Car Outside During Winter...Problems?

[lancerplayer]

I'm in college and have to park my truck outside at all times. During the winter I will not be using my truck daily. I do not want any of the fluids freezing up or anything when not in use, so how often should I start it up to make sure nothing happens to anything? Everyday? Once a week?

I have conventional oil in the engine and differential. Synthetic is in the transmission.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Steve S]

A new or a battery in good shape and clean cable connections and proper viscosity oils for the temps, fresh antifreeze at the recommended ratio will do the trick if the rest of the maintenance and upkeep has been done. I have been to Ohio and IMO winters are brisk!!!

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I would give it a good drive once a week. Starting it Daily and not going for a good highway drive will cause MORE wear. Make sure your coolant and WW fluid is up to snuff.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
I would give it a good drive once a week. Starting it Daily and not going for a good highway drive will cause MORE wear. Make sure your coolant and WW fluid is up to snuff.
+1

 

[JohnBrowning]

Make sure the battery is in good shape and try to drive it at least once a week to keep the battery charged. Make sure you have something like 5WXX oil in it. I prefer synthetic for cold starting in the winter but currently I am running 5w30 conventional myself. You could add a half quart of Marvels Mystery Oil to thin out the oil a tad making crank a bit better.

When I was in college me and my roomate had the only two vechiles the day before thanksgiving that would start. Both of use took excellent car of our vehicles I had synthetic he had dino. We both had heavy duty batteries and alternators in our trucks. I think the real thing though that helped us was that we both had Flight Lessons daily at the airport so we had to drive our vehicles daily. Most of the people on Campus in the Dorms would let their car's sit for a month or more at a time. This was especially true of the girls they almost always hitched a rid with what ever guys they hung out with. My roommate and I spent a solid 5-6 hours jump starting all the vehicles on campus!

Modern vehicles dray juice constantly even when they are not running. So at the very least consider a solar charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter and trickle charges the battery. Get the largest one that will fit across your dash and I would use Velcro to attach tot he dash that way you can remove it to free up the air vents when you drive it but can mount it securely to the dash when parked!

 

[tomcat27]

like they said. dont start it daily. you really dont need to do it weekly. every two weeks is cool - just dont make the mistake of simply letting it idle for 10 mins. get it out and drive it for 10 miles.

 

[jesbo]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
like they said. dont start it daily. you really dont need to do it weekly. every two weeks is cool - just dont make the mistake of simply letting it idle for 10 mins. get it out and drive it for 10 miles.


+1... In cold weather, the worst thing you can do is start it up and idle it or not drive it till the engine is good and hot. If the engine doesn't come to full operating temp, water vapor in the crankcase will condense into water when you shut it off... and that leads to acid formation in the oil and sludge. Bad ju ju. Take it out on the highway and run it for 15-20 minutes. This will kepp the engine and battery in good shape.

 

[Herz]

lol i leave my car outside all year, hot summers, cold winters.

your car will be fine not everyone on the planet has garages.

Keep a close eye on your battery and maintain your car well and you will be A-OK!

 

[wander2039]

With proper maintenance doesn't matter! My sister has a 02 Focus she started driving in second year to the end of college as still has it. Starting out she had Castrol 5w20 (6 month oci's) in it for the first year after I ran Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 for yearly oci's, sometimes less but not much. Her drive to class was only a couple miles she did this a few times a day in Kansas weather. Has over 80k on it now and only problem is a extremely rusty exhaust but doesn't leak yet (hasn't fell off yet at least). It's now regulated to my dad driving between Nevada and St. Louis.

 

[Bigsyke]

Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
With proper maintenance doesn't matter! My sister has a 02 Focus she started driving in second year to the end of college as still has it. Starting out she had Castrol 5w20 (6 month oci's) in it for the first year after I ran Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 for yearly oci's, sometimes less but not much. Her drive to class was only a couple miles she did this a few times a day in Kansas weather. Has over 80k on it now and only problem is a extremely rusty exhaust but doesn't leak yet (hasn't fell off yet at least). It's now regulated to my dad driving between Nevada and St. Louis.


Good info, but how would you really know if there wasnt any issues if you didnt tear down the engine and inspect the aluminum, cams, bearings and crank for scarring/wear. The more condensation in your crankcase the more water you have in your oil, and the harder is more unlikely you will mystify the water to be burned.

 

[SevenBizzos]

I think it's a lot of what others were saying. Make sure the fluids are in good shape, the battery is still in good condition, and you drive it once in awhile.

 

[wander2039]

Originally Posted By: Bigsyke
Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
With proper maintenance doesn't matter! My sister has a 02 Focus she started driving in second year to the end of college as still has it. Starting out she had Castrol 5w20 (6 month oci's) in it for the first year after I ran Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 for yearly oci's, sometimes less but not much. Her drive to class was only a couple miles she did this a few times a day in Kansas weather. Has over 80k on it now and only problem is a extremely rusty exhaust but doesn't leak yet (hasn't fell off yet at least). It's now regulated to my dad driving between Nevada and St. Louis.


Good info, but how would you really know if there wasnt any issues if you didnt tear down the engine and inspect the aluminum, cams, bearings and crank for scarring/wear. The more condensation in your crankcase the more water you have in your oil, and the harder is more unlikely you will mystify the water to be burned.


You could say the same about every car on the road.. could you not? There's no knocking, no consumption and fuel consumption is on par. The 2.0L in the Focus is as robust as the 2.5L in his Ranger.

 

[xtell]

As others have posted, fresh oil and filter, top off the fluids, and get a good coat of wax on it. I've lived in Cleveland my whole life and dino motor, trans and differential oil has served me well over the years in my trucks and cars. Start it up every couple of weeks and take a drive on Highway 77, 71, 271, or 90 to get all the fluids warmed up, battery charged and the seals lubricated. Go Browns! - well maybe next year....

 

[JackFish]

I would just remove the battery and let it sit.
Fog the cylinders and put some Stabil in the fuel.
That's what we do with our boat motors and they're frozen all winter.

 

[demarpaint]

I did exactly what you're doing for many years with one of my vehicles. As long as the battery is good, oil is fresh, anti-freeze is up to par you can let the car sit for 2 weeks at a time w/o worry. Mine sat longer that than and I never had any problems. But as a rule of thumb I tried to drive this particular vehicle for about 30 minutes every 2 weeks. Starting the car and letting it idle is not a good idea, it really needs to be driven.

During the winter months for your situation I would suggest a 0W-xx oil for better cold start ups. A pint of MMO added to the oil is also a good idea. While you're at it I would add some MMO to the gas, the extra benefit of the top oil helps when cars aren't used frequently.

 

[wapacz]

Try to find a place in the engine bay to hang some moth ball in a net or maybe a sock. I've had problems with squirrels deciding to make a home in a car that doesn't get used much. Other than that I wouldn't worry about anything. I went to mich tech which is pretty much as far north in Michigan as you can go. My truck sat outside through the winter up there and never had a problem with it. I did replace the battery though as the one in it was 6 years old.

 

[sir1900]

There is nothing to be of concern this winter.

I have left my Honda in bitterly cold winters in excess of 2 weeks at a time and have not had any problems EVER.

The key is to ensure your vehicle is well maintained and remember to PLUG YOUR CAR IN . Last winter reached a low of -40 on a few occasions. Even with the car plugged in, it started without any problems whatsoever.

 

[mechtech2]

Once your car is cold, it is cold.
A few days more won't change anything.
Like mentioned several times above, have the correct oil and coolant in there.
Batteries lose a lot of power in the cold, but incidental draining by the computer and clock is insignificant. I wouldn't worry about it for a month or more.

 

[HyperJinx]

Try not to limit your driving to just quick short trips. Make sure that your coolant mix is proper for your climate. Check your battery and charging system prior to really cold weather and have a good time at college.