I live in a moderate temperature place, and we rarely have multiple days where we don't break freezing. Often on a sunny day I will start up the car and let it warm up in the driveway to make sure the engine goes through a full warm up cycle and the exhaust gets hot enough to cook out all the steam. I know it's not environmentally friendly, but it's what I do. There's a few reasons the cars often won't go out on the road: wet salty spots, or even snow, and maybe I don't have the time or reason to take them out for a drive. I know I'm not doing the trans or differential the service they could use, but I assume getting the engine lubricated would be good. I don't want anything rusting or corroding in there. The valve springs could use some rotation too, not leaving just a few springs compressed all winter.
I've read the articles about idling being bad, and driving the car being the best way to warm up a car quickly, but I can't subscribe to that when I know I've got molasses oil in the pan. Maybe that's a reason to not start the car at all, risking the above squashed valve springs and corrosion in the engine. But I figure warming up the car is better than nothing.
I don't subscribe to the idea that you have to have load on the engine to do less damage to it. My cold start idle is high for a reason. 1500 rpm sounds good to me.
1)------ QUESTION 1 --------------------------------------
So here's the question... It's good for a car to drive it. Right?
But is there a temperature (perhaps related to the oil you have in the pan) at which you say, "no. let it slumber."?
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2)------ QUESTION 2 --------------------------------------
Is there a time at which you'd expect all the lubricant to have dripped off the surfaces that need lubrication?
Perhaps based on temperature & oil viscosity?
Two weeks?
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3)------ QUESTION 3 --------------------------------------
Is there an amount of time at which you say, "let is slumber because starting it causes damage no matter what"?
~One month? Two weeks? One week?
So, say you've had your car dormant for at least a month or two, and you can assume the cylinder walls and solid lifter cams are dry. And it's a beautiful sunny 55 degree January day which appears to be followed by nasty weather. Would you even take the car out for the single day for enjoyment? Or figure the damage isn't worth the damage you'd cause because you will be awaking the car and doubling the number of dry starts it gets?
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And does anyone really subscribe to the, "if you can't drive it at least 10 miles, then don't drive it at all?" If that was the case, I probably would not have driven any of my cars more than a dozen times in the last 6 years of my obsession. I think the more my cars get driven the better they "come back to life" for me. It helps me keep an eye on what's working, and what needs work.
And there's a limit on this ethanol-filled fuel. That's all I can get around here. I know I can add stabil, but at the rate I burn fuel, I might as well be putting it in at the pump. Or should I just never go above maybe a quarter tank?
These cars are now all injected classics, and they mostly get limited use. I would think that some of the more knowledgeable folks here would have good answers to these questions.
I just read that I'm probably doing more damage than good when I idle the cars in my garage to let my cars warm up, charge the battery, scare any rodents away, and maybe pull the car out into the driveway and sweep the garage (and making sure the car still runs so I'm not surprised when I really want to take the car out). So this is a new question to me.
These questions apply to the following cars:
- 1978 450slc 5.0 custom convertible (no hard top)
- 1985 280sl 5-speed
- 1973 280se 4.5 w108 oil smokes probably from valve stem seals, but often need to move the car and haven't gotten to it's engine repairs yet.
- 1973 350sl 4-speed with currently INOP trans, slave cylinder (let it slumber I guess)
Some threads I found:
http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvette-zr1/2745767-winter-storage-start-car-or-no.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a115/1272486/
These guys seem to have my mindset:
http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-201984.html
I've read the articles about idling being bad, and driving the car being the best way to warm up a car quickly, but I can't subscribe to that when I know I've got molasses oil in the pan. Maybe that's a reason to not start the car at all, risking the above squashed valve springs and corrosion in the engine. But I figure warming up the car is better than nothing.
I don't subscribe to the idea that you have to have load on the engine to do less damage to it. My cold start idle is high for a reason. 1500 rpm sounds good to me.
1)------ QUESTION 1 --------------------------------------
So here's the question... It's good for a car to drive it. Right?
But is there a temperature (perhaps related to the oil you have in the pan) at which you say, "no. let it slumber."?
----------------------------------------------------------
2)------ QUESTION 2 --------------------------------------
Is there a time at which you'd expect all the lubricant to have dripped off the surfaces that need lubrication?
Perhaps based on temperature & oil viscosity?
Two weeks?
----------------------------------------------------------
3)------ QUESTION 3 --------------------------------------
Is there an amount of time at which you say, "let is slumber because starting it causes damage no matter what"?
~One month? Two weeks? One week?
So, say you've had your car dormant for at least a month or two, and you can assume the cylinder walls and solid lifter cams are dry. And it's a beautiful sunny 55 degree January day which appears to be followed by nasty weather. Would you even take the car out for the single day for enjoyment? Or figure the damage isn't worth the damage you'd cause because you will be awaking the car and doubling the number of dry starts it gets?
----------------------------------------------------------
And does anyone really subscribe to the, "if you can't drive it at least 10 miles, then don't drive it at all?" If that was the case, I probably would not have driven any of my cars more than a dozen times in the last 6 years of my obsession. I think the more my cars get driven the better they "come back to life" for me. It helps me keep an eye on what's working, and what needs work.
And there's a limit on this ethanol-filled fuel. That's all I can get around here. I know I can add stabil, but at the rate I burn fuel, I might as well be putting it in at the pump. Or should I just never go above maybe a quarter tank?
These cars are now all injected classics, and they mostly get limited use. I would think that some of the more knowledgeable folks here would have good answers to these questions.
I just read that I'm probably doing more damage than good when I idle the cars in my garage to let my cars warm up, charge the battery, scare any rodents away, and maybe pull the car out into the driveway and sweep the garage (and making sure the car still runs so I'm not surprised when I really want to take the car out). So this is a new question to me.
These questions apply to the following cars:
- 1978 450slc 5.0 custom convertible (no hard top)
- 1985 280sl 5-speed
- 1973 280se 4.5 w108 oil smokes probably from valve stem seals, but often need to move the car and haven't gotten to it's engine repairs yet.
- 1973 350sl 4-speed with currently INOP trans, slave cylinder (let it slumber I guess)
Some threads I found:
http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvette-zr1/2745767-winter-storage-start-car-or-no.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a115/1272486/
These guys seem to have my mindset:
http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-201984.html