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Winter Hibernation question


plumster
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Howdy Manta creatues, just wondering if anyone does what I do each year & puts their car "up in the air" for winter...

I tend to think that the suspension has the full weight of the car compressing it basically all the time, I noticed many years ago that if the suspension relaxed & settled for a couple of days or more, it felt really good when the car came back down. So I put it up on stands over winter nowadays.

Also saves having to roll the car to stop tyres flat spotting.

Here she is up in the air & then covered up.

 

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Edited by plumster
wrong pic added.
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I have just purchased an airdry mobile car dehumidifier (Halfords) to leave inside the Manta when it is stored in the garage over winter and covered with an indoor softshell breathable cover. I like your idea of axle stands but don’t have any at the moment I just roll it slightly to stop the flat spots on the tyres.

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Dont know about the suspension hanging. I support them under axles to keep em off the ground, not saying im right, but axles where not made to hang but can't see it doing any damage, but changing the stress on a shell, as you are hanging all that weight on jacking points for a long time. CIH engines are heavy. Just dont know what is right way to store, the way i see it, they where not made to be stored anyway :)

You could keep old rims and old tyres, and fit them, or remove engine shocks and spring, to allow them to relax.

I know one thing..... its better in your garage nice and warm.....

 

 

 

Edited by ®evo03
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must admit ive never took any eccessive precautions over winter although my cars are basically used all year round anyway with maybee a short session(say 2 or 3 months) break .i used to use my 2 cavs on a 6 months at a time basis whilst they were taxable and disconnected the battery and closed the garage door. in 6 months time reconnect battery and they were ready to go anywhere. had them for over 30 years and had no issues with tyres or otherwise.

worse thing anyone can do when a car is off the road is start them up for a few minutes too often. if you realy have to start them up do it every 2 or 3 months and make sure they run up to working temp to get everything warm otherwise its just causing condensation in the engine and exhaust .

if i were to leave a car for a very long time i would probably just over inflate the tyres to make them less chance of flat spotting .

everyone has there own ideas and preferences

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18 hours ago, Mike. said:

I have just purchased an airdry mobile car dehumidifier (Halfords) to leave inside the Manta when it is stored in the garage over winter and covered with an indoor softshell breathable cover. I like your idea of axle stands but don’t have any at the moment I just roll it slightly to stop the flat spots on the tyres.

Like the dehumidifier idea, im a cheapskate so have just put in 2 of those square plastic pot type ones from the pound shop, will be interesting to see if they start to fill up.

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1 hour ago, TheRealExile said:

Like the dehumidifier idea, im a cheapskate so have just put in 2 of those square plastic pot type ones from the pound shop, will be interesting to see if they start to fill up.

They sure will fill up, I put 6 or 8 in as I don't have electric in the garage.

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7 hours ago, TheRealExile said:

Like the dehumidifier idea, im a cheapskate so have just put in 2 of those square plastic pot type ones from the pound shop, will be interesting to see if they start to fill up.

I use the £ shop ones in my caravan, for what they cost you can't go wronge.

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I have a electronical dehumidifier, with sensor so naked steel can't rust. But if I open the garage the dry air is blown away and that device starts working. I put the car on a car lift so the tyres stay round. This pic shows the identical car lift I'v got, because of town regulations I was not allowed to build a big garage so this lift doesn't need a lot of space:

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I open the rear quarter windows and the trunk so the inside of the sills and interieur is ventilated via the trunk. The battery is on a charger, but keep checking the level of the acid. A car battery that is allive uses acid. Make sure your tank is filled, modern fuel has got bio-ethanol. Even the super fuel (98) has got 10% of this stuff, Europeens regulations. So the lower the fuel in your tank makes it more moisture cause of condens. And you don't want to know what water does with bio-ethanol! Use the time in the winter to check your feul lines. The pressure lines of a G/TE don't like bio-ethanol so if they feel spongy change them with new lines that are made for bio ethanol.

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Gtreat advise, does your lift support the car under front and rear axle, or does it lift body of car, shell.  

Looks like axle, as they have not dropped. Is it an compressed air lift?

Taking of winter hibernation! I am struggling with garage temperatures!

I could do hibernation! Nice duvet, captain M, and plenty of sleep. 

Edited by ®evo03
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On 06/12/2019 at 18:53, ®evo03 said:

Dont know about the suspension hanging. I support them under axles to keep em off the ground, not saying im right, but axles where not made to hang but can't see it doing any damage, but changing the stress on a shell, as you are hanging all that weight on jacking points for a long time. CIH engines are heavy. Just dont know what is right way to store, the way i see it, they where not made to be stored anyway :)

You could keep old rims and old tyres, and fit them, or remove engine shocks and spring, to allow them to relax.

I know one thing..... its better in your garage nice and warm.....

 

 

 

 

I put the front two jacks on the bottom of the chassis swan necks (with the load spread over 12" or so of 3 x 2 wood) I dont use the jacking points.

Hopefully the more spread the better, its not bent in half yet..... 😂

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The lift has got 4 arms that can be turned with rubber blocks. You can lift the car both ways, depends where you fit them. It is a hydraulic lift, the oilpressure is given by a unit with an air pump feed by a normal aircompressor. Yes and the temperatures: Getting cold so I use an electronical petrol stove with a CO safety, the gas-line to the garage is not ready yet to connect on a gas heating stove that is suitable for small rooms. 

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I use captain morgans for central heating, cant afford to heat a whole garage, bottle of captains is cheaper. Centeal heating for the soul.

Is there anyway of using a log burner without fitting a flue? 

Also tempted to start cutting captain morgan bottles into pint glasses, selling them, and using money to........buy............ more captain morgans.

1 minute ago, Ems said:

Unfortunately my car doesn't get the chance to hibernate (no garage) and is left outside whatever the weather.

Seen a garage made from a lorry trailer, complete with curtain sider. Cheap as! I also use curtain siders to cover projects waiting...........some motivation........ 100% waterproof, dry as snuff, not to kind to paint work though, but its not relevant.

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14 minutes ago, Ems said:

Unfortunately my car doesn't get the chance to hibernate (no garage) and is left outside whatever the weather.

mine neither. but then they are used all year round mostly anyway. pretty much never been garaged in 40 years and sometimes this is better anyway as you get a good airflow around them.

in spring they get a full pressure wash underneath and any bits attended to as and if needed

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  • 5 weeks later...

Good advice Herman, and especially important to look at those fuel lines and petrol tank when the car is stored over winter. I have heard a few tales of the Bio-Ethanol petrol going stale, attracting water and rotting a tank out from the inside.

I have been using Millers Tank Safe for a while now, which helps alleviate this problem - https://www.millersoils-shop.co.uk/tank-safe

Also, for looking after your tyres over winter, I've been using "Tyre Savers" which are generally available from caravan supply shops but they are cheap and they really work. The tyres on my i200 are quite a few years old now and are as good as new. No flat spots at all. Keeping them out of direct sunlight is also really important as the UV degrades the rubber, especially on cheaper tyres.

Tyre Savers - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Streetwize-LWACC47-Tyre-Saver/dp/B00BHWO8R6/ref=asc_df_B00BHWO8R6/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309944223565&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4487802763936799966&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006672&hvtargid=pla-533038248628&psc=1

 

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