Long term storage ?

tony453rd · Nov 23, 2019

24-7 said: ↑

Drain the gas and fill up with non-ethanol gas. Ethanol is not good for storage.
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Definitely will do that! Thank you

tony453rd · Nov 23, 2019

DVexile said: ↑

Copying my PM response here for the archives as it were:

Six months isn't bad at all. Really the main thing you'd want to do is put a full tank of gas in and then put in some STA-BIL fuel stabilizer. It's available at pretty much every auto parts store. You use a whole 8 oz bottle for a tank the size of a Tacoma, costs around 5 to 8 dollars. I usually put it in right before I fill up the tank so that it gets washed down the filler neck and mixes a bit into the tank. Then drive around city streets for a few miles to get the tank sloshing around to mix it well. Gas without stabilizer tends to go bad after a few months. With the STA-BIL it is good for about a year. Even with STA-BIL though I find that stored tank of gas gets a bit less mileage than a fresh tank does. People usually store with the tank full to reduce the potential for condensation in the tank over such a long storage period.

Also disconnect the battery in the truck. There is enough small drain on the battery from the truck when off that you'll discharge the battery in that time most likely. Not the end of the world but better for the battery if you can avoid deep discharges. When you get back and hook up the battery expect the truck to stall the first time you turn it over. This is normal - the ECU has forgotten all its learned settings with the battery disconnected that long and it seems to take two or three tries to get the truck turned over.

People will make all sorts of obsessive recommendations like once it is parked taking out all the spark plugs and shooting a teaspoon of oil into each cylinder. Frankly this kind of stuff is ridiculous and you are more likely to strip the plug threads on the cylinder more than anything else. You'd be better off just making sure the truck has a nice longish drive before storage such that it gets well up to temperature to get any condensation out of the oil. If it is getting close to an oil change might as well change the oil close to when it is going to be stored, but don't obsess about that.

So that's about it really. Pickup some STA-BIL, give it a good drive (say 15-20 minutes at highway speeds), stop at the gas station, put in the STA-BIL, fill up the tank, drive it around a few blocks making turns to get the STA-BIL mixed into the tank, park it and disconnect the battery.

Honestly the only issues I ever read about from long term storage is rodents. Rodents can do a number on wiring in an engine! So choose where you are storing it wisely.

Oh and one addition. While the standard recommendation is to fill the tank for storage these days since I store in southern Nevada where there is no moisture in the air I actually tend to store mine nearly empty. That minimizes the amount of old gas I have to run through the engine. That said I often store full with STA-BIL as well.
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Reply to you on pm but again, thank you for this information. Definitely helpful!

kahanabob · Nov 23, 2019

81shark said: ↑

Drain as much gas as possible.
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i did that years ago with my dakota and the fuel pump dried up and the gas gauge sending unit stopped working. i say put that gas stabilizer stuff in it. just my 2 cents.

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