Posted by Paul on July 15, 2000 at 11:10:20:
In Reply to: Vehicle Storage posted by Duane on July 12, 2000 at 17:21:35:
{{I have an '86 Ram 150 that I have become very fond of even though it is only two wheel drive, however I find myself looking at storing it for perhaps several months.}}
You won't have to do too much but I would reccommend the following. Change your oil and filter and do it again after you start driving it again. This will get rid of the acids in the engine now and when you restart it, any moisture that has built up while sitting will be removed by the second one.
Get your gas tank as low as possible and then add fuel stabilizer for the entire tank (I use Stabil) and fill the tank with fresh fuel. Be sure to run the engine long enough that the carb. gets the fresh gas into it too. Otherwise, the goat pee we now have that's called gasoline will turn to gunk.
Get some steel wool (like S.O.S. or Brillo pads)and stuff it up the tail pipe(s) to keep rodents from making a home in the exhaust system. Make sure you don't shove it too far in, you want it partlly sticking out of the pipe. This is so you don't foget about it and also so the little cheese thieves can't get a good purchase on it. They'll just fall back out and the cat can get them. Do the same with the snorkel on the air cleaner.
Moth balls are the time tested method to keep mice out of the interior but they really stink and the vehicle has to be aired out quite a bit. I heard once that "Bounce" fabric softener sheets work as well and don't leave the chemical smell that moth balls do.
Just before you shut the engine off for the last time, get some marine fogging oil and spray some into the intake with the engine running. This will coat the inside of the engine with oil so the bores don't rust while it's sitting. The smoke will burn off quickly when you start it up again.
Lastly, remove the battery. I always have something around that needs a battery so I swap them around. Just sitting with no use will kill a battery after awhile. If you leave it in the vehicle though, clean the case with a solution of baking soda and water. DON'T GET ANY IN THE BATTERY CELLS!!!!!! This will neutralize the battery if you do. However, cleaning the case will cut down on the trickle discharge that the electrolyte will deposit over time. Disconnect both cables and coat the battery terminals and the cables with dielectric grease (sometimes called tune up grease) to to keep the metal from corroding.