There are really two types of storage, intended and unintended. If you intend to place your vehicle in storage for a season (winter, for example) or while you're abroad for a year, you can do a number of things to ensure that it's easy getting the vehicle running again when you take it out. On the other hand, if the vehicle just sits because the tags or the inspection expired and you haven't gotten around to fixing it, or you were kidnapped, or got very sick, or inherited a car that's been sitting for a long time, you'll have to do a lot more work to get it out of storage.

If you're making the effort to place the vehicle in storage, here's what you should do:

1) Find a dry, covered space to store the vehicle. A garage is good, a conditioned storage space is better, and an open carport is better than nothing. If you have to store the vehicle outside, invest in a good car cover (one that breathes) to protect the finish. Leaves decaying on the paint don't do it any good at all. Also, if you're outside, put a poly sheet under the vehicle to keep moisture from coming out of the ground and settling on (and rusting) the underbody.

2) Fill the gas tank to prevent corrosion from moist air interacting with the walls of the tank. Use Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer or the equivalent to keep the gas from losing its volatility and essentially turning to varnish. Sta-Bil gives quantities to add to fuel to provide protection up to two years. Once the fuel stabilizer is in the vehicle, run the engine for a few minutes to get the stabilized fuel into the fuel lines.

3) If your oil is fairly new and of high quality, you can leave it in and change it when you take the vehicle out of storage. Otherwise, change it now. In either case, block the engine air intake and exhaust pipe to keep (moist) air out of the system.

4) The recommendation in #3 above also applies to transmission, transfer case, and differential fluids, except that they probably don't need to be changed after just a few months storage.

5) If your coolant is near the end of the manufacturer's recommended life, change it now. Coolant contains rust inhibitors, and the longer the coolant has been in the vehicle, the less well they inhibit rust. If the coolant is new, leave it alone.

6) Protect the engine internals by spraying fogging oil into each cylinder through the spark plug holes and the oil filler. Sta-Bil recommends spraying its fogging oil into the air intake until the engine stalls. Fogging oil should ensure that metal components (cylinder walls and pistons, cams and valves, don't rust together and that there is some lubrication when the vehicle is restarted.

7) Remove the battery, store it in a garage or shed off the ground, and attach it to a charger that will shut off when the battery is fully charged (look for the words "automatic float mode," "end of charge control," or "current control circuitry" describing the charger). Don't store it near sparks or sources of ignition (such as a water heater), and never inside the house. If you can't store the battery in a safe place place, leave it in the car, disconnect the cables, and use your charger every few weeks.

8) Use a rubber and vinyl protectant (I prefer 303 Aerospace Protectant) on door gaskets, trunk gasket, hood gasket, and any other rubber components such as engine hoses that you can get to.

9) Wash and wax the car. If you normally use high gloss waxes, you're better off using something that protects more for the storage period such as a sealant glaze.

10) Clean out the interior and trunk. Use dessicant packs to absorbe moisture and put in some moth balls to keep the animals away.

11) Elevate the vehicle a bit, using the frame for jacking points to keep the tires off the ground and prevent them from developing flat spots. Make sure the emergency brake is OFF. It's more likely to happen with drum brakes, but you don't want any of the rear brake components sticking or rusting together.

12) Once you've done all this, don't start the vehicle while it's in storage. That undoes a lot of the protective measures you've taken. If you are planning to start the vehicle make sure it gets up to operating temperature. If you don't have an oil temperature gauge, let it run for a few minutes beyond the time the water temperature gauge shows normal range.

REMOVING THE VEHICLE FROM STORAGE

If you've done all of the above, removing the vehicle from storage is easy:

1) Take it down off the jacks.

2) Put air in the tires.

3) Remove the blockages you've put in the intake and the exhaust.

4) Make sure battery is fully charged and reinstall it.

5) Crank the vehicle for 10-20 seconds with the spark plug wires/distributor cap/coil packs disconnected to get fuel to the intake and get the oil flowing.

6) Re-attach what you just disconnected and start it.

7) Remove dessicant and moth balls.


If this was unintended storage, you have a lot more work to do, but most of it isn't hard:

1) Put the transmission in neutral, release the emergency brake, and see if you can push the vehicle. If it won't budge, a few blows with a rubber mallet on the wheel might do the trick. If not remove the wheel and (if drum brakes) try a few blows on the drum. Otherwise, try something that releases rusted bolts, such as Power Blaster, Liquid Wrench, or WD-40. If that doesn't do the trick, start disassembling the rear brakes.

2) Change the oil. You will almost certainly have to change the coolant and perhaps the transmission, transfer case, and differential fluids after you've gotten the vehicle running.

3) If the gas wasn't stabilized, you need to siphon/pump most of it out. Ideally, you should have five parts of new gas to one part of old gas, but often you can get away with 1:1.

4) Get the battery charged, or get a new one.

5) Spray fog oil into the cylinders and onto the valves. Motor oil, or even light machine oil in the cylinders should work too.

6) Replace any torn hoses or frayed belts.

7) Put air in the tires.

8) Crank the vehicle without starting it (see #5 above).

9) Start the vehicle.

10) Wash thoroughly, wax, and treat all rubber gaskets and hoses. Replace any rubber gaskets that will no longer seal.

11) Test lights, wipers, defroster, and other safety items.

12) Change the coolant, other fluids as needed.

13) For the next few weeks, watch for oil or coolant leaks. Be alert for unusual noises or driveability problems. If flat spots on the tires don't go away after being driven for a few weeks, including some time at the speed limit, you may need to replace the tires.

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2001 A4TQM
GIAC X-Chip
710N BPV
APR catback exhaust
H-Sport front and rear anti-sways
Koni Adjustable Yellows
A8 big brake kit
Carbotech Bobcat pads
Kumho Ecsta Sports
AWE Tuning Center Vent Boost Gauge
VW Taschenlampe

Link to the A4 B5 FAQ