LongTerm Storage

Nenw

Nenw

Well-Known Member
So things just went up in the air and I was thrown a curve ball. I'm peacing out for a bit and heading overseas for work. Fortunately, it's a Delica haven, but also the belly of the beast right now, Taiwan. I'm going to be putting the van in storage. I have some water leaks that I won't have sorted in time, so into lockdown it goes.

I've been looking at things to do but really only have a few questions.
  1. Fuel Stabilizers - any recommendations?
  2. Getting the van off its wheels to prevent flat spots. What if I overinflate the tires to like 40psi?
  3. Pulling the glow plugs and lubing the cylinder with oil...Really?
I'm not sure how long I will be gone 6-12 months its looking like. The van will be @ an indoor storage facility nowhere close by for a friend to check in and start it up. I'm thinking too tight with all of my household items, to jack it up and get it off the wheels. But as I type that I can just grab a bottle or scissor jack.

On the short list.
  • Clean inside and out
  • Pull the negative terminal from the battery
  • Fresh oil change
  • Top off the fuel
  • Fuel stabilizer
  • Steel wool in the exhaust pipe
  • Some sort of rodent deterrent
  • A desiccant inside the van (its going to be in a dry part of cali, so not too worried.)
Anything else?
 
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If you fill with fresh diesel it should stay good for at least 6 months... more like a year. Stabil does make a diesel formula stabilizer which wouldn't hurt, but I'm pretty sure it's entirely unnecessary.

Over-inflation will not prevent flat spots; it can actually make them worse. The normal storage flat spot is not damaging to modern tires; it goes away with a bit of driving with no residual problem/degradation. I would suggest against overloading the van as a storage locker for long term storage... but even that isn't likely to cause damage (high loads and high pressure combined with high heat can cause semi-permanent flat spots).

I wouldn't bother fogging the cylinders for indoor storage. I wouldn't fog an engine unless it was going into semi-permanent storage or long term storage with minimal protection (water/humidity exposure).
 
Okay so store things under the van not in the van. I was actually going to use the van as a storage point just bc i know its all going to be a tight squeeze in the unit.

Noted on fogging the engine.

If i have fresh synthetic oil in there, how long do you think that is good for without any or perhaps very little use? If i return home in 6months for a trade show then head back out overseas, will it be okay to drive on that oil without causing any damage?
 
Fresh oil and fresh fuel with a friend that will maintain batteries is ideal. I have left vehicles in storage like this many times. Have friend start and pull outside storage unit and let engine run for twenty minutes every month if possible.
 
It should be fine to drive on that oil... the shelf life of synthetic oil is something like 10 years, and 2 (semi syn) to 5 years (full syn) for open bottles.

Now, an engine isn't as sealed as an open bottle with the cap on tight, and that's the primary reason they suggest changing it every year. But IMHO, they're really just trying to get you to use more oil... I haven't seen a single vehicle with oil monitoring that tells you to change the oil based on age/date.

The main issue with old oil and low use is actually the low use... it can cause it to build up condensation and not burn it off, and that moisture is a problem for storage. IMO that's more of an issue with a tight gasoline engine, not something that leaks/burns oil (blow-by, diesel).

Blackstone Labs tested a bunch of old oils (some as old as 70yrs in rusty/open cans) back in 2012; the short of it was they were all still perfectly usable... this is from the opening paragraphs to the series:

"Once you open a can of oil, it’s almost impossible to seal up properly. Would there be anything to even see in these samples? And, does oil go bad? We get this last question all the time, and my answer has always been no, but I was dealing with oils from the (with help from Cliff Clevenger) 1930s,1940s, and 1950s here--really old stuff. Maybe all the additive in there (if any was even used) would settle out and there wouldn’t be anything for us to read. Fortunately, I had bought some oil that would help answer that."

And this was the concluding paragraph:

"So that’s the end of our series. A lot of thought goes into making oil, and that’s been the case for many decades now. We’ve poked some fun at the way oil companies sell their products, but heck, they’ve got to say something. We stand by our statement that “oil is oil” and in the end, it doesn’t make a lot of difference what you decide to use. Through all the years and all the permutations and configurations of oil and oil additives, the crude (and now, synthetic) stuff has kept cars running since Henry Ford did his thing more than 100 years ago. Buy what suits your vehicle and your wallet -- not what anyone else says you should use!"
 
@Nenw about to be in the same position as you, moving overseas for a year or two. How did this go for you? Anything beyond the discussion above you wish you had done?
 
At first I didn’t disconnect the battery and went 6 months without a startup. It was 95% drained and needed a jump. The space was just so tight that i couldn’t even open a door. I actually had to slide over to the back and slink out the sliding door. With the jump it started up and purred no problem taking the above precautions.

Second time around I disconnected the battery. A friend got in there and it started after about another 6mo of sitting. The battery was fine.

Otherwise, i would keep a jumper box close at hand, just in case. First time i had to find it in storage when i needed it. Usually it lives in the van.

I made sure to put the van away clean inside and out.

And i got lot of qtips and soaked them in some essential oil, i think peppermnint, and placed them around the van. I read that rodents steer clear of them bc of the smell.

Thats all. Probably wont get back to the van until June which will have been a full year since being parked and with only one startup.
 
To add to above, if you are in a wet climate it is not a bad idea to put a container or two of desiccant in the van to prevent mold.
 
Nenw said:
At first I didn’t disconnect the battery and went 6 months without a startup. It was 95% drained and needed a jump. The space was just so tight that i couldn’t even open a door. I actually had to slide over to the back and slink out the sliding door. With the jump it started up and purred no problem taking the above precautions.

Second time around I disconnected the battery. A friend got in there and it started after about another 6mo of sitting. The battery was fine.

Otherwise, i would keep a jumper box close at hand, just in case. First time i had to find it in storage when i needed it. Usually it lives in the van.

I made sure to put the van away clean inside and out.

And i got lot of qtips and soaked them in some essential oil, i think peppermnint, and placed them around the van. I read that rodents steer clear of them bc of the smell.

Thats all. Probably wont get back to the van until June which will have been a full year since being parked and with only one startup.
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Whoops I thought the you the q-tips for me. really little bit of stinging when I was cleaning out the ears, but oddly refreshing. More than happy to go start it up and do some auto-x around the storage place with it to keep it fresh. Still wondering if the bullbar/bumper I picked up form another member is going to fit under your van? BTW- I do have some packets of desiccant I can drop off inside the van next time I am down that way but inside was dry.
 
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