Advice on Indefinite Storage of Functioning Parts Car - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

shertex · #1 10-01-2011, 10:18 PM

I've read some threads on winter storage, but this is a little different I think. I have acquired a running parts car (91 300D). It will not be registered or insured, therefore I can't drive it on the road. Plus its (only) problem is that it has a busted spring perch, so it wouldn't be safe to drive anyway.

Until I begin hard-core cannibalizing, I want to do whatever I can to maximize the health of all components. I know that not being able to drive it is not optimal. I also know that turning it on briefly does more harm than good. But what if, once a month or so, I ran it for an hour. Would that help or hurt? If I need to treat it like a perpetual winter storage, I will. But I thought it might help if I turn it on once in a while, provided I let it run long enough.

If and when the time comes where I need the engine or whatever, I want it to be in decent shape.

Thanks.

sixto · #2 10-01-2011, 10:49 PM

If you won't drive it, there's no practical way to get the oil to operating temperature. I say don't bother starting it at all.

I imagine coolant is better than no coolant and fresh coolant is better than old coolant. I'd do a full descaling with citric acid and deoiling with dishwashing soap before filling with fresh coolant.

Will you store it indoors? On pavement? In a damp field? Those conditions will determine what other precautions to consider.

And rodent proof it! I suppose that depends on what rodents you have where you are. Make sure all the passages through the forward and aft bulkheads into the cabin are sealed. I don't know how to protect the hood pad and engine bay wiring harness.

Sixto
87 300D

1980sd · #3 10-02-2011, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixto

deoiling with dishwashing soap before filling with fresh coolant.

Like, put Dawn in the radiator?

Junkman · #4 10-01-2011, 11:18 PM

I'd park it inside, drain the tank & forget it. There isn't much you can do outside. Rust gets the metal. Eventually locks the engine & trans. How long before you strip it?

Zacharias · #5 10-02-2011, 12:05 AM

Based on my experience, if you leave it more than 12 months without getting stuff pulled and into some sort of at least semi-climate-controlled environment, you will be asking to run into trouble more and more as time passes.

shertex · #6 10-02-2011, 04:56 AM

It's going to sit on the driveway....really the only place we have.

I didn't have any definite plans to tear it apart....I was simply going to make use of parts as need arose (for the other two cars). Obviously there would come a point, due to parts removed, when it would no longer run, but I didn't assume that would happen any time soon...everything's working on the other two.

What if I turned it on once a month and ran for an hour or two? Would that help or hurt?

I guess if I needed to I could take it apart next spring.

Maybe my bright idea of having a parts car wasn't so bright after all....

Another option is to get the spring perch fixed and sell it (I just can't justify registering another car). I paid $700 for the car. I'm assuming spring perch is a solid $1000, maybe more. Other than no AC and cruise, it's a really nice car that has been well-maintained; I'm genuinely impressed by the attention to detail. I'm sure I could turn some sort of profit.

Assuming 208,000 miles, no cruise or AC, but everything else fine, what could such a car command in today's market?

sixto · #7 10-02-2011, 12:14 PM

You have something like $1500 sitting in the engine and transmission, less the cost of removing and palleting or crating. You have to decide whether parting the rest of the car is worth your time and effort. Is it worth a $50 profit to spend an hour removing and packaging the wiper assembly? What about another hour to put the cowl bits back in place without the wiper or labeling and storing the cowl bits? Hey, at least you'll be closer to the blower motor which could be the first thing you need from the parts car.

How about this acid test - how much of what you bought in parts for the two running cars over the last couple of years could you have sourced from this parts car?

Again on running the engine periodically, Jeremy shared info after fitting an oil temperature gauge. He noted something like 2 miles for coolant to get to operating temperature and 20 miles for oil to get to operating temperature. That's driving the car and it's hilly where he lives. You can't simulate that without a load on the engine. Then watch how the first thing you'll need from the parts car is the belt tensioner arm or an injector line.

I imagine it was sold as is in the first place because the estimate to repair the spring perch exceeds the resale value of the car. You might get as much as $3000 for it with the spring perch repaired if someone must have that body color and doesn't need AC. How long would it take you to sell one of your running cars for $3000? As a prospective buyer, my chief concern is how long the spring perch on the other side is going to last.

Sixto
87 300D

shertex · #8 10-02-2011, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixto

You have something like $1500 sitting in the engine and transmission, less the cost of removing and palleting or crating. You have to decide whether parting the rest of the car is worth your time and effort. Is it worth a $50 profit to spend an hour removing and packaging the wiper assembly? What about another hour to put the cowl bits back in place without the wiper or labeling and storing the cowl bits? Hey, at least you'll be closer to the blower motor which could be the first thing you need from the parts car.

How about this acid test - how much of what you bought in parts for the two running cars over the last couple of years could you have sourced from this parts car?

Again on running the engine periodically, Jeremy shared info after fitting an oil temperature gauge. He noted something like 2 miles for coolant to get to operating temperature and 20 miles for oil to get to operating temperature. That's driving the car and it's hilly where he lives. You can't simulate that without a load on the engine. Then watch how the first thing you'll need from the parts car is the belt tensioner arm or an injector line.

I imagine it was sold as is in the first place because the estimate to repair the spring perch exceeds the resale value of the car. You might get as much as $3000 for it with the spring perch repaired if someone must have that body color and doesn't need AC. How long would it take you to sell one of your running cars for $3000? As a prospective buyer, my chief concern is how long the spring perch on the other side is going to last.

Sixto
87 300D

That's really helpful...thanks. Wish I had thought through the implications of my purchasing decision before making it, not after. Not the first time I've rushed into something....won't be the last, I'm sure.

But I'm still glad I bought it. I think first thing I'll do is get a firm quote on the perch repair then go from there.

Over the last 2-1/2 years, I have spent about $1300 in parts for the two cars that could have been pulled from the parst car.

sixto · #9 10-02-2011, 12:39 PM

Yes. It's a necessary step after a head gasket failure unless you like seeing residual oil in the reservoir after all that work. But thinking about long term storage, maybe oil in the cooling system is a good thing.

Sixto
87 300D

Junkman · #10 10-02-2011, 05:50 PM

I have had some parts cars rust away. The best thing is to get out the 1/4" air ratchet & pull all of the parts. Buy some plastic storage crates & stack them in a corner. Keep items from the same area together. Pull all of the misc bolts & sort them by diameter and pitch.

Hang fenders, hood & trunk from the ceiling above your parts boxes. Pull the glass including rear glass & gasket and wrap in a blanket. The engine, trans & rear end get stuck in a corner covered by a cloth. (Tarps trap moisture.)

Haul the carcass to the pound and reclaim some of your $$.

shertex · #11 10-03-2011, 12:00 AM

I think I'll try to fix it and sell it....be on the lookout for my ad!

pawoSD · #12 10-03-2011, 12:17 AM

We keep our 300SD parts car covered and in running shape (battery tender) and run it about 25ish mins once a month or so, shift it into drive/reverse a few times....rev the engine to 2300rpm for 2-3 mins with a full electrical load (all accessories on).......seems to keep it in good shape.

shertex · #13 10-03-2011, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

We keep our 300SD parts car covered and in running shape (battery tender) and run it about 25ish mins once a month or so, shift it into drive/reverse a few times....rev the engine to 2300rpm for 2-3 mins with a full electrical load (all accessories on).......seems to keep it in good shape.

That's what I was hoping to be able to do...but it seems that some are discouraging me from doing that since I'll never be able to get oil and ATF up to operating temp.

If I might ask: how many years have you been doing this?

shertex · #14 10-03-2011, 05:40 AM

I appreciate all the advice. As I say, I may fix it and sell it. But, just for grins, let's say I take the risk of keeping the car intact, sitting in our driveway, rodent proofing it, running the car for an hour each month, and periodically changing the oil. I understand that, if I do this, I will never be able to get the oil and ATF up to operating temperature. Can you guys elaborate a bit as to what harm will be done and over what lengh of time? And if I were, counter to the advice of some of you, to do this, how often should I change the oil? Every six months maybe? Thanks.

DIESELVOLVO · #15 10-03-2011, 09:02 PM

It is definitely better to run the engine periodically. In a diesel it is not quite as critical as a gasser. Be thankful that the fuel essentially lasts forever and will not gum up the works after sitting for a few months like the "new gas" would. A car idling will definately take longer to get to operating temp but it will get there. The most damaging about storing a car long term is mice. If there is any way of keeping them out of an idle automobile for sure I have not found it.