Storing a Vehicle for the Summer

Hello Mr. Kolf, you should fill up the tank, I would recommend that non ethanol fuel is used, you can only find it in 89 or 90 octane, however, you cannot keep ethanol from attracting water, however, you can use an octane booster, I recommend Chevron Techron. Ethanol will attract water and there are no products on the market that will keep it from happening, the best products will only keep the fuel and the water mixed, use the Techron when you return, before you leave also add fuel stabilizer, such as Sta-Bil, gasoline will go bad in 3 months, the fuel stabilizer will prolong that time frame.

I also highly recommend you use something in order to keep the tires from flat spotting, you can jack up the vehicle and keep it off of the ground, I do realize that this is not convenient, so I recommend you use something like Racing Ramps Flatstoppers, they are $212.00 for a set of 4 but when compared to the price of a tire it is very inexpensive. They are easier than some others on the market as you can drive the vehicle onto them instead of having to jack up the wheel in order to place them under the tire. Once a tire is flat spotted you cannot repair it.

Another thing is to not use the parking brake while you are away. Some people recommend that you do an oil change before storing the vehicle, Ford even recommends that in their owner’s manual, it is a good idea to do it, especially in a high humidity state like Florida. Thank you for the question and please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

Gil Neves