Starting the Engine during the Winter
I spent about 1/2 an hour searching this question. I'm sure it has been talked about before but I couldn't find it. Anyway, the Thor owners manual for my rig says to run the engine for 30 minutes each...
Forum Discussion
troubledwaters wrote:Hank MI wrote:Maybe the gaskets in 1970 were better then the gaskets made now. But regardless, if your owners manual for the Chevelle said to run the engine for 30 minutes each month while it is in winter storage what would you do then?mat60 wrote:
If you dont run any engine for a long time the gaskets can dry up.. Don't ask me how I no.
I have a 1970 Chevelle that sits in the garage for up to 6 months straight without being started. No way I'm taking out on the roads in the winter. Also no way I can really heat up the engine to thoroughly dry things out by letting it idle in the garage. Especially the oil in the crankcase. Coolant may come up to operating temps but it really takes a load on the engine, driving it, to heat up the engine internals and oil. It takes a long time running just to dry out the exhaust system.
Been doing this for 13 years, when should I see the gaskets start leaking because they haven't yet?
The Chevelle doesn't have the original engine. It's a modern replacement so gaskets are of current design. Both MH's we owned have sat for more than 6 months for various reasons. One sat for almost 2 years. Neither suggested I start them every month and neither developed a leak. Our boat sat for over 6 months, Chevy V6 engine, every year for years and never developed a leak. If you're owners manual says to start it every month and you choose to then by all means do it. I prefer not to since I don't want to replace exhaust systems or contaminate the clean oil I put in it prior to storage.
