This is my first year owning a Camaro.....I live in a climate where it gets to -40 in the winter. Northern Canada....

I currently have my Camaro parked in a non-heated garage up on four jack stands. The suspension is just hanging freely. I can start the car up and change gears running on the jack stands.

Couple of questions: Does it hurt the suspension with the jack stands on the frame not supporting the suspension? Also is it ok to run the car in gear while on jack stands like this?

What other things do you think I should do when storing for the winter months. Now being November the Car will not come off the jack stands until late April.....6 months!

Thanks in advance for those who give me some guidance with regards to this post.

I'd say put it back on the ground!! Guys with large collections don't drive some of their cars for months and they don't put them up. Our daily drivers sit on their suspensions 365. The suspension wasn't designed to hang fully extended for several months at a time... The only benefit maybe is preventing a flat spot on the tires but unless the car is being put away for years shouldn't be a problem. I guess it would be fun to sit in the garage and go through the gears once in a while but don't see a real benefit to the vehicle itself.

Personally I'd fill the tank come home and give the car an oil change, make sure all the other fluids are fresh and topped off, some grease in the zerks and clean, wax & detail it like you were getting ready for a big show. Then park the car with a 2x8 or 2x10 under each tire (inflated to proper cold psi) to insulate the rubber from the cold concrete a little, disconnect the batt, cover it and say 'see-ya' in spring!!

What do you do with your daily driver to protect it and insure it starts in the temps you are talking about? Engine blankets? oil warmers? Just turn the key and go? You are in some extreme cold weather and I really think it's best not to be starting the Camaro up at those temps if you don't have too...

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr....6 months!!??!!
I'd MOVE! :D

Ah, but then again you get the lonnnnng summer days! That part would be nice!

graemlins/beers.gif (thats hot cocoa, not beer in those mugs)

DjD is right, keep it on all 4's but pump a little extra air in the tires too, maybe 40lbs, that helps keep em round in the cold air.
IF you got the itch you could always take a floor jack and lift the rear end and start it up on occasion and go thru the gears slowly too.
Mine sits in a heated garage so I dont have the same issues as you do, but it gets -40 here on occasion too and that sucks big time.
Winter blah
:eek:

As I'm sure you know, it is very important to have the coolant mixture correct for the temperatures you expect to see. Use a hydrometer to make sure you can survive the -40* temps.

You'll probably want to change your oil to 10W-30 or 5W-30 if you expect to start it while cold.

Fill the fuel tank after adding a can of Stabil fuel stabilizer. Take a cruise to make sure some of the stabilizer makes it's way into the fuel bowls.

I like the idea of over inflating the tires. They say that tires change pressure by 1lbs for every 10 degrees change in temp. I don't think that is a linear scale though. Just beware that when the weather warms up, your 40 psi may be 45 psi.

If your battery is a servicable one, make sure it's properly filled. Don't fill it to the bottom of the opening, rather a 1/4" below or so. Have a charger handy and put it on charge once a month or so. Extream cold (and hot) weather is hell on batteries as I'm sure you know.

-dnult

In upstste NY, we have long winters too. All I do is have a full tank of gas and disconnect the battery. I don't use stabil. Come Spring I put the battery in, prime the carb and off I go.

I hope no one gets the idea because the car is on jack stands that it is ok to rev that thing up in gear!! When we were in auto shop in High School(35 yrs ago :( ) a friend of mine brought his Dads 65 Impala in for a quick tune up. While he had this thing up on stands for a quick look under the car, he decided to "take it for a spin" in the garage. Somewhere around 90mph on the is where he backed off. I didnt know that a drive train could grenade like that!!!LOL The most dangerous part was the drive shaft flying across the shop floor!! WOW! My advice...go slow on the jack stands. graemlins/thumbsup.gif Kevin

Welcome aboard Fortcam. Personally I wouldn't run the car at all. I put mine up on blocks but take only about 40% of the weight off the wheels. I take all the plugs out and put an ounce or so of ATF into each cylinder. I manually turn the engine over a turn or two every week or 10 days. This way the valvetrain is never sitting in the same spot for too long. I found out a long time ago running an engine in cold weather just kills them. Also you"ll find your exhaust system will rust out pretty fast because of all the condensation. Hope this helps, Frank

Frank - Just courious, why ATF?

Dennis, No particular reason for the ATF, just something I always use. One nice thing about it is the red color, if some happens to spill out of a cylinder you can see it right away to wipe it up.

Don't run the car unless you're going to drive it 10-15 miles to get the oil temperature up to normal; otherwise it just builds up moisture, raw fuel, and rich blow-by contaminants in the oil that never gets hot enough to be boiled off and just makes the oil more acidic.

Check the anti-freeze concentration, fill the gas tank, get it down on its tires, pull the battery, put a dust cover on it, and leave it alone until spring. No need for Sta-Bil just for winter storage. graemlins/thumbsup.gif