There are various reasons why you would need to safely store the car you’ve been driving. Could be unfavorable driving conditions or even a job assignment or a long trip.
Don’t just take your car off the road for storage without considering important safety measures. Because one of the main reasons why the car won’t start is how you keep it stored.
So there are precautions that should be undertaken to ensure that the car remains in a good condition. Otherwise, something may go wrong when you’re getting it out of storage.
1. CLEAN THE CAR.
It probably makes more sense to have the car cleaned when you’re taking it out rather than when storing it. Well, there are a lot good things that come from a clean wash.
For example, it keeps the paint dust free. This is a way to safely store the car that shouldn’t be ignored. Because, by removing dirt particles you minimize the chances of paint degradation.
By following the recommended car washing methods you can remove harmful elements from the paint. Additionally, that tires and the underside of fenders is stored without mad, tar or grease.
After the body Is cleaned up, ensure you wax the paint. This offers extra protection to the paint.
2. PUT NEW OIL.
This entirely depends on how long the car will be in storage. A short terms storage won’t require you to undertake this safe car storage.
But you cannot safely store the car for months without changing the oil. The oil you have been using in your engine for a while, it’s accumulated some impurities.
These impurities may damage the car’s oil tank. A damaged oil tank is one of the causes of engine oil leakage. Further the oil changes its state when it is kept in an in-active state. To counter this, ensure you top-off the oil so that it stays fresh and it protects the engine’s components.
But as soon as you’re ready to re-use the vehicle, make an oil change to prevent any oil leakage.
3. PLUG THE EXHAUST OUTLET.
The outlet can also be used to access the vehicle’s internal parts. So, when the car is going into storage for a long time, just plug the exhaust outlet. This keeps the internal parts safe from intrusion.
4. INSULATE THE ENGINE CYLINDERS.
Ensure your car is stored without the spark plug. After removing it, ensure that you spray some oil into the cylinders.
Its optional for you to store the car without the spark plug or with it. Now if you decide to have the spark plug, install a new one in place of the old one.
5. CAR BATTERY.
The car battery relies on the alternator to stay charged when the car is in motion.
In our case today, the is not going to be moving for quite a while. So how will the battery keep its charge?
When the car stays without moving there is a possibility that the battery will run low on charge.
The simplest solution to this is by disconnecting the battery. You can keep the positive battery cable connected while the negative one is disconnected.
Bearing the fact that some settings are powered by the battery, they will be lost when you disconnect it. For example, the clock and stereo pre-settings.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to lose these settings by totally disconnecting the battery, there is something you could do. Just install the battery tender which plugs into your battery and into a port on the other. This tender will prevent the battery from discharging.
Further, in order to keep the battery charge intact just get someone to start the Vehicle and drive it around for 15 minutes or so.
6. AVOID USING THE PARKING BRAKE.
There is a risk involved when you keep the parking brake on when you store the car. The recommendation to safely store the car is for you not to use the parking brake.
The risk is that the car’s brakes may end up being stuck in place. Afterwards, because the wheels are locked, the car won’t roll. Further, this is one of the reasons why the car vibrates when accelerating.
This happens because the brake calipers usually come in contact with the rotors hence causing them to get stuck together. An alternative would be to purchase a tire stopper that prevents the car from moving.
7. ELEVATE THE VEHICLE.
You probably don’t get how elevating the Vehicle should account for safely storing the car. Well I’ll explain it.
When the car is on the ground, constant pressure is put on one side of the tire’s. This may lead to a degradation of the tires on that particular part.
To prevent this just lift the car a little even using some jack stands. By doing this you avoid buying new tires due to permanent flat spots.
8. WIPER BLADES HAVE TO BE WRAPPED.
By wrapping the wiper blades, you prevent them from sticking onto the car’s windows.
If the rubber on blades is left for a while without moving over the windows, then it could get stuck. The rubber on wiper blades is capable of becoming sticky. Especially during varying atmospheric conditions, either there’s too much heat or cold.
Alternatively, you may decide to completely remove the blades. Further, you may choose to place the wipers away from the windows. This will prevent the windshield rubber from getting stuck.
9. COVER THE CAR.
There are various materials that can be used to cover the vehicle. The material you choose will have diverse effects. This is in terms of paint work and moisture accumulation during car storage.
Some car covers have the potential of scratching the paint. Hence, reducing the paint quality, even after waxing which offers extra protection.