HOW TO STORE YOUR RIG?

OUR RESIDENT MECHANIC ADAM ADLER ANSWERS YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS…

STORING MY RIG

Hi all,

Hope you’re all having a great weekend.

I’m looking at storing my Cruiser for an extended period. Initially periods of up to ten weeks at a time, and then possibly up to 6-12 months at a time. What should I consider doing other then keeping the battery charged?

Cheers,

Steve Stanton.

Hey Steve,

I’d definitely be putting an automatic battery charger on it to keep it charged and maintained.

If you have a dual battery system you should also think about putting a charger on that as well.

If it is a solenoid system you may find the one charger on the main battery will be enough, as long as it is capable of charging the whole system, as the solenoid may kick in linking the second battery to the charger. If not, then you will most likely need two chargers.

If you are running a different battery type as the second battery then you will definitely need two chargers to make sure they are being charged with the correct profile.

You could think about jacking up the vehicle and sitting it on stands to take the weight off the tyres and the wheel bearings, so you don’t get flat spots.

You can also add a fuel treatment to keep it for longer periods of time. If it’s a diesel then a fuel treatment shouldn’t matter too much over that period.

I would also make sure your coolant is in top condition, and to keep the radiator system in good nic.

Hope that helps,

GO NUTS!

Adam

 

DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTERS

G’day Adam,

I am about to buy a new diesel 4WD. I ‘ve been reading a lot about the DPF but I am unsure what it actually is? Can you please explain it.

Thank you mate,

Andy.

Hi Andy,

The DPF is what’s called a Diesel Particulate Filter. It is a filter in the exhaust system that catches the soot that is burnt by the engine so it doesn’t go into the atmosphere.

The filter will then intermittently heat up and burn the soot into ash and store the ash in the back of the filter.

The problem is that a lot of people driving these diesels do not give the vehicle the correct conditions for it to go into the burn mode, or what is called ‘regeneration’.

For the filter to go into a regeneration the 4WD needs to be travelling long distances at a constant speed, the engine computer will then put the vehicle into the regeneration mode and it will burn down the soot.

If the filter doesn’t go into a regeneration, eventually it will become too full of soot and will need to be replaced.

Eventually the filter will need to be replaced because it will one day become full but the issue we are seeing at the moment is a number of faulty injectors and DPFs.

If the DPFs, and the vehicles are running well, and the owner provides the right driving styles there shouldn’t be any problems.

Some people are removing them and tricking the computers, which is totally illegal and carries a very hefty fine if caught.

Hope that helps,

GO NUTS!

Adam

Comments are closed.