Hibernating my car

[dj techsta]

I'm starting this thread because after countless hours of searching through the forum I turned up empty, so if this has been covered before, I appologize in advance.

Anywho, I'll be hibernating my car for the first time ever for the winter, and as I am totally new at this I was wondering what I should/should not do. I was plannning on running the girl once a week to keep her from dying so when it's time for summer again I can fire her up, but other than that I'm clueless as to what to do.

Any help would be great, (and if this is a repost, I would greatly appreciate being pointed in the right direction)

[sr20s14zenki]

If the garage is NOT heated make sure you have the correct mixture of coolant that will withstand atleast -40

[Tik-Tok]

Quite a few threads on this already, but since it was an inevitable "repost"

1) Fuel stabilizer
2) Coolant check
3) Steel Wool up the tail pipes (to keep mice out)
4) Battery minder (if your car will be indoors. Alternatively, if your cat is outside, just remove the battery, and put it on some cardboard in your basement)
5) Car cover (preferably custom fit for your car)

I'm also removing my summer rim/wheels and putting the stock wheels/old all season on mine, in case I HAVE to take it out on a winter day.

[inline6turbo]

^ Yup that's good, but along with the mice, clean out the car really really well. Squirels and mice will find their way in if they smell something yummy like old french fries. I had a squirel use my air filter as his winter nest once and a small mouse crawled into the car somehow and ate out my friends seat cushions (was stored for over a year though)!

[Redlyne_mr2]

Give the car a nice coat of wax before having it sit.

[FiveFreshFish]

- Leave the windows open a crack if stored indoors. This keeps the interior air from stagnating.

- Pump up your tires to 50+ PSI to help them from getting flat-spotted. Remember to adjust to the proper pressure when it's springtime. Alternatively, you can move the car whenever you start it so the tires are in a different position.

- I don't think weekly starting is required. Maybe once every 3 or 4 weeks should be sufficient.

- Make sure the oil is relatively clean before storing.

- As mentioned previously by Tik-Tok, the battery minder is a great idea. I use a CTEK 3300 which is about $70 locally. http://www.ctek.com/EN-US/buy-US-charger.aspx

[Abeo]

2 or 3 tuna tins with moth balls inside them, one in the engine bay, one or two under the car. Don't put them in the interior unless you want the car to really stink.