Leaving vehicle outside for months

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1BadManVan

1BadManVan

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B.C Canada
So bit of a unique situation. My father in law passed away last year and we currently have his truck sitting outside at our house for the past year, waiting for probate to finish before we can sell it off.

I'm just wondering if there will be any harm to the oil sitting outside for long periods of time untouched like this. We live in a very wet and humid province. I changed the oil in June and put in Pennzoil plattinum, it's got a trickle charger connected to the battery and we do try to start it up every few weeks and throw a permit on it to take it out for drives.

Also throw in a moisture pack to make sure it doesn't get too much moisture build up sitting out there.

It's a 2013 F-150 with only 8,000 KM on it.
 
Overinflate the tires for flat spots, stuff a rag in the intake to keep mice out, and let 'er sit.

The funny thing about your situation is that someone will see the 8000 km and buy it on the spot, then get to deal with mouse-shredded cabin filters etc. So don't overextend yourself.

You'll probably get rusty brakes from the humidity. I guess removing the rag and driving around your property would help those at the expense of moisture-ladening your exhaust.

You don't want the akward situation of wrecking it on the road, and having liability towards others who could get a slice of the probate. Tough spot.

The oil of all things will be fine and the least of your worries.
 
Much more worried about brake slides and cables rusting. And rodent damage to electrical wires and interior
 
what do you think happens to the cars at the dealership?

just charge batt once a month if you can and keep the gas full. inflate tires to 40 psi
 
feed the mice....

mice bait, before they get in it, they will crawl in every nook and cranny they can, i live out in the country where it's bad, so if you live in a way out place, that would be something to work on.
 
Our Acura MDX sat outside for as many as 6 months at a time when my folks owned it. At the long term storage lot at Davis-Monthan (so, completely untouched). The rest of the time, it was being towed behind their motorhome. It lead a fairly unconventional life for its first 58,000 miles...

I'm as OCD as anyone else about storing a car, but I can say from experience that you can likely do nothing to it and it'll be just fine. That's what my parents did to it: nothing. They just brought my brother's car with them, jumped it, and drove it for an hour to charge the battery back up.

Not ideal. But it also didn't seem to hurt a thing.
 
my Brother's Dakota sits regularly, 6 mo to a year at a time out in the elements under a tree in the DFW elements.

it used to get no special treatment, he might change the oil every couple of years...(last one was in Oct.2013)but basically pulls in the driveway, parks it, and it sits until the next time.

a couple summers back the tree he parks it under got struck by lightning, and something electronic got cooked.

it runs and drives normally, the only issue is with the gear selector display(PRNDL). all of them are lit at the same time. looks like you are in all the gears at once. also there's a constant draw from somewhere that will drain the battery within a day or 2.

so, after replacing 2 batteries within a year, now he just leaves the battery disconnected most of the time. if he knows he's going to drive it this week, he'll put the trickle charger on it. but leaves the battery disconnected from the truck until he's ready to start it.
 
All my cars sit outside. I don't own a "garage" so there you go. Been that way for a L-o-n-g time.

Mice ARE the bigger problem. Bait,traps, whatever...

The oil won't go bad before someone buys it ...
 
Hopefully your not leaving a real trickle charger up to it for long periods of time. Maybe its really a float charger or maintainer?

If you start it, you should get the engine and exhaust hot to burn off moisture. I would not just start it.

It would be best to use up the gas in say 2 months. E0 if possible. High humidity, E10 and letting it sit for months are not a good mix.

Mice. Get a cat.
 
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It's a charging unit that actually stays on the truck, it's attached to the battery and you just plug it into an extension cord, I don't keep it on 24/7

Just throw it on once a month for an overnight and it shows charge % on the indicator under the hood

I always take a good look around the truck and under the hood and never seen any sign of mice or other rodents

I put a permit on it for a few days usually every month or 2 and use it for some chores around the house.!It had a nice long road trip on it this summer right after the oil change. Ran flawless

I took it for a drive around the neighbourhood and let it run for a good 20 minutes after to get it warmed up decently.

It's a nice truck, but got a family of 3 and it's just an extended cab model, not enough room and don't really need a truck. Rather sell it and pay our van off and buy an older 4Runner for a beater 4x4 to take camping and run back and forth to work.
 
Nothing to worry about. Especially since you're selling the truck anyways. Who cares if something is remotely bad for it?
 
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
I can't believe no one has mentioned using Sta-Bil in the gasoline.

If you are not going to be using the gas for months Sta-Bil is a good idea.


I thought about stabil, but he's running it every 2 months.
might not hurt to throw some in there in case something happened and you were not able to start it again for a while. Just as a little added insurance.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Nothing to worry about. Especially since you're selling the truck anyways. Who cares if something is remotely bad for it?


Still like to sell someone a truck that doesn't have issues from sitting. Hoping to fetch a good price for it with low miles, so someone buying it and paying the extra for the low mileage should expect it to run as good as a truck with 8k on it.

I was going to run a bottle of regain fuel system cleaner through it on the next fill up to make sure it's all good and clean through the fuel system.
 
The oil will be fine. I would worry about rodents, the battery and the brake rotors rusting up.
 
Originally Posted By: John_Conrad
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
I can't believe no one has mentioned using Sta-Bil in the gasoline.

If you are not going to be using the gas for months Sta-Bil is a good idea.


I thought about stabil, but he's running it every 2 months.
might not hurt to throw some in there in case something happened and you were not able to start it again for a while. Just as a little added insurance.


Yes, some fuel stabilizer will be important over time; letting it sit with a trickle charger is fine.
 
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