winter storage

[Cody2399]

Hey all I just recently moved to oregon, and boy is the weather here a whole lot different than cali.

Because of this I'm gonna have to park my camaro because I have no driving experience in the snow ice etc.
My question is how do I keep like mice and other little critters out of my car. Our new house has a big shed but no garage so I'm parked in a closed space with let's say the "garage door" being open. Since there is no door.

[PalmerGA]

Well, at least it's covered. Don't know how much snow you'll get in OR, but make sure your "shed" roof is sturdy enough to carry the extra load.

I commend you for your smart and responsible acknowledgement that you are not experienced in driving in snow - hence, parking it for the winter. Maybe you'll gain enough experience this winter to feel comfortable driving it next year.

[402]

I have heard moth balls, dryer sheet?, maybe some posion around the shed.
Keeping the area clean seems to help, less areas to nest around your car.

Buddy would litter the floor underneath his car with moth balls said it helped.

[Indydriver]

Steel wool in exhaust pipes/wheel chocks (don't leave parking brake on)/CTEK MUS 4.3 battery maintainer.

['11 cyber grey vert]

to add to the above

do an oil change before storage, stab-il in the gas tank and a nice car cover

[lsaterz28]

Also use a good battery tender for battery health. would not hurt to start 1 time per month as you have open door.

[Evergreen6]

What part of Oregon?

[Warpaint69]

Originally Posted by lsaterz28

Also use a good battery tender for battery health. would not hurt to start 1 time per month as you have open door.

If its on a battery tender I wouldn't start it. If you don't let the car warm up properly you stand the chance of having condensation issues and then milky oil.

[Zabo]

Originally Posted by '11 cyber grey vert

to add to the above

do an oil change before storage, stab-il in the gas tank and a nice car cover

Eh, stab-il never really helped me. Unheated garage but the tank is fresh when I park it and I burn it off with some injector cleaner in tank #2.

I leave the old oil in, but park it at 3K miles to keep it lubricated and then change to new oil when I pull it out. It's not going to sit more than 2-3 months. New oil left to sit will just break down and be a waste, having used 3 months of it's shelf life sitting idle in the pan. As for a tender, use the GM recommended inline charger.

[Rock-It Man]

Originally Posted by lsaterz28

Also use a good battery tender for battery health. would not hurt to start 1 time per month as you have open door.

No, no, no. There is absolutely NO reason to start the car during storage. All that does is form condensation in the exhaust and crankcase.

Change the oil, put Sta-Bil in the gas, top off the gas and drive a few miles, hook up the battery tender, put rodent poison all around the garage, and wait for Spring.

If you see activity at the bait, replenish with more poison. In my experience, the mice go for the exterminator's poison before the store bought stuff, so I always call the exterminator.

Before I started baiting, I had mice in the engine bay, the air filter, and the cabin air filter, but never in the exhaust. Mice ate through the injector wire harness on my truck once, too. It was parked outside. However, since I have been baiting inside the garage for the sake of the Camaro, it has solved all mouse problems on the property.

[charlietuna]

There is a fantastic sticky at the top of this forum that details this process accurately.

[Indydriver]

Very nice unit. Detailed owners manual plus several videos on the website. Testing it first on my Tahoe which has been sitting in freezing weather for five days without a start. Hook up is very straightforward (I use the engine block terminal for negative). No spark when plugged in, just as advertised. I run the "cold" program since the cutoff is 41F and it is 35.

Immediately jumps to stage 3, "bulk" charge. Re-check in three hours, it has advanced to stage 4, "absorption" where it slows the charge between 80-100%. 5.5 hours and it's at "float", it's done.

This thing is great. Very glad I spent a few bucks more rather than getting the cheap trickle charger. Save via Amazon if you are interested.

[sixtyseven]

My situation is similar to yours. My garages don't have front doors.

I rolled up clean rags with some mothballs in them and stuffed the exhaust tips. Moth balls on paper plates in trunk, front and back floors and under hood. Also threw plenty under and around the vehicle. Some dryer sheets too but I don't care for the smell of them

I put a small container of closet dehumidifier inside vehicle. Covered it and hooked up to a battery tender JR. Increased tire pressure to 45psi cold and parked on thick cardboard under each tire. Stabil added to a full tank of fuel. Oh yea I changed the oil and detailed the car just prior to storage.

Edit to add- locks on wheels and a lock on steering wheel also. Parked in a manner behind a small side wall that it wouldn't be easy for a thief to pull out and place on a flat bed. Called ins co and changed any un-necessary coverage while withdrawn from use.

Waiting for spring and thinking about future mods.