As we all know, nothing lasts forever. I'm moving to North Carolina for school, and my Jeep will not be joining me. On the bright side, I will not be selling my XJ. Instead, I will be storing it in my garage for a couple years for the price of FREE. I have put together a list of products that I intend to use to keep my Jeep nice and minty. Please feel free to give me some pointers.

• Tarp - to line the garage floor and keep away moisture
• Battery trickle charger - to keep battery from dying
• Moth ***** - to line perimeter of Jeep both inside and outside
• Rodent killer - to keep rodents from chewing wires and such
• Jack stands - will be placed under both axles to lift the Jeep off the ground
• WD40 - and tons of it... I will shoot this inside the unibody, the underbody, and even brake components to keep from rusting
• Steel woll - to keep rodents and insects out of the exhaust
• 6 qts of Mobil 1 + filter - Clean oil is a good idea.
• Lucas oil stabilizer - you know what it does.
• Fuel stabilizer - for any residual fuel in system
• Fogging oil - to be ran through vac line, keeps internals from rusting
• Seafoam - probably a good idea to get rid of carbon buildup.
  
  
  I will pull the fuel pump relay and run all the gas out of the system before storage too. The Jeep will not be started for a LONG time, so I'm trying to take tons of precautions. I'm also debating on whether or not to buy a cover + add a fresh coat of wax to the paint.
  
  
  Let me know what else needs to be done. I need more ideas, the idea of storing Rambo is freaking me out a tad.

Bump....
I really need some input lol

You have a good plan there. Give it a good washing/waxing before storing it. I'd also degrease the engine compartment so any leaked oil, mud or anything in there will not cake on forever

Something I learned from having a couple motorcycles...

Pull the battery and store it indoors. Like, in the basement or somewhere the extreme temps won't fully hit. Stable temps that aren't extremely hot or cold will help.

My XJ is in "storage" for just a year, which means sitting outside in my parents yard lol. All I did was use the fuel stabilizer, put it on bald stock tires and brought my nice new 33"s inside. I have my dad start it every few months, let it idle for a while then drive it around the block to get everything oiled up nicely. Your plan sounds pretty damn good, and after reading it I sorta regret not thinking about rodent-proofing mine. Oh well, got my fingers crossed lol. Good luck with yours man.

Yea rodent proofing is a big thing... I know from personal experience, i had a mouse nest on the header heat shroud, and a birds nest on the coolant overflow bottle... luckily no wires were chewed, but it was a crappy cleanup (literally)... also the interior was filled with spider webs.

i say your plan is pretty good, but def disconnect the battery and store it somewhere... you can reset your clock and radio later! Also, try GT85 vs wd40.

Where are you going to be attending?

My main concern would be Rodent Proofing...Last thing I would want is rats chewing at my wiring...

Pressure wash all the dirt off the under carriage suspension,etc
dirt holds moisture=rust

Here are some tips from someone who has had to store his classic car during the winter every year - I've asked around and learned the best tips from the pros.

1. Don't change the oil BEFORE storage, change it AFTER. As the engine sits, the oil will run down from the cylinders. Fresh oil is thicker than used oil and will take longer to recirculate through the motor when you DO go to restart it.

2. Before your start it up for the first time, pull the plugs and shoot a bit of WD40 down into each cylinder for added friction prevention.

3. Store with a FULL gas tank. Condensation will form on the inside of an empty fuel tank. Fuel stays good longer than you might think - add a bottle of dry gas.

4. Don't use mothballs, use dryer sheets. You know those little good-smelling things you throw in the dryer with your laundry? Yeah, those. They repel rodents (the smell is too powerful for them) AND make you Jeep smell good, as opposed to moth *****. Scatter them all over the interior and engine bay.

5. Over inflate your tires slightly to help against flat spots, and coat them in armor all to help against dry rot.

6. Definitely wash and wax. Don't use a cover unless it's breathable material.

7. If for some reason you have a chance to start it up and let it run for a bit, DON'T DO IT unless you have time to get it to full operating temp for at least 30 minutes. Reason? Well, ever see water drip from your tail pipe sometimes? That's water from the gas. It happens most when the catalytic converter isn't hot enough to burn it off. So, you can imagine that if you coat your exhaust with water, then shut the engine off before it gets hot enough to burn it off.. you're gonna rust out your exhaust.

8. Don't bother keeping the battery in the vehicle. Just pull it out and throw it on a shelf somewhere indoors, and hope for the best. Running a trickle charger for "a couple of years" just seems unreasonable. Trickle chargers are mostly meant for seasonal storage. You'd probably end up spending as much on electricity to keep it charged for a few years as it would cost to just buy a new battery.

9. Flush the brake fluid and replace with new fluid. Brake fluid absorbs moisture - if your fluid is old, it's probably got a bit of moisture in it and will rust your lines from the inside-out.

10. Likewise with the cooling system. Flush the system and replace with a fresh 50/50 mix.


A couple of years is a long time to store any vehicle. Don't expect to just get in it and drive away when you get home. You're going to be in for a lot of work getting her road-ready again.

When I store a vehicle here is one thing that I always do.
Drain the fuel run it completely out. fill with diesel and let the diesel stay in the take the oil will keep any of your lines from being dry rotted and tank from rusting. When its time to use again drain the diesel fill with gas and crank. All your other ideas seem good. A little over kill to me but to each is to own.

Yeah...I'm not ever going to put diesel in my gasoline motor's tank...

Everything said is great.

I would add that you should definitely wash and wax it. Put a good coat of wax on the paint, lenses and wheels. THEN, go back over it with a good spray wax (BEST - Durgloss AquaWax, 2nd Meguiars Quick Wax) the spray wax will go on everything. You can coat your windows, door jams and ALL rubber like your window seals. It will protect all of this. You can also coat under your hood and doghouse with this as well.

I would dress your tires, engine compartment (after degreasing) the weather stripping inside the doors. It will be important to condition/dress these because they will be mashed for a long time and you will want them to expand without cracking when you finally do open the doors. For all of this, I recommend 303 Aerospace Vinyl and Rubber Conditioner. If you dont go woth this, make sure what you do use is a water based dreasing and not silicone. The silicone type will become sticky and by the time you get back to driving it, everything will be caked with dust. You could also dress the interior as well.

Make sure all of your ball joints and suspension components are full of grease.

A dehumidifier in the garage may be a good investment too.

Definitely get all of the mud off of EVERYTHING.

+1 on the dryer sheets but you may ask your parents to replace them every couple months.

^This
and don't put mothballs inside, you will never get the smell completely out

I gotta ask, why not have the XJ while you are in NC?