Winter Storage for Mini Coopers

Including jacking up and supporting Minis

The best way to preserve your car is to use it regularly, but Winter snow and the sand, salt and magnesium chloride can do damage. Here is how to keep your car youthful until Spring.

Tools and materials

• Gold Eagle Sta-bil http://www.goldeagle.com/sta-bil/
• Tire air pump 12v with 2 clip leads
• Oil and filter
• Oil squirt can with 10/40W
• Boeshield T-9, http://www.boeshield.com/index.htm
• Car cleaning kit
• Touch up paint
• Camera
• Blue tarp for earth floors
• Gold Eagle Fogging Oil
• Duct tape or ty-wraps and plastic baggies
• Paper tags with strings
• Cardboard for a drip tray
• Automatic battery charger 1 amp
• Portable floor jack and plywood pad
• Set of 4 safety stands (optional)
• 5 pieces of 2x4x10” lumber
• Damp Gone calcium chloride in a cloth bag
• Terry towel
• Car cover, breathable
• Electronic rodent repeller and 110v supply
• Workshop manual (recommended)

Before Storage

• Check your storage area is secure from invasion of pests and pets.
• Lo Jack theft recovery systems are supposed to be serviced every two years. Leave your battery connected to conserve Lo Jack’s battery. Check the owner’s book or web site to maintain the warranty.
• Brake & clutch friction linings need to be thoroughly greened (cured) before storing. Technicians do this when bedding in new brakes, but neglect it for clutches since it is not a concern except for storage. Even so, getting green materials to peak operating temperatures to cure the compounds and eliminate the solvents that can cause bonding while in storage is an inexact science and overheating can do damage. Warm up the parts cautiously until smell or smoke is just perceptible and allow to cool, then use once again before storage.
• Treat the fuel with Sta-bil fuel stabilizer following directions, double the recipe for long storage, over a year. Keep the fuel level low to facilitate recycling or using up tired gas in the Spring. Treat fuel stored in containers & label the containers with string tags. Do not recycle fuel treated with lead substitute by using it in catalyst cars. Drive the car some distance to mix the Sta-bil and get it throughout the system. Listen to your fuel pump so you can tell how and when it sounds.
• It is better to store with new oil than old, so if scheduled maintenance is due before the end of Spring, change the oil and filter, coolant and/or brake fluid as needed. Set normal tire pressures and add 4psi for typical losses. Repair slow leaks if pressures are below average.
• Lube hinges & strikers with an oiler, one drop per point, also heater and choke cables and protect battery terminals (do not short terminals with the oiler), oil and wipe any bare metal including exposed threads and bolt heads, avoiding rubber hoses. Boeshield T-9 is a spray wax made for aircraft and is safe for paint and rubber.

A dry day is the best choice for all the following operations.

• Clean the car inside and out. Dry cleaning may be an option and doesn’t leave moisture inside door panels. If you wash your car plan to take a half hour drive afterward. Look for and remove leaves and debris, and road dirt that lodges on the door hinge brackets inside the A panels. Wax the paint and wheels, some say wax chrome but do not buff it off, others say wax prevents chrome from healing itself. Protect rubber tires and door gaskets with your favorite stuff. Vacuum and dust spiders and webs under seats and in door edges. Identify genuine leather with a magnifying glass and clean and protect it with Lexol products.
• Check the drain passages in the sill panels and doors with a plastic or wooden probe, restore those missing rubber plugs in the holes in the boot floor so mice can’t enter.
• Drive the car to dry the radiator, oil cooler, engine bay, brakes, inside door panels, mirrors, body seams, skirts and other panels.
• Touch up paint where needed.
• Check compartments and remove mints and flashlights with batteries.
• Consider putting owner’s manuals, maps and important papers in plastic bags.
• Store convertible tops in up position, check the frame for rust or corrosion and protect with oil, but do not let oil get on to fabric.
• Take photos if possible. I do this every time I wax to celebrate how great the car looks and to help preserve the greatest mental image. It also creates a record in case of an insurance claim.
• Warm up the engine and exhaust system thoroughly and position the car. If the floor of the garage is earth, put a blue tarp under all four wheels, put a cardboard drip tray under engine and transmission. Apply the fogging oil, following directions.
• Park the car with parking brake off and chock the wheels if not putting the car on stands, remove or disconnect the battery, connect the 1a automatic charger but leave it unplugged until the following month.
• Make a cover for tailpipes with your choice of plastic bags, tie wraps and duct tape, to keep out pests and moisture. Check inside the air cleaner housing for seeds and nests, cover the air cleaner intake. Put tags on the turn signal switch as a reminder.

Jacking and Supporting the Car

• It is a good idea to put the car on stands if available and allow the suspension to droop (hang). Mini Coopers need special care here. Jack in front under the front trailing arm pick up bracket of the sub frame and do not pinch the trailing arm on the way up. Support the car on one stand at the sub frame under the axle, then put the jack and wood block under the gearbox. If your car is extremely low or has an air dam, you should start by driving up on two 2x4’s. Put two stands set at equal height with 2x4x10” lumber (notched to fit stands if needed) under the seam joining the front floor and apron (inner wheel arch) at the 45 degree contour that leads back to side sills (rocker panels). The two stands and 2x4’s will now be at 90 degrees to each other.
• Place the jack and pad under either side member of the rear sub frame, raise the car while watching the front stands do not tip backward. Put two stands as far apart as practical under rear floor seam with sub frame mounting panel with 2x4’s parallel to rear sub frame front cross member and in line with each other.

Place the bag of Damp Gone calcium chloride on the terry towel on the rear floor. Keep the plastic container to keep it dry in the Summer and for the instructions on drying it so it can be reused.

Close the windows, close the heater air door and vents, lock the car, and cover with the soft breathable car cover.

Plug in the electronic pest and rodent repeller if needed.

In Storage

• Plug in battery the charger on the 1st of each month, mark the calendar so you remember to disconnect it the next day.
• Open and close the heater air door and check for debris from mice. Look for animal signs under the seats, bonnet and in the boot for chewed up black tape around wiring looms, seeds, nuts, granulated plastic, shredded paper or pellets of foam insulation.

After Storage

• Remove the car cover making sure it is clean and dry before storing it. remove the exhaust and inlet covers and the reminder tag. Take out the Damp Gone and dry it before putting it away.
• Check the cardboard drip tray for signs of leaks. Plot the locations of any drips on the car before moving it.
• Check levels, oil, coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid, check if the brake & clutch pedals feel OK. Check belt and cooling fan area for debris. Check the tire pressures, install the battery and charger if needed.
• Remove the spark plugs, put one good squirt of oil in each hole. Wait five minutes for the oil to find the rings, disconnect the coil power or earth the coil wire with clip leads to ground, hold the throttle wide open (defeats fuel injectors on most electronic injection cars-designed for starting on flooded condition), turn on ignition and listen for fuel pump sounds. Check the fuel system for leaks. If the carburetor floods, fuel will spill out the overflow vent or pipe. In that case, turn off the fuel pump and tap lightly on top of the float chamber. If the SU pump doesn’t tick, switch key off and on several times, then tap the center of the pump from the bottom with a 2x4 or soft plastic hammer. Crank the engine while watching the oil pressure gauge or light. Limit cranking the starter to 30 seconds then wait for it to cool 30 seconds. Continue cranking a few seconds after the light goes out (10psi) so oil completely circulates, refit the plugs, reconnect the ignition and close the throttle if it was propped open.
• Start the engine, check the oil pressure and charging (remember to look for charging light with ignition on). Smoke from the tail pipe for a few seconds is OK. Listen for noisy exhaust that could be new holes.
• When the coolant gauge moves, drive the car gently to warm up the engine, gearbox and wheel bearings. Immediately operate the brakes and check if they release OK. Check the hand brake the same way. Open the heater air door and vents and turn on the blower motor to circulate air through the system. Recheck for brake fluid leaks at pedals, clutch slave, and brake backing plates.
• Workshop manuals have good information on safety, tools, materials, recycling and practical advice as well as maintenance and repair.

Example of Neglected Coolant Thomas Abbe Photo

Technical Article By Thomas Abbe Filename: TABTEC312