Oil for winter storage

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It's about time to put my Mazda MX5 away for the winter. It will not be started for 5 months or so and will live in a pretty cold location.

I think I have the winterization routine down, but have one unresolved issue: I plan to change the oil and filter immediately before storage. To keep the warranty intact, I will have to change it again shortly after I wake it up next spring (6 month change interval). Mobil 1 5w/20 is its usual diet. So the question is, is it better to store it with a full synthetic (faster flow when started in spring, maybe) or conventional oil (does this "cling" to surfaces better)?

It would of course be cheaper to store it with something like Mobil Clean 5000 in the crankcase. I expect the answer is it doesn't matter which oil I choose, but does anyone think one answer is better than the other?

Thanks.
 
(1) keep the vehicle indoor in a relatively dry place.

(2) dope your gas tank with marine sta-bil.

(3) if time/resource permits, get a can of cylinder fogging oil and fog each cylinder with that. turn the crankshaft over to make sure that the oil gets spread evenly on the cylinder wall.

(4) put a trickle charger onto your battery. Better yet: disconnect it from the car before you put a charger on.

That's it!
 
Oil choice won't matter. If synthetic makes you feel better, go on wit yo bad self. I'd use a cheap fram filter and the cheapest 5w-20 I could find if I were gonna store it.

Everything Quest recommends is a great idea, especially the fogging oil. The corrosion in the cylinder liners would worry me.

I feel bad letting my car sit for a week, much less five months.
 
Originally Posted By: JRed
Oil choice won't matter. If synthetic makes you feel better, go on wit yo bad self. I'd use a cheap fram filter and the cheapest 5w-20 I could find if I were gonna store it.

Everything Quest recommends is a great idea, especially the fogging oil. The corrosion in the cylinder liners would worry me.

I feel bad letting my car sit for a week, much less five months.


I have done the fogging oil routine (both in fall and in spring before starting). However, I've never been able to figure out how to rotate the crankshaft after fogging. I could use the starter motor but worry that, even with the accelerator floored, it might introduce gas to the cylinders and thwart my fogging effort. Any suggestions? Having this thing sit for 5 months does not make me happy either...
 
Originally Posted By: Danh
Originally Posted By: JRed
Oil choice won't matter. If synthetic makes you feel better, go on wit yo bad self. I'd use a cheap fram filter and the cheapest 5w-20 I could find if I were gonna store it.

Everything Quest recommends is a great idea, especially the fogging oil. The corrosion in the cylinder liners would worry me.

I feel bad letting my car sit for a week, much less five months.


I have done the fogging oil routine (both in fall and in spring before starting). However, I've never been able to figure out how to rotate the crankshaft after fogging. I could use the starter motor but worry that, even with the accelerator floored, it might introduce gas to the cylinders and thwart my fogging effort. Any suggestions? Having this thing sit for 5 months does not make me happy either...



Pull the fuel pump relay before you fog the car and then start it and let it run till it dies do the fogging and then crank the engine over without the relay in and then put it back when done.
 
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Change the oil?


Well, yes. Even if some don't think it's necessary, there is that pesky warranty thing.
 
Originally Posted By: Danh
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Change the oil?


Well, yes. Even if some don't think it's necessary, there is that pesky warranty thing.


Ah, the warranty thing. I was going to say if the oil was in good shape...
wink.gif
Understandable.

In that case I'd just go with a good deal on a OC dino...
 
Pennzoil MARINE Fogging Oil has enough volatility to keep the engine running even after all gasoline has been used--just spray it into the intake--only if you can avoid spraying the MAF sensor-( many vehicles have the MAF located before the intake manifold connection). That is why I use it.

On the engine oil part-store it without any oil-won't make a difference, unless of course you forget to fill the oil before starting it in the Spring
 
I would also give the engine a short crank 1 time per month so differnet valve spring will be compressed instead of some being compressed all winter. Also then different cylinders will have air exposure because of different valves being open. I have seen V-8s rust up from outdoor long term storage and it is usually damage limited to two of the eight cylinders.
 
Oil change every 6 months even with ZERO mileage?

Seems strange... as every car I have ever owned would say, "xxxx miles or ONE year".

I change my motorcycle oil before winter storage and that satisfies the "one year" warranty issue due to low mileage.
 
Originally Posted By: ammolab
Oil change every 6 months even with ZERO mileage?

Seems strange... as every car I have ever owned would say, "xxxx miles or ONE year".

I change my motorcycle oil before winter storage and that satisfies the "one year" warranty issue due to low mileage.


"Normal" service for that year Mazda is every 6 months or (I think) 7,500 miles, whichever comes first. Given how the car is used, the mileage limit is never approached during 6 months. Not a big deal, but I guess I'm stuck.
 
Originally Posted By: rob6773
I would also give the engine a short crank 1 time per month so differnet valve spring will be compressed instead of some being compressed all winter. Also then different cylinders will have air exposure because of different valves being open. I have seen V-8s rust up from outdoor long term storage and it is usually damage limited to two of the eight cylinders.


That's good suggestion as I guess it's likely that two of the 4 cylinders may settle with all valves closed, creating a closed environment where condensation can occur. (Open valves should allow less-dense humid air to escape?) The car is stored in a garage in Northern Wisconsin, so while the air won't be humid it surely will be cold.

If I pull the fuel pump relay and let the engine die, I assume no fuel will enter the combustion chamber when cranked. Any downside to storage with no fuel pressure or fuel in the injectors?

There sure are a lot of opinions on this subject. Most don't seem to think that fogging is necessary unless storage is for a year or longer. Some say fog when storing, some say fog when storing and again before start-up. Of course, some also say: "What?".
 
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