Tech Session notes from the Club’s visit to
Woodinville Sports
Cars, November 22, 2008.
Notes and Pictures from Dwight Curtis
Rick Korn hosted the Club to his great shop in
Woodinville, it was a fairly nice November morning (meaning no rain
and no storms blasting-in). Plenty of donuts and enough coffee to
float a battleship were on-hand for the 22 members and guests that
came to the session. The shop lobby contained one very lovely black
XK150 and a red Devlin; nice treats to look at while we visited and
downed coffee and donuts! The
theme for this tech session was “winterizing”, whether it is a daily
driver or a fair-weather-only collector.
The serious discussion, lead by Rick Korn began
about 10:30, where he discussed coolant, brake fluid, batteries,
oil, and fuel. Here are my notes (as I can decipher them) taken
during the tech session. Here are the main points of Rick’s
presentation in outline form:
Coolants
Anti-freeze has two main functions; protection
from freezing and protecting the engine from electrolysis (where
dissimilar metals can corrode). Coolants should be changed every two
years, because the chemicals that control electrolysis break-down.
Manufactures have their own mix additives (such as Mercedes, Audi,
BMW, and of course, Jaguar); take caution not to mix anti-freeze
from different manufactures. Why? Because mixing the additives might
create a gelatin-like mess inside the cooling system. What are the
consequences of not properly maintaining the cooling system? Rick
gave an example of a neglected Land Rover where the aluminum
radiator began leaking at the seam from electrolysis. The radiator
was repaired, and then the heater core began leaking next, and then
some part of the engine cooling control system (I can’t remember
what part Rick mentioned); a cascading effect from one neglected
maintenance area!
Brake Fluid
Glycol based brake fluid is hygroscopic – it
attracts water molecules. Between water and the inherent brake-down
of corrosion inhibiting chemicals the internal components of braking
systems are vulnerable to damage. The natural heating and cooling of
brake fluid introduces moisture into the brake system, too. Rick’s
answer to fend-off this problem - change brake fluid every two
years. He recommends replacing the brake fluid every year for stored
classics, using Castrol LMA brake fluid. I have read where a
two-year old daily driver could have as much as 2 to 3 percent water
in the brake fluid and a neglected car could have way more than that
amount of water in the brake fluid – makes you feel safe on I-5
doesn’t it?).
Battery
Newer battery disconnect switches have a
minimal of connecting surface inside; “don’t use them” advises Rick.
He believes one is better off just disconnection the cables on older
cars (those cars with no electronics depending on a battery to store
security settings, radio codes, etc.). He stated a disconnected
battery should last a long time. For newer cars, use a battery
tender that delivers a variable charge (to remove sulfates) – a
constant charge system will eventually kill the battery. The ideal
battery tender for a newer car (‘95 and newer, is 2.5 amps).
Oil
Older engines have a lot of blow-by, which
introduces combustion contaminates into the oil held in the pan.
Therefore, change the oil in older cars before storing for the
winter. If and when you start a stored car in the winter be sure to
get the engine oil up to operating temperature. While modern
oils have rust inhibitors failure to get the engine oil to operating
temperature (to drive out moisture) will encourage moisture to
concentrate. Rick reminded the Club members that Red Line is good
oil but it doesn’t have rust inhibitors, so do not store cars with
Red Line in the crank case.
Gasoline
If you store your older car with a small volume
of gas in the tank it will result in corrosion at the top of the
tank. If you store your car with a full tank of gas you will end –up
in the spring with a stale tank of bad gas. You will have to decide
which scenario is worse for yourself. (I personally opt for the
stale gas option). A few Club members asked about using Stabil fuel
stabilizer, Rick said there was nothing he’d read in the automotive
services trades that indicates a problem using it.
Newer cars
Starting in 1995 most cars have on-board
diagnostic systems (OBD); service technicians can simply plug-into
the OBD port and the OBD reader will display the entire car’s health
and hopefully tell the technician what is wrong.
Rick had John Cole’s XJ8 in
the shop in order to demonstrate his shop’s OBD reader. Rick stated
the down-side to new cars is they are tough on batteries; the
electrical components, capacitors, and computers are constantly
drawing on the battery. He recommends a stored newer car be driven
every two weeks. Here in the Pacific Northwest we can have clear and
beautiful days, even in the middle of winter. That is what I am
counting on to avoid a mid-winter detailing!
