I know the struts will be shot but they will get replaced anyways. I hve 205/40/17 tires, if I air them up will they be ok? I will replace them when I get back but I will need my car for two weeks for reintergration.

What else should I do? I know about stale gas.

Go buy a set of cheap jacks, or even concrete blocks to set the car up on.  The tires will rot/flat spot if you leave them sit for that long.  Fill the gas tank full, mix it with stabil, and drive 20-30 miles before storage.  This makes sure the stabil gets through the gas lines and to the engine, and a full tank of gas will keep condensation (rust) in the tank to a minimum.  Might pour a bottle of HEET in there too, either before or after.  I would suggest taking the battery out and either keeping it on a charger, or just get a new one next year if it's already a few years old.  If you know your way around cars it wouldn't hurt to pull the plugs and shoot a few drops of oil down the cylinders.  I've never put a car in storage, but have kept bikes in storage for up to 6 months over the winter for about the past 5 years.

What he said!  Good advice on all counts.  When I had to store a motorcycle I also covered the carb intake and exhaust with saran wrap to minimize condensation inside.

Tires go flat with time.  Think jack stands.  I had to change four flat tires inside a small garage 'cus the car wasn't up on blocks.   They went flat, broke the bead loose, and airing them in their flattened state just leaked right past the rim. What a royal pain.  The tires were also permanently mishapen from sitting on their sidewalls.

Sell it.  buy a new care when you get back.  It's less work.

Quoted: Sell it.  buy a new car when you get back.  It's less work.

Exactly.

Weren't you asking question about a For Escort not too long ago?

If it's an Escort it ain't worth storing.

Quoted: Sell it.  buy a new care when you get back.  It's less work.

+1.

+1 on selling it. If it's not cool, retro, or vintage, sell it. 12 months of base pay + BAH + hazardous duty pay (just went up!) + Family Sep pay + refunded taxes = new car.

Check out the AAFES new car vendors. They have some really good deals on brand new domestic vehicles. Seriously. Invoice minus rebates usually, delivered to the closest dealer to your home. Check them out about 2-3 months before you return home. I priced an F350 crewcab psd srw top line trim at $37, MSRP was like $43

Decided to go with uesd only b/c I don't want a huge car payment.

Be safe.

My Rule-of-Thumb with both ARFCOM and Home Depot is to get the same answer from three different people before I act on it.




You just got good advice from michaelj1978, dablues and Striker.

I like my escort and I wont sell it.

It has aleady sat for almost 6 months inside our Maintenance bays in Germany. they are climate controlled although I dont think they are with all of us here in Iraq.

I didnt disconnect my battery because I was told that read D would drive each car around post for a mile or two once a month. I really doubt they will do that.

Last time my car sat for 6 months in a metal shed in El Paso TX for 6 months, the only thing that was wrong with it was that the fuel had drained out of the lines, she took and extra second to start but that was all that was wrong.

I didnt have a chance to add stabil to my fuel before I left, what should i do to the fue so that I can drive about 1 mile to the closet gas station (German one).

I need trips for a car that has aleady been stored and will sit for 12 months.



I will buy another car when I get back but I am keeping my escort.

Quoted: I know the struts will be shot but they will get replaced anyways. I hve 205/40/17 tires, if I air them up will they be ok? I will replace them when I get back but I will need my car for two weeks for reintergration. What else should I do? I know about stale gas.

A year isn't that long of a time for a vehicle to sit .
There are many vehicles on used car lots that have been
sitting longer then that .

Modern tires don't dry rot since they contain only a small
percentage of natural rubber , if any at all . Radials don’t
flat spot like old bias ply tire did . You can also have them
filled with nitrogen which leaks through the tire material at
a much slower rate then air does . Finding a shop that uses
nitrogen shouldn't be that difficult since compressor manfs
have been pushing the ability on shops for more then 5 years now .

Now for modern gasoline . The main form of degradation is the out gassing
of aromatic petroleum distillates . The days of gas turning to varnish
went away with carburetors . ( The Last Carb vehicle was 1991 ) , and
since the late 80's it has been a federal emission requirement that
vehicles have a sealed fuel system .  So there is nowhere for the out gassing
to go , especially if you fill the tank .

Adding Stabil or another stabilizing agent is cheap insurance
as is a bottle of isopropyl alcohol . Avoid methanol based
"Dry Gas" since methanol can degrade synthetic hoses and seals .

I also wouldn’t be overly concerned about you struts and springs
going bad since sitting static would be less damaging then the
forces they get in a moving vehicle .  As for the triple chromed
shock/strut shaft rusting . It just doesn’t happen until the shaft
coating is well worn . If they do rust it's because they were already shot .

The main concerns of long term storage of a late model vehicle
is battery drain from the parasitic draw that all late model vehicles have
( Computers Never Sleep )  You should also change the oil and run it for
15 min before you store the vehicle . This will ensure that acid byproducts
of combustion are neutralized as much as possible , and oil still contains
it's highest concentration of additives . The same is true for the coolant .
If its more then 2 years old , I would drain at least half of it and refill
with 100% coolant without adding any water to ensure a good
additive package .

Hey svtfast,

I don't mean to be rude but I think you should sell your Escort.  It's not doing it any good to keep it stored for a long period of time, and won't it be in Germany while you will be in Iraq?

It seems(to me anyway) a waste to have it sitting there.  

I'd say sell it and buy another car when you get back.

(Thread hijack:Thank you for your service to this country.  You servicemen, and women are greatly appreciated!)

Just my .02

Deej86

wow I though my escort was old.

I would get the car repainted, or at least get rid of the pinstiping, that will not be good for the kid, trust me i know.

My mother passed and her car sat for 5 years before I got the title to it.

For me, I changed the tires (dry rot), brake lines had rusted, battery, fluids (not transmission) A/C seals and recharge, wheel bearing repack, sand brake hubs and rotors to remove surface rust, replace fuel pump and sending unit sensor in fuel tank. I then drove it 2000 miles from Ohio to Phoenix. Made the trip just fine. I should have replaced the trans fluid with conditioner because the seals and bands went a few months later and I couldn't get the transmission rebuilt or replaced fast enough and ended up losing the vehicle to theft by the city (long story).

You should be okay for just a year. Keeping the tires off the ground is good, however direct sunlight causes tires to dry rot faster due to UV rays. If it will be outside, a cotton or heavy duty car cover would be nice to minimize exposure. I'd stay away from the plastic blue covers. They trap moisture. Sun will damage a car faster than anything.

Good luck and keep your head down. Look unimportant, they may be low on ammo.

BTW, I had my car in the carpool for a 7 month deployment in the Army years ago and didn't do anything more than lock it up. Sun destroyed the interior.