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Letting a car sit

OH71RRunner

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Is it hurtful to a car (engine, transmission, other moving components) to let it sit for periods of time?

For example, things have not gone as planned the past two years and the roadrunner has had to sit month's at a time. Money, other vehicle issues, and life has gotten in the way. This has caused it to sit untouched for weeks or months at a time. The car is parked in an attached garage. It is not climate controlled but I almost always have a vent fan running.

A friend/ neighbor and I were discussing this and he says that I'm doing more harm than good by letting the car sit for long periods of time. I know it's not good for vehicles to sit, but the car has to take a backseat to everything else. It's not a primary vehicle, nor a necessity to have driveable. And I'm not going to spend grocery money on it when money is tight.

Please give me your opinions on whether I'm doing way wrong or if it's not that big of an ordeal.
 
I don't think a few months is a big deal. If you do run it make sure it gets fully warmed up, drive it if possible. If you don't plan to run it over the fall/winter months, then I would suggest capping off the exhaust and carb opening to prevent airflow through any cylinders with an open valve. Hopefully your building is fairly dry.
 
Is it hurtful to a car (engine, transmission, other moving components) to let it sit for periods of time?

For example, things have not gone as planned the past two years and the roadrunner has had to sit month's at a time. Money, other vehicle issues, and life has gotten in the way. This has caused it to sit untouched for weeks or months at a time. The car is parked in an attached garage. It is not climate controlled but I almost always have a vent fan running.

A friend/ neighbor and I were discussing this and he says that I'm doing more harm than good by letting the car sit for long periods of time. I know it's not good for vehicles to sit, but the car has to take a backseat to everything else. It's not a primary vehicle, nor a necessity to have driveable. And I'm not going to spend grocery money on it when money is tight.

Please give me your opinions on whether I'm doing way wrong or if it's not that big of an ordeal.
Not an issue. Just start it up once every couple of weeks or so and bring it up to temp. Roll it back and forth a couple of feet if you can...just to get the transmission fluid circulating.
My car sits through the winter and this is all I"ve ever needed to do for years (aside from normal regular maintenance, of course).
 
No problem at all and I like lionized's idea. The gasoline will go bad in 3-4 months, so plan to drain/replace it often. Maybe leave a trickle charger (1A-2A) on the battery, make sure your antifreeze is 50/50 and not more than maybe 3 yrs. old....and you're good.
 
I use stabil 360 every fill up as it is supposed to combat ethanol. I'd say fill the tank and do 5 ounces of stabil 360. Idle a few minutes to get through the system. Pull the negative battery cable. Every month or so put the battery on a charger for 45 minutes or buy a maintainer.
Coolant good is good advice.
My brother let's his C4 corvette convertible hibernate 7 months a year. Stabil and a battery maintainer is all he does.
 
I have a Brand X car ( 60 Vette ) that I let sit for 6-8 months at a time before I use it. I usually put some Stabil in it. Usually cranks right up....
 
14 years, started on 2nd crank! First crank was to verify oil pressure!

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Today’s gas is your worst enemy. It doesnt last long and plays hell on the fuel system.
 
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Put my car away for the winter .Covered the concrete floor with rubber that doesn't absorb .
I fill the tires up to 40 , fill the tank with hightest add Stabil and have changed the oil .
I pull out the battery put it downstairs on a plank of wood and charge the battery every 3 weeks for 8 hours .
I waxed it wiped all the chrome down cleaned all the glass.
I will put some conditioner on the seats ,and then I'm done .
I don't start it till spring but I will sit in it and day dream .
 
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If there's enough room in front and behind it would be good to roll the car slightly forward for a period and then back the next time (every few weeks or months) to even the load on the tires.
 
I have let stuff sit for over a year at a time and never had a fuel issue..... maybe just lucky, idk. But always filled it up with high test fuel (no ethanol). However, I would say as long as it gets out on one good drive a year, it won’t hurt it to sit.
 
I parked mine in Oct. (same as most years), and probably won't fire her up until May. I don't use any additives nor over inflate the tires. All I do is prime the float bowls in spring and she fires right up. Never had a problem.
 
Of course it hurts to let them sit, especially if they are outside. Everything deteriorates but there isn't much you can do about it. Best case is heated storage but most people can't afford that. The moisture in an unheated garage will attack everything over time. Upholstery, carpets, gaskets, wiring connectors, chrome trim, etc. It all slowly gets destroyed by moisture. Big temp swings aggravate the damage. It is what it is. These cars aren't designed to last forever.
 
Well, mine sat outside in my dad’s driveway yrs ago in Ohio for over a year. He said he ran it a couple times(not a car guy at all). God has back then & it fired up pretty quick, ripped out the frt trans seal upon taking to new house, went 5 miles before I noticed. Hindsight IMO, I’d be more worried about rollers in whl brgs leaving grooves in the brg races.
 
Put my GTS in the garage for the winter in 2003, pulled it out fall of 2015. Did a quick once through on the carb, primed it, fired it up and went for a ride.
 
I put mine up on stands under the axle and lower control arms . I start it up and go through the gears every month from September to April. I use a combo of soluble oil and antifreeze to keep things from freezing.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I didn't think it was too much of an issue with the car sitting the way it has. I did get it out a little bit this year, but mainly short test drives less than 5 miles.

Thanks again for the help.
 
Today’s gas is your worst enemy. It doesnt last long and plays hell on the fuel system.

Tell me about it. I now have to change the power valve on my carb :mad:
 
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