What to do when I rest my car for 40 days?

[HoldenAstra]

Hi guys, need some suggestions please.

I will leave my car in the car space for about 40 days from February 2010.
What do I have to do before leaving?
I got my new battery this May, do I have to disconnect it?If yes, how to lock the doors?Will I lost some features the car has before?somethings like total closure need to be programmed by Tech 2?

and my car is due to service in another 1000kms. Do i do the service next month before I leave or do it after I come back in March 2010?

and if there are other things to be concerned, please let know.

Thanks in advance.

Merry Christmas and HNY:D
Cheers!

[guy 27]

just park it as normal. service after will be fine. just make sure tyres are pumped up slightly over normal pressure and when you leave the car make sure no lights are on.

[tomtom]

u should be able to lock your door via the keyhole... on the door.

lol.

Merry Christmas

[HoldenAstra]

Thanks GUY!
That means my battery is good for 40 days?:D

any other issues to think about?

if I disconnect the battery, how to lock the car?
1,open the bonnet
2,lock the car by keyfob
3,discount the battery
4,close the bonnet

is that right?no idea at all:confused:

[guy 27]

battery should have no issues.
if your parking it outside i can recommend you wash and wax it to protect the paint or even get a car cover but its really up to you on that one.
i believe this has been discussed before some where on here but can't remember where.

[HoldenAstra]

indoor, apartment underground car space. i will give it a good wash and wax before leaving anyway:D

and I do not know what key words to search,haha..

THX

[Nurb608]

This one? http://www.opelaus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24403

Although slightly different reason.

[Neeko]

Car cover :)

[btm]

mine often sits around for this long (or longer) without anything happening to it

sits locked in my garage though

[HoldenAstra]

mine often sits around for this long (or longer) without anything happening to it

sits locked in my garage though

good to hear that!
peace in mind:D

[rjastra]

Fill the tank with fuel, maybe add a few extra psi in the tyres.
Take any valuables out of it.

[btm]

fill tank with fuel???

[rjastra]

fill tank with fuel???

Less likelihood of condensation etc.

[Snotty]

is it christmas or april fools day??

[rjastra]

is it christmas or april fools day??


Be sure to fill your gas tank all the way to the top. This will save your fuel system from oxidation and will also displace any water that may currently be in the system. Be sure to add the fuel system stabilizer at the same time - following the directions (which usually includes driving the car for 20 min. after)



To help keep gasoline from deteriorating, pour a fuel stabilizer into the tank. Be sure to drive the car for about 10 miles after adding the stabilizer to make sure it gets circulated throughout the system. Normally, it's best to leave the tank full.

These are guidelines for storing a car for upto 6months so the fuel stabilizer is over the top... but the idea of filling the tank to the top before storing it is valid.

[HoldenAstra]

thank you guys for help!

Merry Xmas!!!

[willhouse]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but how long is too long to leave the astra sitting there?
We are heading overseas (one way ticket) for up to a year. I have arranged for a mate to take it for a run every now and then, but he isnt available all that often.
Would once every 6-8 weeks be fine do you reckon?
Other than that, other things I plan to do in preparation are:

-Fresh oil change
-Rag in the air intake
-Leave something under the wipers
-Full tank with stabiliser
-Windows down a fraction
-Disconnect battery
-Maybe leave it on stands.

Anything Ive missed??

[guy 27]

i wouldn't bother putting a rag in the intake incase someone forgets to take it out when they take the car for a drive. also if its going to be undercover leave the windows closed.

[JohnBu]

For a year...

Placing the car on stands is a good idea so you don't get flat spots.

I've change the oil upon return, not beforehand.

For 2 months.. No prep required



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Wraith]

I have this situation with 2 of my cars...

This is what I've done for years, without any long term problems to worry about.

If it's indoors, then put a cover on it, I use a large enough cotton sheet, you don't have to go to the expense of a purpose made car cover, unless it's outdoors. A cover will save you from a major clean up operation of built up dust and grime even if it's indoors and especially if it's a soft top convertible, an external cover should be of the proper type that can breath air to avoid condensation related problems and to provide proper external elements protection.

Put a small piece of cotton sheet under each wiper blade, this will prevent the rubber blade from deterioration and/or leave marks on the windshield, use the same for rear window wipers.

Inflate the tyres to a higher than regular psi, no more than 10psi over though - and remember then to deflate them back to normal when you re-use the car. In my case I roll the car back and fourth every couple of weeks to alter the position of the tyre flat spot.

Depending on the individual car situation, Install/use a battery maintanance pack - they are well worth the spend for any car that's constantly kept that way. (see below)

Before you leave the car, check that everything works, especially the wiper washers as that can block over time.

If you leave the car un-used for a period of 6 months or more, I'd recommend changing oil and coolant fluids as they will have become contaminated, a good flush and clean to the coolant system is the way to go as well as there will be lots of corrosion settlement.

If the car is left outside in a windy area, then cover up things like the engine air intake (if exposed like a turbo Astra for eg) and exhaust nozzle to prevent build up of foreign debris which can cause damage when started up.

If you've done some of the things above or taken even more steps, make a list and place it in the car where you'll see it when you re-enter the car, that way you can follow it through like a check list and not forget to do/remove certain items before re-use.

Regarding the battery, if you have a high power ICE install with powercaps etc. and it's not on a master on/off switch, then you must either dis-connect the battery or use a battery maintanance pack, they only draw very little power and trickle charge the battery intermittently, also some aftermarket alarms can prematurely drain the battery from a constant scavenging to top up the back up alarm battery, so just keep that in mind if it gets to a period of more than a couple of months or if it's a much older car, the battery will die before that...

[willhouse]

Awesome, cheers for all the advice. Wraith - you have a lot of cars!!
Car will be in a shed, so yeah, guess I wont need to worry about a cover, windows, or rag in the intake.
Think I will put it on stands though, mainly because I have only recently bought a new set of Khumo's for it, and prefer to give the flat spots a miss!
I dont have any ICE worth mentioning, but will still disconnect the battery to be on the safe side.
Hopefully she will be all good when I come back!
Thanks again

[Wraith]

Awesome, cheers for all the advice. Wraith - you have a lot of cars!!
Car will be in a shed, so yeah, guess I wont need to worry about a cover, windows, or rag in the intake.
Think I will put it on stands though, mainly because I have only recently bought a new set of Khumo's for it, and prefer to give the flat spots a miss!
I dont have any ICE worth mentioning, but will still disconnect the battery to be on the safe side.
Hopefully she will be all good when I come back!
Thanks again

Yeah, about 3 too many ATM LOL as 3 are undercover and 3 left outside, have run out of space and hate seeing them parked outside, I've got another 2 garaged at my parents place...

With yours willhouse, if your going to put stands under it, make sure you position them on sturdy chassis locations and not the floor pan or other thin/soft bits as they'll crumble under long term load...also place a rubber or other softer material between stand and vehicle.

If you have enough of them (4) you could just use the factory jack/s at all 4 corners - problem solved :)

The other thing you could do if you didn't want to dis-connect the battery and ' if ' you had another one handy is use jumpers on the spare one and connect them in 'parallel' ie. + to + and - to - or - from the spare to chassis ground on the car and that will give you twice the standby endurance time...

The other thing I suggest for when you get back is: for the initial start up, just let it idle only without accelerating it for about 5-10mins. then switch it off for another 15-20mins. to allow 'heat soak' to loosen it all up properly, then re-start and fettle the throttle a bit from there...

Either way with a little care as your doing it'll be all good when you come back :)