jbl-1985

Folks, subject says it all. My RX300 is in Arizona and will be sitting for 6 months. Would I be better off with synthetic or dino oil? It will be in a garage as well.

thanks in advance for any input.
JBL

hypervish

Synthetic. Change the oil before you store it. Don't turn it on, till you are ready to use it. No need to "warm" it up once in awhile.

jbl-1985

Thanks - geez I don't want to get into that whole "Should you use Synthetic or Not" discussion, as I have heard some folks have experienced leaks, etc...I know that Synthetic was probably they way to go and was not suprised by your answer but I just DO NOT want to have to worry about stupid stuff liek are my seals going to leak, etc...

Decisions, Decisions...

hypervish

There's no problem with storing it with Dino oil either. I suggest synthetic so you can safely do 5-7k mile oci's without the risk of sludge.

zig@tr

May not be a bad idea to put a jack stands at each corner, just enough to take the weight off of the tires otherwise it could take a while to work those flat spots out. I'm pretty sure your supposed to disconnect the battery as well.

jbl-1985

Already there - car is jacked and off the ground to preserve the tires as you describe and always there a Battery Tender on the battery. I used to disconnect the battery, and one time when I charged it and reconnected it, one of the terminals sparked and a few miles later I got a CEL saying my throttle position sensor was out...Now I just do not disconnect the battery unless it is absolutely necessary.

Now I connect the BT and forget about it.

JBL

hypervish

I actually wouldn't keep the car off the ground for so long. Sure it might prevent flat spots on the tires, but it's not good for the struts to be hanging for 6 months. It's alright when your working on the car for all 4 struts to be at full height but you don't want them to be open to their full extent for 6 months.

carguy07

X2 put it on the ground.

jbl-1985

Duly noted. Thanks for the tips guys.

JBL

zig@tr

The strut is not fully extended? The axle will extend to the length of the spring which is holding the weight of the hanging axle, so if the strut were then removed it would extended even further than this storage position. The strut is an oil or gas filled tube with rubber valves to slow the flow of oil/gas from bottom to the top. It makes no difference where in the oil/gas the valves are positioned for storage. The struts are fully compressed when shipped from the manufacturer and remain this way for several months and are not damaged. So, I would still take the weight off of the tires.

carguy07

I think one of the concerns when letting the suspension hang like that is that the shafts on the struts can corrode and ruin the seals in the struts when they are pushed back in. The bushings also tend to take a set (kind of like a flat spot) and can get damaged when the car is lowered back down. Could just be an urban myth, but makes some sense to me. I have stored cars for years and never had a flat spot anyway.

hypervish

It's safe for a Strut to be compressed fully because the inner strut/"rod" isn't exposed. When fully extended it is, and this causes rust to form amongst other things and isn't good for the strut.


I have had people come into my uncle's shop needing new struts all around because they stored there hot rods too long with the suspension hanging. My uncle is a mechanic, he's seen this happen many times.


You will not get flat stops on a tire from just 6 months if you have proper air pressure. No reason to risk $1000 worth of parts and labor for struts.

Plus, it can also cause unnecessary weight on the control arms, bushings, etc.

However, it is safe to lift the car up a little, just enough to take pressure off the tires. But, not too much that the tires are lifted off the ground. << But, this isn't necessary at all and definitely not for just 6 months.

jbl-1985

Truth be told the last time I left the car, I did not jack it up so that all of the wheels are off the ground, rather, the tires are still touching the ground but I would say that 3/4 of the weight of the car is supported by the jacks, and it has been sitting that way since the beginning of June.

hypervish

That's fine, and it won't stress the suspension.