Not starting the car for months

[DRJDVM's '69]

I've got a 98 Camaro with an LS1 motor that only has about 55k miles on it. Over the years, it was not uncommon for the car to sit for months at a time unused. Consequently the motor oil didnt get changed often either...I always used Mobil 1.

About 6 months ago the motor started to "tick". After some investigation, it looks like the motor may have eaten a bearing....small copper colored flakes in the filter. The theory is that the periods of non-use, oil drainback out of the bearing and degradation of the oil probably resulted in "dry starts" over the years and eventually destoyed the bearings...

So....now I'm paranoid about letting any of my cars sit for months without firing them up. I've had lots of cars and have never had this problem....but now I'm wondering if there is something I should do before firing the car up if its sat for a couple of months..

In the 69, I could pull the distrubutor and drive the oil pump for a minute or 2 and then re-install stuff...but thats a PITA.

Dont really want to install a permanent pre-lube system....I may just hook up an AN line to my Dart block and use a pre-lube system on an "as needed basis"...

So...for all the guys letting their cars sit for months.....what are you guys doing?....nothing?.....I never have in the past.... I just fire it up....

[T_Raven]

I've always wondered myself if it makes a difference. I just can't imagine bearings would be much dryer after a few months than after a few days

[GregWeld]

Ned -- My track car has a pre-lube system just for this very reason.

I think the easiest thing to do is just fire 'em all off every week or so. Bring 'em up to temp and shut 'em down. That's what I do.

[DRJDVM's '69]

Yeah the weekly fire up thing is the easiest....but it's just another thing on my "list" that never gets done....

[AMSOILGUY]

Since you believe this to be an oil related issue then I would use something different. The film of the right oil will still be protecting your engine long after a couple months. I use AMSOIL and feel protected during storage and use. There are other oils out there that will protect your engine better then what it sounds like your Mobil did. I can get your pricing on the AMSOIL product that you would want to use.