End of season oil change timing

[njoconnor]

Looking ahead to season end storage (November in these parts of WI). Wondering if anyone has thoughts/recc's on changing the engine oil before storage in the fall vs coming out of storage in the spring? I'll have about 2K on the current oil once November gets here.

Thanks

Neil

[4uall]

fwiw i do them both, before storage (december) and after (april) but that's just me

[baltobernie]

FWIW, I do mine as late in the season as practical, but don't fret about running the car whenever the weather permits. Typically, I start the Stabil way too soon, and end up "wasting" two or three tankfuls before ultimate hibernation.

I think the goal is to have a minimum of contaminants and acids in the oil while in storage.

[seabeelt]

Love the risk management cartoon.

I drive as long as I can, no matter how cold, as long as it's not snowing or raining. Then it's too cold to want to crawl under the car, so I add the stabil and then change mine in the spring.

[bradartigue]

I don't see the value of doing this, unless you just want to change the oil, or it is time to change the oil. All you are doing is putting in new oil that sits in your pan for months, then (if you follow the book) you have to replace it again by the time you drive it. Store it with the old oil, run it once with the old oil in a few months, then change the crud out. That way you have all new oil with no condensation, etc., in it.

I also just top off fuel tanks. I never found the value of stabil - maybe if you are storing for years? Top it off so there is no condensation forming in the tank. I've also (once before for a year of storage) plugged both fuel lines on the sender (carbureted car) to make sure no pressure changes drew fuel from the tank to the carb and into my motor. That and it rendered the car undriveable to thieves should they be so inclined.

[4uall]

For me it was a little different being that I would do some projects that would require the engine to be run etc. I know its overkill now

[seabeelt]

Stabil was for the gas. I never put anything in the oil

[TX82FIAT]

I don't like to use Stabil in the gas if I can avoid it. With modern gas I certainly understand those that do and I will use it if the car is going to go more than 6 months without a good run. In Texas I'm lucky to be able to drive the car 90% of the time. There is some logic and maybe even argument on the timing of the oil change. You are going to get some condensation in the oil any way you store it old or new oil. Perhaps wearing a belt with suspenders is the best approach where you change the oil at the end of and again in the beginning of the season, but I can't see the time, effort and money in doing so. In fresh oil the oil should in theory hold its consistency/viscosity so the condensation is pooled separately. In theory, the condensation should burn right off after 20 minutes or so of driving. For some reason I have it in my head that rust is more prone inside an engine stored with dirty oil than one stored with clean oil. It might be the exact opposite! when I lived in Pennsylvania, I changed the oil at the end of the season to get all the junk out of the engine and pan before storing. The idea was that if a nice day did pop or I needed to take the car on a long run for some reason, I was ready to go without delay.

I guess if I was going to store the car for a really long period of time I would consider filling the entire engine with oil to limit the areas condensation could get to. Put a few big notes around the car so no-one drives it and then drain the excess oil off before being driven again.

[DieselSpider]

Old oil turns acidic and etches things making it so condensation can do more damage. That is why if you are going to store an engine for a season or so that you should change the oil before storing it along with pouring a tablespoon of oil down each spark plug hole cranking the engine without the spark plugs in it to coat each cylinder to help prevent the rings from sticking and the rings/bores from rusting. It can make the difference between getting 25,000 miles from an engine or 125,000 + miles.

It gets more interesting with fuel systems. Carburetors traditionally need to be drained however depending on length of storage the leather parts may dry out while fuel injection needs to be kept wet as the fuel is the lubricant for the pump and injectors. Some old timers would be inclined to put a heavy dose of Mystery Oil in the last tank of the season to help the leather carb parts to stay supple. With really bad ethanol you do need a stabilizer to help prevent rusting of the tank, separation and gelling if your off season is more than 3 or 4 months.