of a garage for decades, and there's just old oil present between bearing shells and journals. No horrors. At worst you might see a little surface rust on steel that hasn't been covered in oil in years. Not to mention oils have gotten better as well.

That said, oil is cheap, and everyone has an opinion when it comes to oil and changes....

 

[Qcman17]

If it were mine I would change it before as dirty oil can be rather acidic. That said I have about 1200 miles on my current oil change and to me that is still pretty clean so I'm not changing it. I also never bother with changing it when I pull it back out as I feel the 3 months it sits really isn't very long.

If it was stored for say 8 months or a year then yeah I would change it.

 

[sk47]

Hello; My take is old oil has combustion byproducts in it. Part of the additive mix in oils is stuff to trap some of these combustion products. Many years ago what I read was that these things trapped in oil can become acidic over time. The problem is these compounds can etch surfaces.
My plan would be to change the oil right before storage and let the engine sit with fresh oil for the months.
I also will use some sort of fuel stabilizer in the gas. Add the stabilizer early enough so it gets mixed in the entire fuel system.
Maybe a float charger.
Maybe on jack stands to take the weight off the tires


Might also consider spraying some fogging oil into the intake when running and then shut down the engine. This needs some research tho. I do such for my old out board boat engines, but they do not have the MAF and other sensors of a modern engine. The fogging oil may need to be put in down stream of the sensors.

If a car is to be stored for a very long time I have considered the idea of filling the entire engine with oil. All the way to the top of the engine. Then draining the oil out in the distant future when the vehicle is to be put back into service. You would have to remove the spark plugs for two reasons. One so that oil in the cylinders could be pushed out and likely to replace the plugs. Never had one of mine sit long enough to need such a drastic action but had a customer who allowed some very nice cars sit for years.
I had to get his old cars going several times over a few decades. He never took any precautions and would drive a car around a few months park it like normal and let it sit. Some got to the point I could not get them going again without a tear down. The usual culprit was old gasoline if it was just a couple of years. Old fuel will turn to a sticky goop and eventually to a varnish like deposit.
Old gas use to damage the metal gas tanks. One of his cars, a 1972 911, wound up with a rusty gas tank. He had parked it in an unheated garage with about a 1/4 tank of fuel for a few years. I wound up taking the tank out and trying to line the inside with POR15. Too much of a job. After that I will only consider a new tank unless new just does not exist. Water had accumulated under the gas and rusted the bottom of the tank. It was a 911 with two fuel pumps. One electric pump which fed low pressure fuel to the mechanical high pressure pump. I plumbed a see-thru fuel filter into the low pressure line in front of the electric pump near the fuel tank. I could check it from time to time. After a few years rust bits started to show up again but they were trapped in the filter.

 

[Ebm]

I would say it won't matter. Change it now or later, whatever is more convenient to do at the time. My rule is a year or 7500 miles, whichever comes first.

Like someone said above, oil has come a long way.

 

[StangTime]

One yearly PUP synthetic oil change for me. I only drive about 4000km a year. My car is a seasonal car stored for winter... it makes sense to change the oil when the driving season is done. Get that old acidic oil out of the engine so it can sit for 6 months with clean oil and that oil doesn't get changed until it's time to go into hibernation the following year.

 

[Roger Blose]

Fresh oil for storage does get rid of the acid in the old. Plus the oil is now cheaper than it will be in the spring given the current inflation we have on everything today.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

If a car is to be stored for a very long time I have considered the idea of filling the entire engine with oil. All the way to the top of the engine. Then draining the oil out in the distant future when the vehicle is to be put back into service. You would have to remove the spark plugs for two reasons. One so that oil in the cylinders could be pushed out and likely to replace the plugs. Never had one of mine sit long enough to need such a drastic action but had a customer who allowed some very nice cars sit for years.

What the actual f is this???

JR

 

[PoCoBob]

I doubt it really makes much difference which way you do it. I change it in the spring but I make sure I take the car for a long drive before it gets parked. The worst thing would be to put it away after a number of short trips that didn't get the oil hot enough to remove any moisture inside the engine.

 

[fastergt350]

One yearly PUP synthetic oil change for me. I only drive about 4000km a year. My car is a seasonal car stored for winter... it makes sense to change the oil when the driving season is done. Get that old acidic oil out of the engine so it can sit for 6 months with clean oil and that oil doesn't get changed until it's time to go into hibernation the following year.

That is my storage plan also, after Summer driving season is over I get an oil change and then store the car, and then in the Spring I am ready to go. Have done it on a GT, 3 Shelby's and now my Mach1, works for me.

 

[sk47]

What the actual f is this???

JR

Hello; Had a customer with a nice 1967 Healey 3000 mark III. I tuned it up for him. in 1986 or so Repaired the electric activated overdrive and a few other things. Got it ready to drive except for two things. One was it needed a new set of wheels. The previous owner had stripped out the splines of the hubs and wheels. his fix was to drill holes thru the wheel and hub, then stick a long bolt thru the drilled hole. That sort of worked in that the wheel would not fall off. However, the holes had wallowed out so there was a loud clunk when you started off and when you hit the brakes. The new owner (my customer) was not ready to spend the cash for new wheels and hubs.
The other thing was I discovered there was only water in the cooling system. I offered to put in some antifreeze but the guy declined. During the time I had the car I would drain the radiator and block when I finished any work. I told the new owner about this when he picked up the car. I suggested he drain the water while it is parked until he got the new wheels. Found out later he had just driven it home, parked it in an unheated garage and left it full of only water. Some several years later he wanted me to get it running again. It was locked up. He was not willing to do a tear down. It is still sitting today.

That had me thinking of some way to store a car for many years. I came up with the idea to flood the engine with oil. Have not tried it. I do have some idea for what to do with a vehicle which has sat for a lot of years. before i would try to turn it over I would remove the spark plugs and put some sort of oil in the cylinders to soften the rust. Let it sit for several days before trying to rotate the crankshaft.

There is a new to me product out called evaporust. I have used it a few times this last year or so. My brother found a pair of pilers rusted solid in his camper. I soaked them in the Evaporust for a few days. They now move freely with all the rust gone. I have thought about pouring some of that in the spark plug holes of a frozen engine. Followed by some oil after flushing out the Evaporust.
Last thing i want to do is try to turn over an engine which has sat for years. The very likely will be some rust in the cylinders. Some exhaust and intake valves will be open to the air and the oil film will eventually be gone.

But to be sure I am not considering this for a vehicle stored a couple of months.

 

[Crowd Hunter]

both

 

[Rapid Red]

Fresh oil for storage does get rid of the acid in the old. Plus the oil is now cheaper than it will be in the spring given the current inflation we have on everything today.

you have children ?

 

[EFI]

The only time I would consider changing the oil before storage is if the current oil is really on it's last last legs. I would not want oil sitting in the engine for months that's got 5000+ miles on it.

With relatively fresh oil, I will store it as is and change it first thing in the spring.

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