I know, I know! Lots of people do absolutely nothing other than take the
keys out of the ignition, lock the door, and walk away.
During my 20 plus years as a Vocational Instructor in Power
Equipment/Small Engine, I had projects from several dozen State agencies,
from walk behind mowers, Tillers, Riding Mowers, Sanding and de-icing
equipment, Chain Saws, Outboard motors, etc. We got them in during the slow
seasons and did all manner of repairs to both their engines and power
transmission systems. Belts, hydraulic systems, clutch/transmission
systems, etc. Some had been winterized, some not. The outboards that had
been fogged off, sprayed with anti- corrosion inhibitors and left with dry
fuel tanks were no problem to service and return in great shape.
The ones that had not been winterized were a horse of a different
color. You go through a multi cylinder 2 cycle engine with needle bearing
lower ends like big Mercury Outboards, and you spend literally thousands of
dollars to make them reliable. For the cost of a bit of fogging oil and a
few minutes of time, all that can be avoided. It goes without saying that I
come down on the side of prevention vs. fixing what degraded during
storage. Do as you wish, it is your money, spend it how you see fit.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Oregon
On Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 1:14 PM Mike Kelley via Gmclist <
> Thanks Fred H.:
> For that different view point on start up after storage.
> I am not a mechanic but sort of fussy about my vehicles - 22 in all.
> First got into GMC MH’s about 7 years ago. Have owned 5 of the old girls
> in the past 7 years - now down to 3. With that many of them - storage was
> always involved. I pretty much followed your description of storage and
> have never had an engine problem. Many were stored as little as 7 months
> and as much as 18 months with no problems.
> My GMC mechanic - a long time GMCer has been following the same procedure
> for 21 years (lives in Northern IL. so 6 months of storage each year)
> without incident.
> I publish this to let newbies and non mechanics know there are different
> views on the subject - and “we Pay’s our money and Takes our choice”!
> Thanks again,
> Mike/The Corvair a holic
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jan 11, 2020, at 2:43 PM, Fred Hudspeth via Gmclist <
> >
> > Re " Opinions vary"...
> >
> > FWIW - from a 40 year association with Alaska (20 as a resident), the
> > practice there is no winterization of drivetrains. In September, for cold
> > storage of summer use vehicles, 'just fill the tanks with fuel, fully
> > charge all batteries, park/store vehicles, disconnect one terminal on
> each
> > battery and do not disturb until after break-up/first use the next year
> > (usually Memorial Day weekend). A 100 percent fully charged wet cell
> battery
> > will not freeze until approximately -78 F. 'Usual voltage loss is less
> than
> > 0.25VDC over a 9 month period. On re-start in May, reconnect batteries
> and
> > start normally. 'Have seen no evidence of engine damage/performance
> > degradation with this long-standing practice.
> >
> > In preparing for my first winter in southcentral Alaska, I was very
> "fussy"
> > about preparing my motorhome (then a Ford "460" powered Coachmen product)
> > for cold storage. An "old sourdough" who lived nearby was visiting when I
> > was doing my prep. He politely volunteered that it was an overkill and
> > described his and other veteran residents' practice. I listened but was
> > apprehensive about "their way" and did it my comprehensive way the first
> > winter(i.e., R&R batteries, periodic restarts/warmups, etc.). "My way"
> was a
> > real hassle in that cold. The next winter, I "did it their way" and have
> > done so since. The motorhome I use in summers and leave in Alaska is a
> '82
> > GM "454" powered Airstream. It has been there 21 years. In all of that
> time,
> > there has been no change in compression, makeup oil, fuel consumption
> etc.
> > using the "old sourdough's" winterization practice.
> >
> > Fred Hudspeth
> >
> >
> > Fred Hudspeth
> > 1978 Royale (TZE 368V101335) - Tyler, TX
> > 1982 Airstream Excella (motorhome) - Cooper Landing, Alaska
> >
> >
> >
> > Message: 3
> > Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2020 16:00:22 -0800
> > From: James Hupy
> > To: gmclist
> > Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Pre-Oiling information requested
> > Message-ID:
> >
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
> >
> > Depends on location, humidity, temperature extremes. And to some degree,
> how
> > fussy you are. If you worry about dry start ups, rusty cylinder bores,
> stuck
> > valves, etc. Then 3 months if you did not winterize your engine.
> > Maybe as long as 6 months in sunny California or arid areas like Arizona
> and
> > New Mexico, Nevada, etc. But, not much longer than that. Opinions vary.
> > Jim Hupy
> > Salem, Oregon
> >
> > On Fri, Jan 10, 2020, 3:49 PM John Phillips via Gmclist <
> >
> >> How long can you let your motor sit before you need to go through this
> >> procedure?
> >>
> >
> >
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