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Looking aftter your engine during the lockdown


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Anybody out there got some well founded tips for looking after your engine during an enforced lay-off.  I'm always a bit concerned about the effects of lack of use have on my engine. When I bought my 944 turbo it had been laid up for 6 months due to the ill health of the owner. It needed belts which I got done immediately. After a month i'm heading away from a PCGB Sunday meeting in a 30 limit when all of a sudden plumes of blue smoke in the mirror. New turbo required and careful examination to see what other damage to the internals has resulted. The car had 80K miles on it and no signs of smoke previously. I often wondered if the lay-off had contributed as that wasn't a common problem for that mileage. 

I start the Cayman about once a fortnight and run it up to temp.  At present I take it a couple of miles to do a bit of shopping.. What else to do?    At least it doesn't have a Turbo!

 

EIB CAY

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I'm starting mine once a week, and taking it for a short trip around our estate roads, probably 2 miles max at 40 mph max, then idle a bit at home until its fully warm. Use the brakes as much as I can to keep the rust off them.

 

Its on a CTEK charger, so the battery is always topped up.

 

Neighbour over the road, who is not a car enthusiast, saw me starting mine up and he came out started his, then immediately switched them off, obviously not realising he's actually draining the battery doing that and not doing the engine much good either.

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If you're not going to drive the car then don't start it up.  Put it on a trickle charger to keep the battery charged and let it stand.  It'll be fine.

 

When you're ready to drive, check coolant, tyre pressures then off you go.  Check oil once engine is up to temp.  There's no need to let the engine idle for 20 minutes wasting fuel, emitting emissions and causing unnecessary engine wear.  The longer your engine is cold, the more wear that takes place.  The goal is to get the engine up to temp as quickly as possible without labouring the engine.

 

Your 944 turbocharger oil seals failed (causing oil to enter the turbine/compressor outlet rather than pass through the oil passages) and that would have little to do with the car sitting, in my opinion.  Sometimes things just fail.

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4 minutes ago, Craiglm68 said:

I concur...and have my weekly late night 24hr Tescos Superstore lined up for this weekend....a man has to eat.....

 

 

I heard Tesco's Edinburgh has been rammed of late......

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On 17/04/2020 at 14:31, Aaron said:

If you're not going to drive the car then don't start it up.  Put it on a trickle charger to keep the battery charged and let it stand.  It'll be fine.

 

When you're ready to drive, check coolant, tyre pressures then off you go.  Check oil once engine is up to temp.  There's no need to let the engine idle for 20 minutes wasting fuel, emitting emissions and causing unnecessary engine wear.  The longer your engine is cold, the more wear that takes place.  The goal is to get the engine up to temp as quickly as possible without labouring the engine.

 

Your 944 turbocharger oil seals failed (causing oil to enter the turbine/compressor outlet rather than pass through the oil passages) and that would have little to do with the car sitting, in my opinion.  Sometimes things just fail.

 

I'm with Aaron. Just sitting for a few weeks won't do the thing any harm at all. Yes the battery may go flat but charging it enough to get the thing to fire up when you next want to drive it will be fine. 

 

If you are storing a car for longer periods (6 months or more) then you need to think about other precautions but for anything up to this it's not worth the hassle. Starting it and driving it for short periods will cause all the wear you'd expect from lots of short journeys. 

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Best not to let the battery go completely flat, as you may kill it. Its still pretty cold at night, so a lot of batteries will need replacing if not charged.

 

Recommend getting a CTEK MXS 3.8 which is sufficient for our batteries, about £55 on ebay, or Aldi do an AutoXS charger maintainer for around £15, you just connect them and leave them until you next drive the car.

 

Also dont forget the 7 days sleep the remote locking, does. After 7 days you have to unlock with the key to re-activate the remote locking.

 

 

 

 

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I have a CTEK charger as you describe and am aware of the 7 day sleep. I'm not sure however of the procedure to open the car with the Key …. and then stop the alarm going !

 

I did expect to get a variety of views on this topic.

As a matter of interest the procedure I us when my 54 TF is being started after a long lay-off I take the plugs out, turn the engine on the starting handle and then spin it on the starter to generate some oil pressure on the gauge Replace the plugs , start it up and off you go …. no damage done. not quite as straight forward on a mid engine flat 6!

 

E18CAY

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14 hours ago, Tozerman said:

Maybe a 1954 MG TF 🤔

------------------

 

More likely to be a 54 2004 MG TF :1_grinning:

Edited by Mavrik
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I'm working nonstop at the mo, and have the Cayman on a CTEC Charger.  I have been taking it out for a short trip every 4 weeks (ish). Thanks for heads up above I may just leave it on charge until I can go on a good run, it is garaged and covered.

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On 23/04/2020 at 14:32, Eddie Buckley said:

I have a CTEK charger as you describe and am aware of the 7 day sleep. I'm not sure however of the procedure to open the car with the Key …. and then stop the alarm going !

 

I did expect to get a variety of views on this topic.

As a matter of interest the procedure I us when my 54 TF is being started after a long lay-off I take the plugs out, turn the engine on the starting handle and then spin it on the starter to generate some oil pressure on the gauge Replace the plugs , start it up and off you go …. no damage done. not quite as straight forward on a mid engine flat 6!

 

E18CAY

 

You unlock the car with the key then press the lock/unlock button on the key.  The alarm will disable, then you can open the door without setting it off.

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The " B " was actually a "C" which I sold last summer to fund the Cayman and I managed to but some money in the bank as well. Unfortunately its either been continuous rain or lockdown since I got the Cayman

 

And for those that thought the TF was an early 2000's version I doubt they have starting handles.. as they say the clue is in the question

E18CAY

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