RR40vette

Hi,
last fall I change the oil, drove the corvette maybe 600 miles this summer, now when I pull the dip stick the oil still looks real clean,

Now its fall again would you change the oil before you put the vette away again for winter or wait till spring? I was wondering what you guys think,

MotorCity_87_C4

I have the same question but I drove almost 1800 miles this summer. Maybe we ought to drive our Vettes more often!

jon0108

I wait till spring for the annual oil change. I usually drive about 1,000 to 1,500 miles a year before putting her away for the winter. In the spring, once its on the lift for an oil change, I spray down the suspension parts with silicone spray, check for other leaks underneath, and get ready for the season.

mundo

Cheap risk! So you spend $50 to change the oil to limit your risk. That's cheap. Better to be safe than sorry. Make sure you use fuel stabilizer though.

Frizlefrak

I wouldn't. I see no reason to change clean oil.

Vette Jockey

I talked to a rep that handles Mobil 1 about that. He said synthetics do not break down overtime without use, unlike natural oils that do. He said he would worry more about miles than time with Mobil 1.

PLRX

I live in Kalifornia (no winter here), I read a lot about you guys storing your Vettes during the winter.

Do you just store it and never ever start the engine or once a month you start it and let it idle for few minutes?

I also know about your winter/mice problem.

c4cruiser

With a full synthetic like Mobil-1, there is no real reason why you can't let the car sit with the oil that is already in the engine. With such few number of miles on the oil, there is no need to change it before winter.

If possible during the winter, start the engine once a month and let it run for 15-20 minutes. That will insure that any moisture in the crankcase and the exhaust system will be removed by engine heat. Keep a battery maintainer on the battery and that will keep it fully charged.

Also, run the heater and defroster at the same time. Turn the A/C on so that refrigerant will runs through the system so that the seals and o-rings stay pliable.

SQUIRMIN VERMIN 84

Sounds pretty reasonable.

Loby 1

Over the years I have learned....Corvettes are no fun unless you drive them.

Mrs. glass car

I have a tendency to agree, however the only answer I could get from the Mobil-I website was to change the oil at least annually, at a minimum irrespective of miles. Then again what would they say...kind of a loaded question to ask Mobil-!
I also only put a few hundred miles on my car some years. It seems a waste, but I do it anyway on all of my cars that run Mobil-I. That amounts to 20 quarts per year for the 3 cars...
But I feel real good about and it gives me a chance to look under the cars.

astepup

I had asked a similar question last fall about starting the car periodically to let it warm up to keep seals etc in good shape. A cf member responded (and I can't remember his name) that that basically doesn't do any good, for to really condition the seals and soforth you need to run the car at least 20 minutes or so on the road...letting the oil get up to temp and the tranny as well. So last fall before storage I put on a battery float charger, loaded her up with scented fabric sheets and soap bars, a few mouse traps for good measure and let her sit. Although I did once in a while check in on her to make sure she was happy and content This past spring I had no issues at all either rodent or mechanical and yes I left the oil in it as it only had about 2000 miles on it and I change every 3500 or so. This winter I have heated storage available but I'll still prep her as usual

astepup said that

RUU

I don't think it does the filter any good to be sitting with used oil in it for over a year, either. In the old days we would always change the oil before putting a car away for the winter, unless the number of miles since the last change was less than 100. With the newer oils and engines, I'll let a year go by before changing the oil - as long as I don't go over the mileage interval limit. If you only need to do an annual change, before winter storage is the best time as the engine sits all winter with fresh oil in the crankcase as opposed to used, contaminated oil.

jon0108

I make sure I add fuel stabilizer to the gas, leave the car on a battery maintainer, lube up all the weatherstripping with dielectric grease,windows fully up and doors fully closed, and add a bunch of dryer sheets to the interior

JackDidley

Winner.

CMYC4GO

Geez, some of you guys act as if these cars are made of some precious exotic material or something. Heated storage, 1000 mile oil changes, uber limited driving, etc. Drive the damn thing, and use regularly scheduled maintenance. Use it like it was intended, I promise you...it won't vaporize.

TGReaper

Some years ago, I left oil in a JD riding mower over the winter because it had been used very little, perhaps three hours since the oil was changed.
In the spring I found that the acids created by that three hours running time had permanently etched the dipstick from the oil level down.
Now I change the oil in anything that will sit over winter right before storage.

jmgtp

I store two cars that don't get driven in the winter. I don't change the oil beforehand, it seems like a waste since the vast majority of the oil will just be sitting in the oil pan and I'd still feel compelled to change it again in the spring. I run it up to temp and make sure that the oil is up to temp as well, not just the water. It'll evaporate any moisture in the oil and crankcase. I then park it and do not start it until the spring. Seals aren't going to go bad in a few months and starting it up every week/month only introduces more moisture. A tender on the battery is a good idea to preserve it. I didn't use one last year on the Vette and it still started right up but it's cheap insurance.

Edit: I do use Mobil 1 in both cars that get stored. Not sure if it has any advantages as far as storage goes but I imagine it holds up to time better than conventional.

Frizlefrak

These old things are tough as nails. Treat 'em as such.

onedef92

No reason to change it at all. I drive mine until the Oil Service Life Monitor comes on (keeping paper copy mileage backups, though).