Oil changes on cars in storage or driven rarely

[Skylarking]

Me, I’d be more concerned about just doing monthly starts and idling the engine… such isn’t great for gearbox, diff and other components. Even short drives aren't great for engines as it’s much better to get it out on a long drive where everything can move, heat up to operating temp and in the case of oils, boil away any moisture within.

But as already mentioned, if you’re concerned get an oil analysis and if it only shows a bit of water buildup, and you’re Scottish, you could always dump the oil into a pot and heat it to just over 100C for a while which will boil the water out… then drop it back in the engine… but it’s much more fun to go on an hour long drive every few months on a sunny Sunday

PS: never boiled oil…. just a bit of joke

 

[Redline457]

I take out my storage car every couple of months for a good run, get all the fluids up to operating temp, work the brakes and AC , I change the engine oil and filter at 12 month intervals.

 

[panhead]

PS: never boiled oil…. just a bit of joke

Bugger, again I only half read your post and now my kitchen stinks.







.

 

[Darcon666]

Simple insurance, change it every 12 months and start it is better than nothing at all... trust me, I had my HJ GTS in long term storage(>8years) and when I checked the oil it said all good, a bit over... thankfully I rang my engine guy and he said "water" can get into the oil simply from condensation.

So dumped the oil and seen about 500ml of water come out as well.... it would have ruined the engine if I started it.
(NOTE: 8 years it sat around, not 12 months)

 

[Anthony121]

PS: never boiled oil…. just a bit of joke

Shot I thought you were serious

 

[Ginger Beer]

6 monthly oil changes on a car in storage sounds like a huge waste of time and money. What are you hoping to remove by dumping the 6 month old fresh oil?


A half hour drive to warm up and circulate the oil and all other fluids is likely to give you much more benefit. I'd think condensation on internals leading to rust is the biggest worry with stored vehicles, and the best way to prevent that is by running the engine and driving the vehicle.

Why. Oil is cheap, as for time, oil and filter change takes less than half an hour, I put fresh oil in to dump any contaminants prior to storage, this gives the engine a fresh coat of good oil to coat the innards of the engine, I swap my oils every 6 months anyway, or 5k km, whichever comes first, sometimes sooner if I've hit the track or strip. After an extended time away I concider servicing my vehicles fun and cheap therapy, as for why change the fresh oil that has just sat in the sump, it's to remove and contaminants/condensation that made their way into the oil over the time I was away, and, just because I want to.

Why. When I store my vehicles they don't move because I'm not there to move them, they are usually parked up in a warehouse or shed at work.

I've done this about 10 times over the last 20 odd years to my cars and bikes without issue

My service schedule

Engine oil and filters 6 months or 5k km or as stated above, both for cars and bikes

Diff, trans, brake fluid, coolant is yearly, more if there was track days or strip

As for my Harley, it gets a 3 hole service (engine, trans, primary) every 5k km or 6 months

Been doing this for years, both for therapy and for preventative maintenance

Is it overboard? I guess it depends on how you use your vehicles, who you ask, and if you enjoy tinkering

For me, playing with my vehicles is far from a waste of time or money

Hell, we spend more money a year on my Mrs and daughters getting their fingernails done than I do servicing the family fleet of 5 cars and 2 motorcycles

 

[panhead]

Is it overboard? I guess it depends on how you use your vehicles, who you ask, and if you enjoy tinkering

For me, playing with my vehicles is far from a waste of time or money

Nothing is ever overboard when it comes to cars, we all have our thoughts and peculiarities on how to go about things.

I don't change the oil in my stored cars as often as you but I do get why you do it.

I do change the oil in my regularly driven cars at 5K or in most cases less but that's because even my daily is lucky to cover 2K a year.






.

 

[greenacc]

Why. Oil is cheap, as for time, oil and filter change takes less than half an hour, I put fresh oil in to dump any contaminants prior to storage, this gives the engine a fresh coat of good oil to coat the innards of the engine, I swap my oils every 6 months anyway, or 5k km, whichever comes first, sometimes sooner if I've hit the track or strip. After an extended time away I concider servicing my vehicles fun and cheap therapy, as for why change the fresh oil that has just sat in the sump, it's to remove and contaminants/condensation that made their way into the oil over the time I was away, and, just because I want to.

Why. When I store my vehicles they don't move because I'm not there to move them, they are usually parked up in a warehouse or shed at work.

I've done this about 10 times over the last 20 odd years to my cars and bikes without issue

My service schedule

Engine oil and filters 6 months or 5k km or as stated above, both for cars and bikes

Diff, trans, brake fluid, coolant is yearly, more if there was track days or strip

As for my Harley, it gets a 3 hole service (engine, trans, primary) every 5k km or 6 months

Been doing this for years, both for therapy and for preventative maintenance

Is it overboard? I guess it depends on how you use your vehicles, who you ask, and if you enjoy tinkering

For me, playing with my vehicles is far from a waste of time or money

Hell, we spend more money a year on my Mrs and daughters getting their fingernails done than I do servicing the family fleet of 5 cars and 2 motorcycles

Because you won't achieve anything by doing it at six months, well not unless you live in a rainforest. Even if it only cost 10 bucks, I'd spend it on a burger and fries instead!

 

[Ginger Beer]

Because you won't achieve anything by doing it at six months, well not unless you live in a rainforest. Even if it only cost 10 bucks, I'd spend it on a burger and fries instead!

Meh, I still get my burger and "chips" when I want

 

[greenacc]

Meh, I still get my burger and "chips" when I want

Got me there, I should have said chips!