Stored car

[hocky]

I am in a situation where I drive a company car everyday and have 2 C180s of my own. One is a 1994 which I do drive some weekends while I also have a 1997 which stays in the garage more often unused. The 1997 is in a lot better condition inside as well as outside and mileage is about the same 200,000ish kms. What I want to know is whether this storing and unuse will damage the car in any way. When I drove out the 1997 last weekend, it sounded like the gearbox was rusted up or dry and there was a short whining high pitch sound coming from under the car. Could this be the auto, the wheel bearings, the brakes(they were not on) or the drivetrain? What can I do to prevent further damage if I have already caused some besides driving the car more often? Will leaving a car standing for long periods like weeks cause any serious damage to it? If so what damage besides a flat battery and rusted up brake rotors? What is the "minimum" road time or interval required to keep the car healthy? Once a week?

 

[stwat]

When you say the brakes, "were not on" do you meen you didnt leave the handbrake on whilst in storage? If not and you do leave the handbrake/parking brake on whilst stood for a long time, the shoes can stick. This might have been the noise you heard.

Stu

 

[Brian WH]

You would only need to drive it about 20 miles per week to help the battery recover a nd to keep the moving parts in good condition. Working the brakes a few times during the run will help stop rusting up.

The whining noise could be the han/footbrake sticking on after being left on, as previosly suggested. Did it go away after a while or is it always there????

 

[hocky]

C 180 problems(previous model)

Hi Brian and Stewart, thanks for your thoughts. Maybe it was the parking brakes as the sound went away after some time. This was like 1 kilometer. However, the sound felt like they were connected to the gear in which the car was in as it changed from 1 to 5. Felt to me like a dry gearbox , but it is not supposed to leak or be changed for life? Maybe the oil is there, but the gears were dried up due to having been stationary for a week or more. Can this be a real danger to the box's longevity? How do I check the gearbox oil without destroying seals or filters? My next problem is in the 1994 C 180 which has a very long pedal travel which makes it very uncomfortable to drive for short or long distances. This car has no cruise control. How can I shorten the pedal travel and make it work further up so it will act sooner rather than when my foot is halfway down the arc? My 1997 C 180 has the short pedal travel feature and offers a more comfortable and less stressed style of driving.

 

[Shude]

How can I shorten the pedal travel and make it work further up so it will act sooner rather than when my foot is halfway down the arc?

It sounds like a cable has slipped or stretched or something

 

[glojo]

Short runs will also cause problems by creating condensation in the exhaust system. This condensation will create all types of corrosion that will quickly ruin exhaust systems etc.

If the standing goes into months instead of just weeks, I would consider what damage you might be causing the tyres?

You can also buy battery chargers that ae designed to keep the car battery in tip top condition.

Good luck,
John

 

[Brian WH]

However, the sound felt like they were connected to the gear in which the car was in as it changed from 1 to 5. Felt to me like a dry gearbox , but it is not supposed to leak or be changed for life? Maybe the oil is there, but the gears were dried up due to having been stationary for a week or more. Can this be a real danger to the box's longevity? How do I check the gearbox oil without destroying seals or filters?

After a few weeks the gearbox will be fine and I do not think it is that. Have you tried it again since and what was the result, still noisy or not? I still think it was the brakes which should be free now if you left them off.

 

[hocky]

Thanks buddies for all your inputs. Great help. I will try to drive the car a bit more on weekends so I can keep it in a more healthy condition also preventing a dead battery and keeping the tyres round. Sometimes after a long stretch of time in storage, the poor tyres tend to develop a "flat" on the round edge and this makes a rather rough ride for a few kilos until they heat up and round up again. Anyone had this before? My 1997 C180 has this hard start problem which astounds me. It will hiccup immediately after starting and recovers or dies unless I place my foot on the accelerator. Thereafter it works ok. This happens on all cold starts especially in the morning. After this the car works ok and restarts ok. Is this a symptom of fuel supply restriction, engine suffocation or electrical bugs? I suspect a fuel filter or fuel pump problem. But why the cold start problem only? My indie wants to run a computer check by connecting the Benz analyser for the sensors to analyse the probable causes. I am afraid he will discover more yukkies in there!!! So what have you fellas got to say about this problem???

 

[glojo]

Hi Hocky,
I'm more concerned about your tyres, but this might well be down to my misunderstanding what you are saying.

If the tyres are not supple and take a few kilometres to take on there proper shape then get rid of them.

Tyres have to be perfect and those few kilometres you describe are saying the tyres are 'shot' Unfortunately it doesn't matter how much tread they have they are in my opinion 'defective'

Hopefully I am misunderstanding your comments, BUT.......

Take care,
John

 

[stwat]

Id change the tyres asap if i were you Hocky. Flat spots are not good mate. It sounds like the sidewalls have been damaged which could lead to a blow out

Stu

 

[hocky]

tyre flat spots

Hi buddies, I will look at my tyres again and ascertain whether they are shot. However they look very new like 80% and are Michelins 205 on CLK 16inch alloys. The alloys are also almost new looking, no damage except for very little kerb rash around the very edge near the tyre's rubber. :bannana:

 

[hocky]

I still haven't got any response regarding my engine's starting hiccups.