39 replies to this topic

[Stevee]

get one of them Moisture catchers stick few of them inside the car and empty them every time you come home :)h

[adcyork]

Buttt, fuel doesnt have a very long life if its just sat in a tank, although apparently higher octane stuff (v-power etc) has a longer shelf life. I'd leave about a quarter/half a tank in there, saves all the crap in the bottom going through the car or the tank going manky inside.

The tanks feeds from the bottom all the time so even if it's full it's still picking up from where all the "crap" sits at the bottom. Cars run fuel filters so that it isn't an issue.

[MiniAlex]

Hey. I wouldn't just leave a car cover over it for a year. My mum didnt use her saxo for 7 months, we left a cover over it .. came back to the car and it was full of mold!! As there was no air getting inside the car, so the moisture turned to mold eventually. Didn't take long, it makes the car sweat under the cover. Would someone be able to give it a drive once every couple of weeks? Someone to just let the engine get warm, use the breaks - to stop everything siezing up!! Don't want you to come back to it, and have to spend a lot of money just to get it going/moving

[MiniAlex]

Sorry- Didn't realise you hadn't got anyone to drive it. Reallly it's the best thing for a Mini!!
I just bought a 1996 Sprite, that has ssat around for a year ish. I had to replace the radiator because it was sat outside, the mositure killed it. Rotted it away, everything electrically went on and off as the weather got to it and all the leads started to corrode

Ideal - would be to drive it, keep it in a heated garage to keep that damp away but if you can't ..then best thing to do is leave it on tick over for half hour + to get warm, on a sunny day if you are at home, leave all the doors open and let any moisture dry out inside the car. Over winter cars left outside are a nightmare That is when my mums saxo got really bad, everything on it started to go. As the weather was awfull, snow sitting ontop of the car even for a few days managed to get inside

I've known people to buy these water proof covers that are only waterproof to a certain level? The one we bought was from Argos and wasn't cheap, and after a certain amount of water on it -- it started to leak inside

[ANON]

..then best thing to do is leave it on tick over for half hour...

that's about the worst thing you can do

[E-Tizzle]

..then best thing to do is leave it on tick over for half hour...

that's about the worst thing you can do

whys that?

[ANON]

engine needs to be under load for rings to work as they should, also needs to get upto temp quick to avoid bore wash.

[MiniAlex]

engine needs to be under load for rings to work as they should, also needs to get upto temp quick to avoid bore wash.

Ohh yeah true! So do you think best thing to do is just leave it?
Mine is sat in the garage at the moment on its old wheels, and battery dissconected. Petrol tank nearly empty. You can charge the battery after can't you? Or just have to buy a new one!

[ANON]

over the space of a year say, i would be tempted to leave it without starting. or if it was started only if it was going to be driven for a good 20 mins at least.

have seen borewashing kill a re built engine within a couple of weeks and that was on a modern injection let alone carb engined!!

[M44K TS]

Got to be honest about the battery- I'm not sure how it will react to not being used for a year- and I wouldn't have thought leaving it on charge for that amount of time would be wise, I'd have thought maybe be put on trickle charge for a couple of days every month or two, and being used to start the car if you can use it may help.

Most new trickle chargers are designed to be connected for long periods of time as most will go into maintenance mode and pulse every few seconds to keep the battery plates clean. What I do with my car is have one of these.....

http://www.halfords....tegoryId_165629

...on a digital timer plug to come on an hour in the morning and an hour at night every day, the same as using the car daily for commuting, (my logic anyway lol)

The battery is 2 years old now and is still in perfect condition despite sometimes not using the car for a few weeks, sometimes months at a time. Even then, it's just for short journeys.