I think I'm going to park the CJ7 for the winter but I'm wondering what preparations I can make to help prevent any problems next spring. It gets very cold here (-35C or -30F approx) and it will be parked outside on a gravel driveway. It's pretty much stock with some growing amounts of body rust (some all the way through).
Thanks!
griffin '85 CJ7
Good antifreeze, full tank of gas with some gas line deicer in 'just because', proper antifreeze through the windshield washer system and the battery disconnected comes to mind.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT'sgriff>
Gas in the tank? Why's that? I was thinking to empty it but then again I had no idea one way or the other ...
griffin '85 CJ7
Any thoughts of putting her up on blocks and saving the tires from going down and creasing while sitting there for 4months?!
Condensation becomes a big issue in an empty gas tank. If the tank is full, there is little space for condensation to happen and the little that will happen is covered by the gas line antifreeze.
Same for driving in the winter. Keeping a full tank makes a large performance difference in the really cold because it keeps water out. My friend last winter was told he needed a new fuel pump because his vehicle was dead with no pump noise on key up. So he is crying about putting out all the money for a new pump when i told him to try 2 cans of gas line antifreeze and call me tomorrow. He still is running on that old pump 'and' he keeps the tank topped up now.....
Mike
griff>
I have never done that and have never had any 'old gas' issues. One winter isn't long. My CJ7 was parked for a year and a half while I did the frame up and the gas was still fine.
Mike
FrankW wrote:
Bad advice Mike! I guess you were lucky. Gas doesn't last as long as the old days If the gas is going to sit for more than a month you MUST add fuel stabilizer.
Ask any Marine mechanic or even read a marine owners manual on winter storage issues.
Some other good advice when storing for winter is to change the oil in the diff's tranny etc. This ensures there is no moisture to damage said components.
I store my Argo 6X6 every winter and I store my snowmobile every summer. Been there........ A friend stored his snowmobile one summer without stabilizer and varnish built up in the carb....plugged a jet.....melted a piston Fuel stabilizer is cheap insurance. :-) Cheers Frank
Mike Roma> I have never done that and have never had any 'old gas' issues. One
Snowmobiles, ATVs, and motorcycles are far more susceptible than cars to bad things happening to the small jets, floats etc. from bad gas.
How > Bad advice Mike!
Ok, no argument from me on that.
I only had gas in the tank, no lines or engine was attached.
Where do you get gas stabilizer? I have never seen or really heard of it besides here.
I always ran my 2 strokes out of fuel in the system before winter storage so I guess I never had the varnish issue, but do remember it now.
Mike
FrankW wrote:
Thinking about it, I got lucky. I had only gas in the tank, no lines or engine attached.
Mike
twaldr>
Mike, check this out...
Mike Roma> Ok, no argument from me on that.
Anywhere.
Seriously, any small engine or power equipment store. Any Home Depot type store. Just look for Stabil in the big economy size. The bottle is usually near the two-stroke oils and gas cans. The dose is 1 ounce per 2.5 gallons.
For those of you with boats - the marine suppliers sell bigger bottles of similar stabuilizer that will treat 100 gallons or more.
Stabil is great stuff - I have used it for many years and have never had any sort of fuel system problems with seasonal power equipment.
I used to work for an old-fashioned hardware store. We assembled and gassed up all the power equipment and always used Stabil in the shop gas cans to make sure that any unit that sat unsold for a few months would have no starting problems. That was a great test of the product, and it sure sold me on the idea.
John
John Davies TLCA 14732
Interesting.
I always associated the varnishing up issues with 2 stroke mixed fuel, not gasoline.
Mike
twaldr>
The very best solution is to not do it. If you drive it 30 minutes every few weeks to thoroughly warm up the drivetrain fluids, and keep the gas tank filled and use stabilizer, you don't need to do anything else.
If you are concerned about salt damage, then parking it makes sense.
John
John Davies TLCA 14732
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.