Storing the 4Runner for 6 months

[hgill]

I've been overseas in India for almost 3 months already, but anticipate an additional 3 month stay here.

My 4Runner and wife's RX are both currently stored in our garage.

Prior to leaving, I did the following:
- Filled the fuel tanks completely.
- Inflated all tires to the proper PSI.
- Put both vehicles on trickle chargers.

Since the duration of the trip is getting extended, does anyone recommend doing anything else, such as putting both vehicles on jack stands?

I have family nearby that can do additional things if needed. Here are some photos as a thank you (photos are from travel prior to Corona-virus as we are currently on day 27 of 40 day national lock down).

 

[spartacus]

6 months in a garage it'll be fine. you might have some flat spots on the tires but they will work their way out in a few miles. fuel tank is full good. Ideally if a trusted family member can drive the cars for half an hour at highway speeds it would be great. I would luv to visit India some day great pics.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

Gas may be close bad after 6 months. I think gas formulations today don’t store well.

 

[Dillusion]

6 months is pushing the gas.

Throw some fuel stabilizer in there and it should be good to go.

 

[AuSeeker]

I also would be more concerned about the gas then any other issues when storing for more than 90 days, pure gasoline in a sealed tank has a shelf life of around 90 days and then it has degraded to a lower octane level as it's petroleum distillates/chemicals start to separate.

That shelf life lessens especially if the gas has any ethanol in it, ethanol is hygroscopic, meaning it adsorbs moisture, a gasoline/ethanol blend absorbs water until it triggers phase separation, ethanol is heavier than gasoline so once the phase separation happens the ethanol sinks to the bottom and water is also heavier than gasoline and ethanol, so what you end up with in your tank is water at the bottom, then pure old ethanol, and then older much lower octane gas in the rest of the tank, since all fuel pickups are at the bottom of the tank the first thing that happens when you start the engine is it will suck water into the fuel system, if the water content is very little the engine may make it pass the water but not likely but if so it would be running on pure old ethanol which the engine is not designed to do, and then if it gets passed the old ethanol it's running on an octane level of at least 3% less and possibly more than what the gas octane level was when it was fresh.

If the gas in the tank is pure ethanol free gas, then at the very least all you have to be concerned with is a lower level octane rating which an octane booster additive could be added to help IF these octane boosters actually work.

 

[JLTD]

Another vote for some stabilizer for the gas.

 

[LandCruiser]

I left my Tacoma in my garage in HI for almost 5 months. Started right back up.

 

[importman]

Like the others said. Fuel stabilizer. And I don't know if it's possible but it would be really good if you could have someone start them and let them run for 10-15 minutes at least once a month.

 

[DMC12Runner]

I have had a couple of classic vehicles and this is the routine for winter. We also just stored our 2020 TRD Pro for winter (yes, I know, I know):

Oil change and ran prior to storage (clean oil sitting vs. dirty). This was done on vehicles that saw no more than 1K per year, so it was a yearly ritual. If you did oil not too long before storage, I would not worry.

Fill fuel tank and add a fuel stabilizer to tank and run through system. Sta-Bil is a good one.

Crack windows and put an open container of baking soda inside. Dryer sheets can work too but provide a nice blanket for mice, however.

Inflate tires a bit higher than normal PSI.

Use a battery maintainer, not a trickle charger as the latter will continuously charge the battery and could boil it. The former charges it up and then stops and maintains the charge. I have a Deltran Battery Tender Plus purchased from Costco.

Good luck!

 

[5VZ-FE]

I appreciate this thread because I'm about to go to college and need to store my 3rd gen. Thanks for all the info!

 

[Kanoe]

All good advice. I'll add a point or two. We store one of our 2 vehicles (and a motorcycle) for 6-7 months every winter. Usually it is the 4runner as the car is a more economical winter run about and cheaper to replace.

With non-ethanol gas 7-8 months is no problem, just add a stabilizer.

In addition to the fresh oil change I always pull the spark plugs and squirt 1-2 oz of engine oil in the plug holes then put NEW plugs back in and ready for spring. Old habit from motorcycle storage.

Ours lives in a sea can with no power so I pull the battery out. Give it a full charge on a charger before storage and then charge it again before starting the vehicle in the spring. Likely not the best, but the best I can do and I still get good battery life from them. For anything over 2-3 weeks I'll disconnect the battery.

Good luck.

 

[nglayton]

I'm curious why you filled the tanks before storing them?

Either way, I've left gas in a jerry can or the rotopax for at least a year in the past and it burns just fine.

Battery tender was a great idea.

I would at least start them for a few minutes or like someone mentioned above take them out for a quick spin.

 

[bigdiyer]

Regarding tires, the problem of flat spots can be reduced by inflating to the max pressure listed on the sidewall rather than the vehicle's recommended pressure. You will of course have to remember to bring them back down when taken out of storage, but they should be checked at that time anyway.

 

[2112 R]

Use a battery maintainer, not a trickle charger as the latter will continuously charge the battery and could boil it. The former charges it up and then stops and maintains the charge. I have a Deltran Battery Tender Plus purchased from Costco.

Good luck!

^^ This. Had a friend park his 5th gen for a few months and the battery went totally dead while he was gone. Could have been all the energy leaches and mods he has hooked up, but it did end up costing him a replaced battery as the old one when he returned wouldn't take a charge anymore.

 

[Bumbo]

I find this thread a little amusing only because I used to actually worry, but the truck does well in "storage"

My 4Runner saw about 1000 miles in 2019 and pretty much just sits around until I have time to use it off-road.

Even after sitting for most of the year, it starts and runs like I used it yesterday. I've really just stopped worrying about it.

The only thing I do is use a battery tender because I have a bench of aftermarket electrical and have ran the battery down just sitting.

I prefer to store it as close to empty as possible, but I haven't used any fuel stabilizer.

I run mud terrains in C load and haven't had any issues with flat spots or vibration, but they are also loud as hell regularly so maybe its covering some stuff up.

 

[Kanoe]

^^ This. Had a friend park his 5th gen for a few months and the battery went totally dead while he was gone. Could have been all the energy leaches and mods he has hooked up, but it did end up costing him a replaced battery as the old one when he returned wouldn't take a charge anymore.

You can just pull the negative battery lead off too. Anything more than 3 weeks I'll do this. The battery will sit for months disconnected then fire up the truck when you need. it. The truck will slowly drain the battery just sitting if left connected.

 

[hgill]

After reading through the suggestions, it seemed like it would be best for someone to drive the cars every few weeks rather than just adding fuel stabilizer. I spoke with a buddy of mine and he said he will take the cars out for a drive every 3-4 weeks to his work which will be about 50 miles round trip.

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[hgill]

I'm curious why you filled the tanks before storing them?



Either way, I've left gas in a jerry can or the rotopax for at least a year in the past and it burns just fine.



Battery tender was a great idea.



I would at least start them for a few minutes or like someone mentioned above take them out for a quick spin.

When i was about to leave for my trip I had read through a few threads on storing vehicles and it was stated to fill the tank completely prior to storage. I didn't have much time to prep so did what I could before leaving. However since the trips literally gone from 3 months to 6 months, I figured I take additional precautions to ensure the vehicles remain in good condition.

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