When Jessica and I lived in New York State we used to have to store our Porsches over the winter. We had a careful process we would follow each winter in order to make sure the cars would be safe in spring. Virginia has much milder weather than New York and this makes for an easier storage process. Some of us, including yours truly, simply drive our cars year round.
Often there are members in our region who have to leave our Porsches stored for many months at a time. Upon returning we want to make sure that our beloved automobiles will be just as good as the day they went into storage. Due to the wide variation in models of Porsches owned by our region we also recommend you consult the PCA technical advisors if your car has been stored for a very long time. There are too many different factors at play between taking a 356 out of storage after 20 years versus driving a Cayenne Turbo after 7 months of sitting in a garage.
We may hate vermin, such as mice, but mice happen to love Porsches. After storing our first Porsche, a 924, for a few weeks during a horrible stormy season I popped the hood to find a field mouse had made a nest on the top of the engine. Our 944 had its air filter eaten and a mouse made its home in the air box. In both scenarios if we didn't thoroughly check the car beforehand we could have caused serious damage to our cars. Mice also love to make nests in the air cooling fins on the cylinder heads of air cooled Porsches as well. This can lead to cooling problems or even fires. A car sitting in a garage or outdoors under a cover makes a great home for field mice. Personal experience from our time in New York has taught us they can invade a car in as little as a week.
My experience in dealing with aircraft has taught me that a proper cleaning isn't just for aesthetics but it forces you to take an intricate look at parts which may be corroded, dry rotted, or simply in need of replacement. Follow these simple steps in order to help bring your car out of storage:
• Check for corrosion under the car, in the wheel wells, and around rocker panels.
• If you haven't been keeping up with the fluids: change them. New oil, new coolant, new brake fluid, and new transmission fluid is always a good idea. Check all brake lines for evidence of any leaks.
• Check the condition of all tires and other rubber parts to make they have not dry rotted. Verify tires are at the proper inflation pressures.
• Inspect the engine and cabin air filters. Replace if necessary. • Thoroughly clean the car and detail it. Be especially careful when cleaning wheels in
order to remove brake dust.
• When first driving around start off slowly and keep the revs under 3,000. Take it easy and let the car come up to operating temperature slowly. Drive for a half hour or so to make sure steering, braking, and handling feels tight.
• Make sure the air conditioning, power windows, and other accessories work properly.
It could have been a particularly snowy winter, you may have been on a deployment or long vacation, or perhaps a new car has taken all of your attention. Regardless of the reason check your Porsche thoroughly after a period of storage and you will avoid some nasty surprises!
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