SL320 winter lay-up

[greybowman]

I would appreciate any advice on winter storage for my 1998 SL320. She spends most of her time garaged and covered, and ususally only comes out for dry weekends (except a very wet Le Mans this year).

I'm now wondering what I should be doing over the winter period - should she be on axle stands? should I rotate the wheels or even run the engine weekly? should I disconnect the battery or should I leave it connected to a charger? Should the soft-top be left up or down?

Any advice gratefully received.

 

[BTB 500]

I don't do much mileage in my SL, what with moving house twice in the last 18 months etc. it's covered only 1400 miles between the last two MOTs!

In a well-ventilated garage it should be fine IMO. I would leave the parking brake off, I've had a vibration from the rear brakes when it's not been used for a while that I think was due to transfer of material from pads to disks. I just leave it in 'park' now as the garage is fairly level.

I would also strongly recommend a 'maintenance' charger. I had various faults come up on my car after starting up with a low battery (roll bar, window sensors, etc.). These disabled the hood, and needed a trip to the dealer to have the errors cleared down. So I installed an AccuMate charger:

http://www.accumate.co.uk/it010001.htm

on my garage wall, near the boot. There's a flylead permanently attached to the SL's battery, which the charger's cable plugs into. Great setup - I know the car is always ready to go for a quick blast whenever the mood takes me.

I leave the hood up ... being in a dark garage there's no risk of UV damage to the plastic windows. I'm considering not putting the hard top on this winter, since it's now only used in good conditions anyway.

I've recently bought a lightweight dust cover ... this seems to work well.

 

[grober]

Carcoon

Theres always this device http://www.carcoon.co.uk/ if you really want to pamper your SL

 

[FishtailnZ]

I store my car every winter (Canada after all *L*) for several months and here's the procedure I've used on several cars over the years:

- Oil change before storing
- Top up gas tank and add fuel storage stabilizer
- Give the car a GOOD cleaning inside and out
- Pump tires up to their max sidewall rating (prevents flat spotting)
- Leave windows open about an inch to promote circulation and prevent mildew. Only do this of course if car is in secure storage with no possibility of vermin (both 2 legged and mult-legged) gaining access to the vechicle.
- Trickle charger is a good idea, although I've never used one myself. Mine is kept in heated storage so that helps protect the battery I guess.

Starting the car every couple weeks/month is not a good idea unless you can give it a run to properly bring the car up to temp and circulate all fluids, as well as giving the exhaust system a chance to dry out. If the car is going be unused for a couple months, better to just store it properly and let it sit.

 

[Nibbo]

Top up gas tank and add fuel storage stabilizer

Whats this then?

I usually drain the fuel from my motorcycle when I rest her for the winter to stop the fuel from 'separating' and clogging up the carbs.
Does this 'storage stabalizer' prevent unleaded from separating?

 

[stats007]

Theres always this device http://www.carcoon.co.uk/ if you really want to pamper your SL

I have one for sale too .

 

[FishtailnZ]

Whats this then?

I usually drain the fuel from my motorcycle when I rest her for the winter to stop the fuel from 'separating' and clogging up the carbs.
Does this 'storage stabalizer' prevent unleaded from separating?

Exactly. Here's the brand I use, not sure if it's available over your way, but I'm sure there's some version or other there. If you can't find it at an automotive shop, then a marine supply store should have it.

http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/sta-bil.htm

The idea of completely topping up the fuel is to prevent condensation from forming inside an otherwise empty tank and possible forming rust and/or contaminating what gas does remain.

 

[jaymanek]

has anyone tried the outdoor carcoon? i want to buy one but am worried about the durability in our harsh winters...

 

[greybowman]

- Leave windows open about an inch to promote circulation and prevent mildew. Only do this of course if car is in secure storage with no possibility of vermin (both 2 legged and mult-legged) gaining access to the vechicle.

I use a fitted 'stretch' cover from Covercraft - seems to fit well enough to stop all but the most persistent multi-legged intruders - so I will leave the windows slightly open under the cover which is breathable too.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I wonder if modern fuel is all that advanced?

My old MG was started for the first time in 17 years the other week, there was a little petrol in the tank and we'd lost the key for the fuel cap.

So the car is running on 17 year old 4* fuel!

I'd probably store a car with a small amount of fuel and top up with fresh before running to be safe.

 

[television]

Many UK garages were built without a damp course, if this is the case then ventilation is a must, if not, the car can crumble away, putting a cover on can make it worse

 

[Dieselman]

Many UK garages were built without a damp coarse,

Really..??

 

[television]

Really..??

Are you being funny over the spelling or the content of the post

 

[Dieselman]

I am surprised about the statement of there being no DPC?
Garages come under Building Regs so should have DPC to gain sign off, and I can't ever recall seeing one without.

 

[Nibbo]

Thanks for the info FishtailnZ, did not know such a thing existed.

Sta-Bil does not appear to be available over here but I did find something similar on e-bay if anyone is interested.

 

[television]

I am surprised about the statement of there being no DPC?
Garages come under Building Regs so should have DPC to gain sign off, and I can't ever recall seeing one without.

Strange post, we do not all live in houses where the garages were built under any building regs, (yes I do have the complete set 1997) My house was built in 1965 with the garage built into the house, yes I do have a damp course of pitch that is not very effective, though I have a new one over the top, the damp expels itself around the lower edges, as can be seen in the picture, and yes it is above DPC level. There were no regs for houses with garages built before the war and many free standing garages are around today that were just built on a slab with nothing.
A simple Ω meter with the probes at 25mm spacing is a good way of finding out if you do have a damp course. Polyurethane only came about in the 60s