Maintaining a 3rd gen driven once a month?

T

twa318

Member
Since I picked up a 4th gen my 3rd gen has been sitting idle in the driveway for about 90 days. I knew it was going to be used less frequently so I filled up the gas tank to prevent moisture but didn't take any additional steps.

When I cranked it up last night it ran pretty rough and I noticed the valve cover leak seems to have become worse. I'm not concerned about the gasket as I'm replacing it later this summer, but I'm wondering if there is any preventive measures I should be taking for a vehicle that will only be driven once a month at most.
 
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A seating vehicle and just had hard on them as not taking care of them I would at least try to drive it once a week.


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Why don't you drive it? Is there something wrong with it?

I have 2 vehicles. I switch between them every so often so they both get driven and neither sits too long.
 
If you can't drive it put some stabilizer in the fuel and start it once every 2 weeks and move it back and forth a bit.

I leave a couple of mine all winter and don't do anything but add stabilizer and disconnect the battery. They run perfect in the spring.

The battery will go dead in a couple or 3 weeks if not disconnected.
 
Fuel shouldn't be a problem within 90 days. Riding a moto in WA that's a normal window.

However my routine from motos was always:
fuel stabilizer
battery tender(moto batteries are notoriously weak though)
change oil based on time (and other fluids, especially brake fluid) rather than miles


A healthy battery should NOT go flat in 3 weeks.
 
I agree with driving it regularly as the easiest way to keep it in running condition. Once I bought my '06 a year ago, my '94 ceased being my DD, and is pretty much just my trail vehicle, but I try to drive it 20-30 miles every week. That does two things.
- It keeps all the parts lubricated and the gasoline fresh
- It allows me to spot incipient problems near home that otherwise I wouldn't notice until I was on the trail in some remote spot. Older vehicles especially need someone who "knows" them and can spot deviations from normal performance.
 
Either leave it with the battery tender on there with a stabilizer in the tank for long term storage or drive it and fully warm it up once every couple weeks.

A quick 5 minutes isn't enough, and idling isn't enough. You need to fully warm everything up to keep it happy. Idling is rough on the engine and doesn't help lube or move anything else in the drivetrain. Short running can build up condensation in the crankcase that long drives will get rid of.

This all reminds my I need to drive my Camry again! (its been a couple months)

-Charlie
 
JayRolla said:
Also remember to put her in 4x4 once a month and drive it forward and back to keep everything lubed up.
Click to expand...

So what's not being lubed in 4x2 that is lubed when in 4x4? I can't think of anything.

I'd agree with the above if we were talking about a vehicle with lockout hubs normally in the unlock position.
 
csp said:
So what's not being lubed in 4x2 that is lubed when in 4x4? I can't think of anything.

I'd agree with the above if we were talking about a vehicle with lockout hubs normally in the unlock position.
Click to expand...

That's a good question. All I know really is when 4x4 is not used it can be sometimes harder to shift her into low. But again that was manual hubbed vehicles that did that on me.
 
Considering where the OP lives, there aren't many trails. If he can't foresee using it in the near future, just sell it and enjoy the 4th Gen.

For autos not driven much give them an Italian tune up monthly.
 
When in 2wd, the front drive shaft + universal joints, and ring/pinion inside the front diff are stationary, as well as the front output shaft of the tcase. The spider gears in the differential section spin to allow the ring gear to remain stationary. As such there is a fair amount of oil being sloshed around in the front diff, unlike if you had unlocked manual hubs.

Front CV's continue to turn in all cases.
 
Airmapper said:
Why don't you drive it? Is there something wrong with it?

I have 2 vehicles. I switch between them every so often so they both get driven and neither sits too long.
Click to expand...

I have 6 vehicles, so I get the OP's issue. I'd say battery tender, change the oil based on time; not miles and fuel stabilizers. Try to drive it at least once a week, but realistically....it may be once every two weeks or so. At least idle it for 15 minutes once a week....won't really do much to lubricate anything else, but it's better than nothing. Also run the A/C even if it's cold....the seals can and do rot out if you aren't pressurizing the system regularly by cycling the compressor.
 
Good advise above but, I'd use a fuel conditioner not stabilizer unless it says it treats ethanol. It's the Ethanol sitting in the lines that's the killer, especially in the rubber.
Lucas Oil 10576 Safeguard Ethanol Fuel Conditioner - 16 oz.
https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-10...d=1490485377&sr=8-17&keywords=fuel+stabilizer

My trucks sometimes sits for weeks but I try to drive it to work one day a week. Also disconnect the battery or get a tender.

Put up some pics & specs, maybe I'll take it off your hands. :bump2:
 
Letting any motorized equipment sit is crazy hard on them. But reality is it happens.

Star Brite Fuel Treatment as soon as ethanol fuel came out. Lucas HD Oil Stabilizer in anything with oil. We have used this in all the rigs that sit for as long as I can remember. Tractors, Trucks, Pump Motors, Wind Machine Motors, all of them. Some of these engines only get started and used for a month or two then parked for months.

Even non ethanol gas gets treated if it goes in a can or a seldom used rig.
 
fblainen11 said:
Even DD 4x4 are supposed to be driven at least 10 miles per month in 4wd according to Toyota and the owners manual.
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Depending on where you live, good luck achieving that. Being 10 minutes from NYC you're lucky to find a dirt parking lot. When you've got a part time transfer case it's hard to drive 10 miles in 4HI without winding that beetch up. I just go forward and reverse in a dirt lot a few times in 4HI, 4LO, and with locker engaged. Everything engages smoothly for the most part. Occasionally it wants to piss me off going back into 2WD.
 
T4R2014 said:
Depending on where you live, good luck achieving that. Being 10 minutes from NYC you're lucky to find a dirt parking lot. When you've got a part time transfer case it's hard to drive 10 miles in 4HI without winding that beetch up. I just go forward and reverse in a dirt lot a few times in 4HI, 4LO, and with locker engaged. Everything engages smoothly for the most part. Occasionally it wants to piss me off going back into 2WD.
Click to expand...

I guess I should have specified that it's for the multi-mode transfer case runners.
 
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