oil change before or after storage?
 

If one were to leave on a 1 to 2 month business trip, and the car was already due for an oil change, would one

1) leave the oil change for after the trip
2) change the oil before leaving

does it even matter? the last oil change was 5000km ago...I thought it was about time for another one...thank you for any input...

Dear DuckMuck:

There are 2 main reasons to change the oil before leaving:

1) Your car is ALMOST due for an oil change (5000Kmiles).

2) Leaving the old oil in your car for 2 months (and it's cold where you are) will cause sludge and dirt to settle down at the bottom of the oil sump, possibly forming a hard crud (not good). So you would better off changing it before leaving.

Best regards,

Eric

We do this with boats every fall before putting them away. Change it! Water in the oil will form acids that can pit bearings and do all sorts of wonderfull things.

Wow 100 posts! Now that I'm a senior member do I get a prize or something?:D

Dear Hatterasguy:

You have to thank DuckMuck for your chance to reach 100 posts.

:D

Eric

The acids are byproducts of combustion. Not related to water.

Anyways, change it before.

Thanx to all with your suggestions...I just came back from an oil change at Henneken...OUCH...that is one EXPENSIVE oil change...lemme break it down:

8.5L Motul 5w40 sythetic motor oil = 75.65 Canadian dollars
1 oil filter = 13.90 Canadian dollars
PST of 7.5% = 8.29 Canadian dollars
GST of 7% = 7.73 Canadian dollars

GRAND TOTAL = 126.57 Canadian dollars

...this is the first time I took the car to an independent instead of the dealership...the dealership uses QuakerState 15w40...but I thought I would give the synthetic a try...

Just wanted to say I quite liked goin' to Henneken...the guy there was quite nice...invited me into the back and have a look at my car with it on the jack...chatted a bit about the car...very friendly, and went through my bill together with me...the experience was much better than the dealership...I am beginning to see why everybody hates the dealership so much...:p

I do an oil change before *and* after storage, but the beast sleeps for 6 months in a non-climate controlled garage.

Always change the oil and filter before storage, fill the fuel tank, remove the battery and charge it once a month or leave a battery tender connected, air the tires to at least 35 psi or higher if the tires are placarded at 44 psi, and protect the car from rodents. By far the most damage to cars in storage is from rodents!!!

The clock does NOT run on fresh oil in the crankcase during storage. It's about the same as remaining in the bottle as long as you don't have condensing humidity, so if the car is inside and doesn't go through a flood you can drive the car for the full oil time or mileage interval after it comes out of storage

The clock DOES run on brake fluid and antifreeze while the car is in storage.

Duke

Don't forget the fuel stabilizer.

I've stored cars for 6-12 months in mild to hot weather for the last 12 years - never used fuel stabilizer - never had any fuel system problems.

Commercial gasolines have a nominal shelf life of about a year, but that's probably a conservative number, and the colder the storage temperature, the less likely the fuel will react to form gum or varnish.

Duke

My $.02 .... be sure to run the engine until it is at full operating temperature, after the oil change, before you put it in storage.

Gives the fresh oil a chance to flush all the old acids into suspension.

Haasman

I've used fuel stabilizer on my old cars, 1950-70 and usually fog the motor. Here in the midwest, we see extreme temps during storage season: From -25F to 75F, so best to play it safe.

what exactly is a fuel stabilizer? I believe the outside temperature around this time in Vancouver hovers around 0C to 10C...

After the oil change yesterday, I was so happy with the service at Henneken, I also had them change my front brake pads and rotors this morning...only cost me $426 Canadian dollars after all the taxes...I think this is a pretty good price! He used original Mercedes-Benz parts...I saw that gas was cheap today, so I topped off the tank...I will be driving it regularly until I leave Sunday morning...I will have somebody start and idle the car ever so often...so I do not think disconnecting the battery is necessary?

Wow...I really like the new motor oil...engine feels light and runs quieter...accelerates smoother...does not feel strained...the Motul 6100 Synergie 5w40 synthetic feels SOOO much better than the dealership's QuakerState 15w40 non-synthetic oil...I am VERY happy with my recent repair experience...this is a very nice shop...

I did a quick Google search and found this,

http://www.goldeagle.com/sta-bil/faqs.htm

Obviously biased. I wouldn't use it for only a few months or with a late vintage car. As mentioned above, it probably makes no difference.