Less than 200 Miles a year, Change Oil every 6 months?

[50yr Street Mech]

Thank you for that information. I'll go with the Moth Balls in the open zip lock bag. I'll throw a bunch of them in the engine compartment. Their current wood chip " home" is roughly 45' from where the car will be stored. One shed is smack in the middle of the wood chips, and they left. Haven't seen one in that shed for years. Nothing inside but push mowers and a few storage bins. They used to get up inside the push mowers,,,but no more. I'll throw moth balls in the shed as a precaution also. Thanks so much

 

[TomYoung]

Does for me in my low use vehicles. Diesel longer for sure.


Not really.

Not really. Rotors can rust over if they get wet. Things degrade from the sunshine in certain climates. But vehicles will stay nicer longer if used and kept out of sun and rain. As someone who has ten cars that get sporadic or very low use, I can unequivocally say that it isn’t as big a deal as folks make out. Sure, it’s essential to get to full operating temperature, and you don’t want fuel to sit too long, but it’s actually a recipe for keeping things nicer and newer longer. So long as you don’t let it bake in the sun.

The 1.5-3 mile drive is concerning, but I know from experience that a good syn oil can allow for full non-severe OCI if the vehicle is run to full thermal soak every so often.

OP, you’ll need to do a UOA to validate if you have fuel or moisture issues. If not, you’ll be more likely to go long durations in the OCI, but I’d still want to change the filter every other year.

The humidity in the air is easily enough to allow rotors to rust.

 

[JHZR2]

The humidity in the air is easily enough to allow rotors to rust.

Ok, but as someone that has vehicles that sit long times, it doesn’t much matter at all.

The Rain soaked orange rust on rotors is more unsightly and more likely to cause some initial noise if built up too much.

 

[maraakate]

Not really. Rotors can rust over if they get wet. Things degrade from the sunshine in certain climates. But vehicles will stay nicer longer if used and kept out of sun and rain. As someone who has ten cars that get sporadic or very low use, I can unequivocally say that it isn’t as big a deal as folks make out. Sure, it’s essential to get to full operating temperature, and you don’t want fuel to sit too long, but it’s actually a recipe for keeping things nicer and newer longer. So long as you don’t let it bake in the sun.

Brake fluid is a huge one. If it's DOT3/Glycol then there is the very real possibility a sticky or leaking caliper. If the car is old enough to not have ABS then OP should seriously consider DOT5/Silicone. When done with a vacuum bleeder lever functionality is the same and you can just do a straight flush. Old car guys do it all the time and I do it all the time on vintage bikes.