i have to park my truck for 4 years. i found a storage unit that my dad leave near in a small rural town so i am not worried about theft. But how do i prepare my truck for it to sit for that long and hopefully crank over when i am on leave and have time to drive it and wheeling it, which will most likely be once a year if im lucky. selling it is not an option. ive put all my money and time since i was 13 into this truck. im planning on keeping it till it turns to a rust pile in my front yard and calling it modern art.

 

your just trying to one up me huh... jk

can someone get to it and drive it around once a month or so?

 

don't park it on grass or dirt - it will speed up the rust formation. remove the battery & have someone trickle charge it every 6 months. put plywood under the tires or better ywt jack it up and remove the tires (see a motorhome website about the reasoning for this) cover all windows in in the sun (prevent fading) and finally pickle the engine (light fog oil in the cylinders). Prior to start up you will need to check all fluids, preoil the cylinders. look up how to pickle an engine on the internet for full details. for the fuel I would fully drain it (as it truns to varnish after a while, blow clear the lines & run it out of gas for the rest.

 

next will be my thread
"tips for leaving truck parked for 3 centuries?"

 

um...let me wheel it?

I think it might help to empty all the fluids, but i dont know

 

4 years is a long time. The BEST thing you could do is have someone drive it regularly. Not for 10 minutes, but a decent drive once every couple weeks.

If that's not possible, celica gave excellent advice. Also, put fuel stabilizer in the gas tank and be sure some runs through the engine.
If it's not going to be driven and will be indoors, put it on jackstands to prevent the tires from flat spotting. Don't air them down flat as some suggest, it leads to rust or corrosion in the bead area of the rims, and the tires will actually age faster uninflated. Let them down to maybe 20psi.
Clean the interior carefully, look under the seats etc. Things left inside will leave a permanent smell. I wouldn't even leave an air freshener in there. For certain wash that ashtray if it's been used.
Stick a rag in the tailpipe and one in the intake to keep nesting critters out. Put a real car cover over it.

 

Not too sure about how to keep it healthy for the next 4 years, but I am curious on what you're doing for the next 4 years. Looks like you're creeping up on 18, I'm guessing the military. Hope it's not the Navy.

Good luck on whatever you decide.

 

Google search for long term car storage turns up all the same tips mentioned above.

However, those tips are for months of storage, not years. Fuel will go bad in 4 years, stabilizer or not. So will oil, brake fluid and antifreeze. Rotors will rust, even in the most benign environment. Wire insulation will harden. Greased joints (universals, ball joints) will dry out. Battery will drain. Etc.

Unfortunately, mechanical items just don't do well under these circumstances. Time, oxygen and moisture will work inexorably. Honestly, I don't mean to be discouraging, but just to point out the reality. Moving parts need to MOVE if they are to keep working.

If you have someone to "loan" it to, kid sister...parent...trusted friend...that'd be the way I'd go. I understand if you don't, I don't really have anyone like that if I were in your position.

Can you take it where you are going? Keep it in storage nearby so you can attend to it every couple weeks?

 

Look up winterizing boats too - there are some good recommendations . Here is one article:

http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/winteriz.htm

I would suggest multiple cleanings, Armor-All EVERYTHING plastic, rubber, or vinyl, wax, Sta-bil, all synthetic oils (be sure to run it a bit after to make sure they get well circulated), dessicant for the interior, a car cover, and get your dad to run it every so often.

 

I could be wrong, but I think it would more beneficial to drain the fuel rather than "de-gum" it with Sta-Bil. I'm pretty sure the oil will go extremely bad over 4 years also.

My suggestion...sell the truck to a family friend or back into the family if you're really not going to touch it for 4 years. Come back from the military (assuming that's where you're heading off to), and buy another Toyota.

 

Well, now, we haven't discussed what to do when he comes back... Yes, the gas and oil will probably be bad. The first thing would be to drain all the fluids, and refill with fresh.

IMHO, you want to keep everything full to minimize the amount of condensation and rust that would occur inside the tanks and lines resulting in possibly plugging up the lines.

There are quite a few cars found in barns after way more than 4 yrs that were not stored with this much thought and start right up.

Just thought - having the bottom undercoated and rustproofed (check out 4x4lamm's buildup thread ) would probably be a good idea too

 

Honestly man, I would have a family member or really close friend watch it for you. Having it sit for 4 years could cause some serious problems and you would probably be better off selling it and then buying another one when you get back, if a carsitter isn't available. I'd be happy to watch it for you if I wasn't so far away.

Fink

 

Seals will dry out, axles seals, brake wheel cylinders, stuff like that too. Empty fuel tanks will rust. Fuel in the fuel injection system will gum up. Dry parts that are normally not dry (as in other parts of the fuel system, intake, top of fuel tank etc) will corrode. Disc brake caliper pucks and slide pins will corrode and stick. Wheel bearings will dry out. 4 years is REALLY a long time. Sure, I've started up vehicles that sat for years and drove them home. Then I began the process of fixing stuff as it fails. Real pain.

The simple answer is have someone drive it once it a while. I "stored" a Cougar convertible for 10 years. But once every 2 or 3 months or so I drove it to work for a couple days, even in winter, I just picked my days. Even then, things like the shift modulator or the heater valve sprung leaks, the alternator quit, the master cylinder went, and the engine freeze plugs rusted, the brake adjusters siezed. Stuff that I don't think would have failed had it been driven more. (I just sold it to a collector who shipped it to Sweden. 84k miles on a 100% original car including paint, I owned it for 17 years and was the second owner.) When they sit, things just... quit. It's not good.

 

I don't think this is quite as common as car mythology would lead us to think. People love to tell stories about how they found a "mint condition" classic car in grandma's garage. But they tend to leave out all the bad stuff because they want to look cool. Sure it started right away, but they don't tell you that the NEXT time they started it, it threw a rod. You smell what I'm cookin'?

 

Yeah, I think he smells what you're cookin.

 

Quote 4 2day.

 

There is no way I would leave a vehicle in storage for 4 years. I would follow the already given advice of having someone drive it on a somewhat regular basis. I would rather have a few more thousand miles on my vehicle. Letting a vehicle sit, esepecially for that long, will not do it any good.

 

Of course all the stuff will go bad. Think how many times it would need to be replaced in the course of 4 years of driving. Drain the gas, fogging oil in each cyl. I'd say drain the fluids Take the tires off, and I would put tire shine on the whole surface of the tires since it makes a good conditioner, but if the tires are new, Id suggest you sell them while you can, tires won't last more than about 5 or 6 years at the most. They may hold air, but they wont last more than a few miles, or until they get warm. It would proabably be smart to sell if they're new, or just replace them when you get back. I'm sure regardless of all you do you'll proabably need to replace alot of stuff before you use it again. doubt it would be worth it to do everything each time you come back once a year.

 

4 YEARS!

a year maybe, 2 tops. after that find a friend willing to drive round the block every couple of weeks.

 

Like everyone else has said that is a long time for a vehicle to sit. But I always wondered what would happen if you would have it vacum sealed with desicant (like my company does for big over seas shipment) if a vehicle could be stored for a long time. like a giant zip-loc bag. You could be a test case for it.