Long term storage?

Yep, not selling my TDI anymore. Storing it and keeping it on fire/theft insurance. When I return from my work opportunity in a year she'll be a tad dusty but ready to go. I just dont want to sell her right now, love the car too much

That being said, any tips on LONG term outdoor storage? I mean like 1 year.
So far I'm doing the following:

Driving it onto a tarp
Breathable cloth car cover
Sheets of large bubble wrap (guard against falling sticks, tree debris, etc)
Wrap up bottom tarp and tie down
2nd tarp over the whole thing, tie down
Exhaust and air intakes covered
Battery removed
Tires over inflated to prevent flattening
Oil change (due for her 96k service soon anyway)
I'll also be doing a leather conditioning, interior cleaning and leave a couple of open boxes of baking soda in the cabin to regulate moisture. Shes also been rustproofed and undercoated.


How should I treat the fuel? Just add the usual 'Fuel Treatment' used in gas cars? How do I preserve diesel? Do i leave her with barely a drop left, or do I leave her vented full?

Does oil age with time? or with mileage.. will the oil be ok for a year? Will the motor be ok?

Anything else i should do or be aware of? Thanks

Oil will be okay. What I would personally suggest is to do an oil change with a Pela when you come back after the year. That way you have oil which has run down the engine when you first try to start it. Doing an oil change on a cold engine with a Pela may take a while, but in my opinion is worth it.

I think you have all the basics covered. I've actually heard of people who jack up their car, remove the rims and store the car on blocks. This is to prevent any tire damage from the tires deflating, and also to prevent flat spots on the tires when standing in the same position for a year. Just a thought.

As for the diesel, there are diesel fuel conditioners out there. I wouldn't use the stuff meant for gas cars. If you really want to do things right, I'd look into some of the stuff which the bio-diesel guys use for storage. It has anti-fungal additives. This way you won't have any nasty surprises when you get back after a year. I'd leave the car with less than 1/2 a tank personally...maybe around 1/4 tank. When you get back after a year, fill up the tank, run it through and then change your fuel filter.

IMPORTANT !!!! Make sure you use a bioguard treatment or you will be dealing with a clogged fuel system in no time once you start driving the car again .

RED LINE Synthetic oil CO. makes a diesel fuel Bioguard , As said by someone else here a marina is a good place to look for the stuff . Also truck stops could have the stuff .

rotarykid.. can you please elaborate?? Bioguard.. is that the name of the product? Links? Thanks!

Any other input would be greatly appreciated, I really wanna do this the BEST possible way for the best possible outcome!

Toronto Vento: aside from saving the tires i have actually heard there is little benefit to putting the car on blocks because you're permitting the suspension to expand and its actually better for it to stay loaded. Not sure about this but it sounds reasonable, I think if I overinflate the tires i can avoid flat spots so I'll probably just park it with the wheels on.

Is the stuff you're talking about tha the bio-d guys use the same stuff that rotarykid is talking aobut??

I would put it on jacks or jack the body enough to take some weight off of the tires. Even overinflated, your tires will flatten.

I would also pull the glow plugs and pour some light oil into the cylinders. Just don't forget to pull the plugs out again and spin the engine before starting it next year.

Cover your interior dash to protect against UV rays if you store it outside.

I was very fortunate, the last time I went on a year long away trip while in the military, I had my girlffriend at the time drive my 3 vehicles.

Don't park it on dirt. Park it on asphalt or concrete. Less chance of rust that way. In the shade if possible and on stands.

I can not see how the fuel treatment would be any different from my sailboat engine. I am referring to a Diesel engine. First of all put fuel conditioner into the tank and then fill it to the brim.



By filling it to the brim you avoid condensation from accumulating inside the fuel tank and adding water to your fuel, which happens in a 3/4 or 1/2 or 1/4 full tank. The tank warming up and cooling down will cause condensation to form if it is not full. As for the fuel sitting there, I also have not had any problems with it.



My boat sits for about 6 months or slightly less every winter and this has not caused me any undue problems.



Change the oil before storing it since oil which has been used for some time may cause problems, but I never need to change it before I start to use the boat again. The new oil does not deteriorate just sitting there.

I see you decided to keep her... Good choice.

All advice is excellent... Coating the clyinder walls with some oil is supposed to reduce the rusting, not sure I buy it but it doesnt hurt so I did it for my bike. I have always been told to keep the suspension partially loaded to prevent the springs from streching and avoiding flat spots.

If you have a trickle charger use that to keep the battery topped up, otherwise pick up a new battery when you get back

re: long term storage

FourBanger, I am a veteran "diesel storer". I "store" 2 idi diesels for 5 months in a cold climate and 1 tdi for 7 months in a sub-tropical climate. I've done this for 9 years. Your preparations sound good and the suggestions of all are also good, especially the one re: a full fuel tank. I would offer one exception (and this is the result of having done this to my regret) - I would not "wrap" the car in a tarp. Doing so will result in trapping moisture inside the cabin and you will be forever sorry you did this. Parking on a tarp is a good idea, however. (I, too, do this) Re: suspension issues and flat spots on the tires - these have not been problematic for me. The flat spots will go away within a few miles. What I do is install a battery trickle charger (Sears has a good one for around $30), fill the tanks to overflowing, add extra white and silver Powerservice, block the tailpipe and intake with 1/4 inch mesh hardware cloth, insure that the coolant mixture is adequate for the expected temps., place mothballs in the engine compartment to repel vermin, remove the ignition key and walk away (after a pat on the rump of the car for being so reliable). So far, in 9 years of doing this, all cars have started and run as if I had just turned them off. Re: cylinder wall rust - I wouldn't know. I do know that my MPG and torque has been unaffected and there is no change re: smoke output. I'll be leaving soon to return to cooler climes and I fully expect that the past will be prologue. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that you should not engage the parking brake and if you have a manual transmission, it should be left in neutral - requiring that you block the wheels, I would think. Some have talked about Biocides to guard against algae growth in the fuel but I have opted not to use such because I was afraid of killing any algae already present and this would surely plug the fuel system (there's a thread about this somewhere) Could it be that algae in my tanks might be making biodiesel? Good luck and KTF. VWWV

Fail to treat at your own risk

Good post although I have had alge issues first hand . I keep at least one car parked in either NC or Colorado for long periods of time and a biocide is a must as far as I'm concerned .

My 85 Jetta TD was parked in NC for almost the entire year of 1991 . I didn't treat the fuel and alge grerw all year .

When I got the car to Colorado the extreem cold killied off all of it . After it died all of it flaked off and clogged up the fuel pickup . I spent all of the winter of 92 trying to clean my fuel system out . Every time I cleaned the pickup the car would run for a little while then clog again . It happened over & over & over & over & over ............. . You get the idea .

I had to replace the fuel filter a dozzen times that year to get the car to run again at any speed . Every time I pushed the car hard the pickup clogged again . The result was the fuel system would choke the car down and it would stall . I had the fuel pickup out of the tank more times than I can recall .

So treat or don't treat at your own risk .

I would do everything possible to get it stored indoors. And, if it was driven and washed even once every two months you probably wouldn't need to do anything else to it.

But if you must leave it sitting outdoors, moisture control is a major issue and not just for fuel. Given the ease of draining the tank completely via the level sender opening, that would be an option for that. For the interior there are specific products to absorb moisture. I don't see how you could use a car cover, given rain and such.

ok i've read through this information thanks for all your input its greatly appreciated...here's what I plan to do, REVISED:

Body/Undercarriage: drive it onto tarp but not WRAPPED. Protect against moisture, but also avoid trapping moisture,..it should be as good as asphalt. She is undercoated so I'm not concerned about rust. I'm parking it on my back lawn because that would make it near impossible to steal based on the backyard geography.

Fuel Tank: add Stanadyne as per usual, along with preservative, and fill the tank to the BRIM, reason being there will be NO room for moisture to condense and cause algae growth, in effect the tank will be a sterile environment as far as that goes, worst case scenario would be a little algae on the fuel cap and in the top 1/4" of the filler neck.. but ultimately i'd avoid tank algae beyond what may currently and naturally exist, right??

suspension/tires: mixed reviews on this, however tires are the least expensive thing to replace and it can't hurt a suspensioin to leave it loaded, so given the headaches of putting it on blocks just to save some mediocre all-seasons, and given that any conceiveable flat spots should be remedied by a few miles of driving, i'll just over-inflate, block the wheels it and leave her in netural with the brake off.

Cylinder wall lubrication: Sounds unncessary.. the motor is an enclosed environment I can't see the interior of the motor rusting. I also can't see the motor drying up and the oil collecting any moreso than it would if I parked the car for a few weeks, which I've done to other vehicles without issue. Further opinions?

Miscellaneous: baking soda/moth balls in the interior cabin area and engine bay to regulate humidity, odor and repel vermin. Cover intake/exhausts to prevent bugs from nesting as much as possible. Condition the leather, clean the car well prior to storing etc., remove the battery and keep it on a trickle charger,

Sounds good I just have one question.. 'paul a' pointed out the car cover will just get wet should i bother with the fabric breathable car cover, or can I just lay down some bubble wrap and tarp the car wthout the cover? Does it need a soft cloth barrier in there to minimize the contact between the plastic tarp and the car?.. it seems thin and breathable enough that if it got wet it wouldn't be detrimental to the car and would dry quickly, and my thinking is a soft barrier directly against the paint is good. Opinions?

thanks again

Fuel: FYI, you may not be aware that water goes to the bottom of the diesel fuel, so the algae grows at that interface, not the water to air. Not that I think you will have a problem.

Did you say mothballs in the interior?

I wouldn't. Your car would forever smell like my grandmothers closet!

long term storage

The moth balls are to repel mice, rats, and squirrels. Put them in old socks and hang/lay them in several places in the ENGINE compartment. They might also repel some insects and arachnoids. Not sure of your "blocking" the intake/exhaust. The aforementioned hardware cloth will keep the rodents out (see above) and will permit a free flow of air circulation, thus reducing a collection of condensed moisture in the piping (IMO). Not sure if I would put any cloth (and definitely not any plastic) on the paint for a long term? You might need a putty knife to get it off. One last item: Wax it well before you leave. You wouldn't happen to have any cosmoline (sp?) handy, would you? / writes as he remembers unpacking and cleaning weapons circa 1950s/ VWWV

Hey FourBanger....you need help storing your car? I can help you. I can drive it for you while your gone.

Joking.
I would ask someone to drive it every once in a while.
I guess you have no garage, right? What about the storage rooms you can rent for like 20 bucks per month. Better than outside.

ALot of those are just small enough you can't really park a car inside, alot of those places also specifically say you cannot park a vehicle there. I looked into this before when I used to store my VR6 Golf for the winter.

I need to cover the car with something, I'd rather it was fabric touching the paint than plastic. She will be freshly waxed when she goes into storage too

Can you buy or fabricate a car port?
Rent or buy a shipping container?
Or rent a garage in a rural location for cheap?

If you use a car cover you will need to prevent it from getting wet or even slightly damp, so it cannot be further covered with a plastic sheet. It needs to have space for air to circulate.

If you want good indoor storage, there is a guy on the Vortex who rents space in his barn. I say barn, but its a brand new Cover-all on a concrete pad. He stores cars there for the winter, but can do all year round too. The last time I checked, he was asking $50-$60 a month. If you're interested, I can look him up and give you his info.

I know who you mean, but to be honest I dont know if I want my car left so far away for so long where no one can check on it. It's not that I don't trust the guy or anything I just don't like the idea, plus thats still around $600 in storage at least, if not more.
Indoor storage is plan and simply expensive, and unless i can find a free hookup with a friend or family member which I doubt, it'll be outdoors

I think I read that his rates are cheaper for the summer. Besides, if you have it in there for a whole year, He may give you a volume discount? The "barn" is in Stouffville and he claims it is very secure.

I would offer you my garage for $20 a month, but I don't even have enough space to park my car in there .

Good luck with whatever you decide.

well out of curiosity I wrote him to see what his one-time price would be for a years storage
if i cant afford it ill be investing in a waterproof car cover i think

Hi

Ok change of plans, i may be parking the car indoors

My only remaining question, which I don't think I managed to get a full answer for.. aside from the bio-guard stuff that kills algae and may or may not clog my fuel filter, what good fuel PRESERVATIVE is out there?

Also, if I remove the battery, am I going to have key/radio/ECU immobilizer and code issues???

Why don't you just sell the car and invest the proceeds, then buy in the future? That way you avoid all these issues.

i was originally going to do that, but i didnt because:

i owe $15k on the car still
i could sell it for $19k maybe, winter car market is sloooow
so I'd have $4k leftover.. and a lost $10k downpayment so im down $6k right off the bat. What kind of returns am I really going to see on $4k

When I get back I have to buy a new car again, if I want something as nice as this car it'll be another $10k downpayment so I'm coughing up another $6k again

If I keep the car, my balance owing after a year is $11.4k and i've put no mileage on the vehicle.. parking insurance is pretty cheap so I'm looking at maybe $4k paid in my absence and its not really 'lost' its paying for my car. When I return, no money needs to be spent on a new car.

I was originally going to sell the car but I thought about it and I really do 'lose' alot more, money and otherwise, by selling my baby. But thanks for the suggestion anyway I know where you're coming from.

so .. diesel stabilizer and immobilizer issues due to battery removal, any input?

I would look into renting a storage locker and parking it in the locker. That way no rodent, moisture of theft issues. A friend did this with his MG and it was as perfect after a year as it was when he drove it in.

Re: the diesel stabilizer, can't say if that is any more than a fuel biocide. With a full tank and the prescribed amount of diesel-specific biocide I'm confident you won't have a problem after 'only' a year.
You have the radio code I assume. I left the battery on my '03 Golf disconnected for 3 months with no problem at all regarding keys.

Oh, put an old sock over the exhaust pipe held with a tie wrap.

yes, have the radio code in my owners manual.. so thats hte only issue I'll have?

someone else posted about bio-cides killing your fuel filter because of loose, dead algae, any truth to this? thanks for all the input guys,

If you had existing algae and killed it off with biocide it breaks up and gets everywhere. You will not have this problem because with treated fuel algae won't even start growing.

You've already solved all the major issues by storing the car indoors, the rest is easy!

Do you have the option of using one of those .5 amp trickle chargers? It would save you the hassle of having to re & re the the battery and save you from having to buy a new one as they never seem to store well. I think they are cheap at crappy tire.