There's some doubt, actually


Remember, fuel tanks were rusting on the inside long before ethanol fuel became commonplace.


Cheers
DD

 

I have read quite a bit into this topic and both sides of the debate have pretty compelling arguments. The only claim I have not seen refuted is the hygroscopic nature of ethanol compared to the hydrocarbons it replaces in e10. In effect petrol with high content bio fuel attracts water more than its pure equivalent, this can naturally become a problem in humid environments or in half petrol tanks where the water can coalesce and corrode the tank lining. So the moral seems to be, storing it? Brim up!

 

Hi Tyran

I'm pretty sure that this is what happened in my Case but Doug does also make a valid point.

So as you say compelling arguments seem to exist on both sides, although having said that a Scrap (88) V12 XJS that hadn't been used by the P.O. for years, only had a couple of gallons of Petrol in the Tank.

I picked it up for £500 just to use it for Spares and when I took the sender out to have a look inside, the Tank looked almost like new, with no rust whatsoever!

Unfortunately that Tank was not the same as the one on my 1995 4.0L Convertible, otherwise I would have put it in.

Points of view over Petrol/Gas seem to go on for ever, though using the Car on a regular basis, seems to help to prevent this.

 

I've heard this all my life! It Never made any sense to me when people had to be Sure to put a board under a battery they set on concrete. It seemed silly in light of the non-conductivity of concrete as opposed to the conductivity of metal battery trays, where an unused battery in Known to go flat if not used regularly.

Why the battery was taken out in the first place didn't matter, but usually it would sit in that spot for several months before anyone tried to use it again. Of course, by that time it was flat.

Early on husband (who couldn't understand this either) and I tried an experiment: We happened to have 2 mostly identical batteries fully charged. One we set on the concrete garage floor and the other we put a board under, and left then for the Winter. Next Spring (3 months later) THEY WERE BOTH FLAT!

So we formulated a theory that if a battery was taken out because it was a little weak, and it sat on concrete where it was forgotten for some time and it was flat when thought of again, and most shop floors are concrete, the concrete got the blame for the dead battery and not the negligence of leaving it with a low charge for all that time.

In short: Old Wives Tale.
(';')

 

Here's a look inside the gas tank of my Corvette. It's had nothing but E10 fuel for 20 years.




Anybody see any corrosion?

 

Batteries on concrete is actually not a wives tale. Battery cases (pre-plastic) would in fact discharge on concrete due to porus cases, rubber, steel, etc.

Old habits die hard I suppose, and I stay the course, regardless of case design today or if 100% unlikely now.

Jeff

 

Just to be difficult, I want to disagree with Mikey, at least if the storage exceeds a few months. If the engine can be started, and run up to operating temperature, usually 20 minutes or more, this will redistribute oil on the cylinder walls and prevent the engine from seizing due to rusted cylinders. If the engine is to be stored for more than a few months, and cannot be run every few months, I would use fogging oil to soak it down so there is a heavy coating of oil on the cylinder walls, and I would seal over the air intake to keep moisture out. Keep it oily, keep it dry. If only stored for a few months of winter, probably not needed, but long term storage is a different animal.

 

I've disassembled engines that were left untouched for three years. There was as much oil on the lubricated parts as an engine that had been shut down only a few hours ago.

Rusty cylinder walls is a symptom of humid storage conditions, not time.

 

Hi,
I am completely confused about some comments made about the oil in the engine. I would think that gravity would eventually cause ALL the oil to go into the oil pan. Isn't the worst thing to do to an engine is simply start it after it sat for awhile (like overnight) as there is no oil (ok, almost none) in the upper part of the engine for a few seconds until the pump gets oil up there? In the end, isn't that what causes the most wear on (a well maintained) an engine?
Please reply to this one!
Jomo

 

Jomo-

There's an unsubstantiated belief that oil continuously drains and drips over a period of time until metal surfaces become bare and would suffer damage either from friction while starting or from corrosion.

As stated at least twice above, there's little difference beyond a few hours after shutdown. The residual oil left on the surfaces is more than enough to protect and to lubricate during the next engine start. Engines might last longer if they were allowed to run continuously but that's not really practical.

Old myths die hard.

 

No doubt humidity is the issue, but not everyone has access to dry storage. I have seen engines go many years without damage, I have also seen then seize up in a year.

 

If the humidity is high enough to cause engine seizure in a year, the remainder of the vehicle would be heavily affected too.

 

I, too, am concerned about storing my baby in these Alaskan temps. I will remove the battery as suggested, however what does anyone think of fogging oils? I'm hesitant to use anything on the engine for fear of creating a problem worse that just being in cold storage.
Thanks!

 

I have collected many cars and stored them for long periods of time. I would not be concerned if you are storing them for 12 months or less... Fresh gas, oil, pump up your tires, battery tender/conditioner and you are good to go...

 

Hi Jomo

My XJS V12 (sig photo) Sat in my garage for 10 years! without either

being started or turned over.

This year I decided to get her back on the Road.

All I did was put on a battery, then I turned the key and She Started

First time!

The Oil that I was using was Castrol Magnatec, so don't know if that

made a difference but I didn't get any strange noises and She ran fine.