Storing my EFI 5.0 Bronco. Unhook battery or no?

[70injectedbronc]

Gettin ready to go to Hawaii for a couple years and have finally decided the bronco has to stay. : ( Goin to miss her so badly! Have found plenty of stuff on storing and it will hopefully have a spot in a friend's garage. Going to slightly over inflate tires to prevent flat spots, wash and wax, change the oil and prob the brake fluid and plug the exhaust and intake to keep critters out and use a tank of premium non ethanol gas and put stabil in before filling up. Hope to have it all figured out. Was wondering if I should just have it hooked to a trickle charger to maintain or unhook it from the battery. Finally got it running right this summer with correct tps range and iac. Idles and runs great. Should I risk unhooking the battery and losing computer memory or should I just hook the charger to her? Any input or people who have had experience with this please let me know! Thanks guys and mahalo!

 

[rustbucket]

Get four jack stands and keep the tires off the ground. Disconnect the battery. I would remove it completely. You can put a battery maintainer on it, but I would just put it in your budget to replace when you get back.

Or, keep it on a maintainer, and have somebody start it once a month and let it warm up to keep the fluids moving. After two years, dry gaskets are the biggest concern.

 

[Jdgephar]

I wouldn't keep the battery in the truck if you aren't there to check on it. I've seen too many batteries explode in the last couple years to trust one sitting on a charger/maintainer unattended.

 

[ilovemaui]

Pull the battery if it is going to be parked for two years.

 

[00gyrhed]

pull the battery it will die anyway most likely and you will still loose the code.

put it on jackstands. You never know about tires. I had a set stored in garage for three years once that checked and age cracked bad enough I didnt want to use them anyyway. Might be better to take the off and sell them to somebody.

With the gas we have today I think I would just run it dry and then fill it with good gas and some FI cleaner when I got back. Stabil wont keep it good anyway for two years. It doesnt keep it good for a year.

Living where you live I might even consider draining the coolant.

All the additives will settle out of your oil even you differentials and transmissions so I would at least count on replacing all of that when you return.

Or you could disconnect the battery and remove it and do nothing else, probably wont make that much difference.

 

[TwoDalesDad]

Heres what you should do...1st...get yourself a battery tender..they are cheap..and they work..2nd..Bring the bronco over to my house around 7:30pm..My wife will be gone for a bit...lol

 

[70injectedbronc]

Haha thanks guys. Almost let a buddy of mine up here just drive it for his daily driver. Just worries the hell outta me. We will see. Thanks again guys for the input!

 

[chuzie]

I would top it off wiit the highest octane non-ethanol fuel you can find and throw a treatment of StarTron in the tank and make sure to let it run long enough to ensure it is in the lines.

By the time you get back it will start up just fine and you will have perfectly fine gas.

When I say "top it off" I mean all the way to the top of the filler next. This is to remove as much oxygen as possible.

 

[brianstrange]

My first choice would be to keep it running. If you choose to button her up, change the oil, drain the gas, blow the lines out, pull the plugs and fog each cylinder. Pull the battery, and sell it. Buy a new one when you get back. It wouldn't hurt to pull the dizzy & prime the oil pump when you get back.

 

[Bigbird]

My first choice would be to keep it running. If you choose to button her up, change the oil, drain the gas, blow the lines out, pull the plugs and fog each cylinder. Pull the battery, and sell it. Buy a new one when you get back. It wouldn't hurt to pull the dizzy & prime the oil pump when you get back.

Ditto X2!!!!