I've long said that the only thing worse on a car than driving it is not driving it, and my car seems to be living proof. My brand new brake rotors are rusted to hell (just from the moisture in the air), the left front tire has developed a slow leak, and the exhaust system is absolutely FULL of water. I can start the car, let it run for a minute or two, then rev it up, and water comes out the tailpipes by the quart. I can actually hear the exhaust gasses gurgling through it when the car is idling.
So today I decided to take another step toward getting the 'Bird road-worthy and changed the oil and dumped some new gas in. The oil that was in it had zero miles on it, but had been in the engine for almost three years (I changed it just before storing the car). A proper long-term storage procedure such as fogging the cylinders is not practical or possible for me, since I use the garage for other things besides T-Bird storage. I basically need the car movable at all times.
I knew the oil was gonna be bad - it had a distinct rust colour on the dipstick, and the underside of the valve covers were full of moisture when I replaced 'em last year (and they themselves were replaced due to storage issues - the cork gaskets had dried out, so I installed rubber gaskets and HO aluminum valve covers). I jacked the car up and pulled the rearmost drain plug. A few dribbles of water came out, then the oil. Once the rear sump was drained I put that plug back in and pulled the front plug. Several ounces of pure water (not antifreeze) came out before any oil did at all. I would wager the front sump was at least half full of water. The filter felt like it weighed a good 5 pounds and was reluctant to drip much oil out.
This, of course, is the result of the engine never getting to warm up. I've let the car run for a half hour several times over the past few years but obviously this was not enough to warm up the oil and burn the moisture out of it. Moving it around the yard has just served to fill the crank case and exhaust system with water.
Needless to say, this will be a "throwaway" oil change. The day I get plates & insurance the car will be driven a good 100 miles, then brought home for a new oil change.
Hopefully I will not run into problems with the fuel system. I have added fuel several times over the few years and every time I add it I put some fuel stabilizer in. I also plan on putting some gas line antifreeze in when I actually drive it (I hadn't put any in yet because the stuff is corrosive and I don't want it sitting in the tank).
Anyway, I suppose there was no real point to this thread. Just wanted to share my amazement at how much water is in places water shouldn't be...
I hear ya on the humidity. Yesterday I took my computer apart to clean the dust out of it, as I use the air compressor in the garage to blow it out with, and was amazed at all the moisture in the compressed air. It looked like fog for about 5 seconds after I first opened the line..I let it blow a good 35-40 seconds before I blew the dust out.
We average around 75-90% humidity in the summers here, but it's already muggy as it gets in August..I dread it then.
Sounds like it's as bad or worse where you are. :hick:
yep, after all the work that went into the orange car, starting this year it will be stored in an indoor heated facility until the day i can afford an attached garage. sick of screwing around.
It still looks good, though. ;) I'm kind of wishing you had fired it up on Saturday, now that you mention it.
I should probably be looking forward to seeing the same kind of issues, since I've only driven it any kind of distance (about 30mk when moving) once since taking insurance off of it a few years ago. Other than that it has just been a jaunt around the lake, or just fire it up to recharge the battery and make sure it still works.
To keep one dried out, after the engine is up to temp, you need to run it at least 2000 rpms for 15 minutes... I usually put a penny between the throttle body(or carb) stop and set screw and let her run... Like you I found out the hard way after the lers fell off the Cobra Jet from being full of water...
I had actually thought of firing it up when you were here, but with the seats out it would have been a PITA to push the clutch in while cranking. I also had my planned oil change in mind and didn't want to whip the oil up, knowing there was water in it. I knew there would be water, just didn't realize there'd be so much...
That is crazy. I guess that gives a good perspective into what happens when they sit for years and years :eek::punchballs: The exhaust was gurgling from the water....sheesh. Hope ya can get her goin soon man!!!!
I put mine away for 5-6 months out of the year. When it's in storage (ok sitting in my garage :hick:) I start it twice a month for 15-20 minutes to warm it up. I change the oil when I take it out of storage in the spring and leave it in all spring/summer/early fall and through the winter storage. I see no reason to change it before it goes into storage as the oil gets py from sitting all winter. Then again I run Mobil 1 ;)
I would switch to a fully synthetic like Amsoil then if you leave it in all spring/summer/fall and through storage in the winter.
I think the Mobil 1 should be ok. It is fully *synthetic* (I know it's refined from a mineral stock). I drive the car maybe 900 miles a year but every time I drive it is driven 30 minutes or more to fully warm up the engine. So basically I change the oil once a year :hick: The oil still looks good and I haven't had a problem with condensation or water build up.
I like having no humidity.
you should be fine. Mobile 1 is no longer a true full synthetic oil (doesnt mean its bad obviously). If i was going to leave oil in my car for an entire year, i personally would use a fully synthetic,(Group IV/V) oil. I switched to Amsoil this year in the mustang and will probably stay with that depending on how it actually holds up.
car jacket or a bag w/dessicant.cars come out as clean
as they went in.best investment you can make.when i got
my car the underneath had been rustproofed. i pressure
washed it off and found most everything about new, incl
plating and markings. i want to save that as long as i can.
the bags will keep all moisture away with the dessicant in
there. have been using a variant of this for over 25 years.
--irv
That would be fine if I could wrap the car up and forget about it, but I use my garage for other things (including keeping the daily beater running), so the T-Bird must be mobile at all times. Some day I'd like to build a small garage just for car storage - it wouldn't have to be big, just big enough to get a car in and open the driver's door. Until then, though, I'll have to deal with these problems.
My garage isn't fully climate-controlled, but having the heater in there (small electric propeller unit heater) does help in the cooler/cold months with keeping the moisture low in the garage.
It doesn't help once things start to warm up, but it does a pretty decent job overall.
You don't have power to that garage do you? It's probably not very insulated either, is it?
It does have power. It's wired for 220, actually, and the line between the house and garage is two-way. When the power is working the house feeds the garage, but when the power goes out the garage feeds the house (I've got a 6750-watt generator out there). It's not insulated at all, though. Single pane glass, open eves, and a considerable gap around the doors. I can have the wood stove gowing red and it doesn't get warm in there. To heat that thing to 50 degrees would probably cost more than heating the house to 70.
It's not a climate issue anyway - so much air moves through that garage that condensation on the car itself isn't really an issue (there is no musty smell whatsoever). My moisture is coming directly from the gasoline itself. They say every gallon of gas produces a gallon of water when burned, and that gallon of water is condensing on cold engine and exhaust parts. Even with the garage at 70 this would still happen, though likely not as bad. The only solution is to run the engine until it's hot enough to burn (boil) the moisture off. I think Tom's idea would be the best solution. A block heater might help as well - plug it in several hours before starting, and then you're starting off with an engine that is already warm. It would help keep water out of the oil, but still wouldn't help the exhaust much...