So after spending alot of money doing the body on my truck, I cringe at the thought of wintertime coming and driving it in all the road salt and crap that they use up here in Canada. I now people will think i'm nuts but I decided i'm going to lay my truck up over the winter. Last night I had chance to buy a Subaru Outback for next to nothing that's inspected until march of 2012 so I latched onto it. I figured if I can make the body on my truck stay good for alot longer, why not. I don't really use my truck for anything during the winter months other than transportation, so this Subaru will do what I need it to do. I'm planning on storing it for about four months, should I just drive it in the garage and leave it, or should I be unhooking the batteries and stuff? I wasn't sure if unhooking them for that long will screw anything up like the Apps or anything

Well pulling the batteries and putting them somewhere warm and keeping a trickle charge on them is a good thing. It the spring of the years you'll need to change all fluids in the truck from head to toe.

Sounds like an excellent plan to me. Unless you need the power, there's no reason to drive a nose heavy slow to warm up pig through a Canadian winter, especially through salt with new paint.I've spent the last week getting my own winter beater ready for another season of abuse.

I paid $600 for the car, I figured I can't get much body work done for $600 if the salt starts eating my truck away, so why not get it

This will probably not be cost justifyable but maybe someone could look into it? Up here where i'm from these Subaru's are noted for the gas tank rotting. Dealer wants $550 for a new one, and used are hard to get if you can at all, which right now I can't find one. Any of you guys in the soutern states have any junk yards around you could check on a tank for me and see what it would cost to ship one up here to me? Probably cost alot but maybe worth a try . It's a 1998 Subaru Outback Legacy wagon AWD (all wheel drive) with a 2.5 litre engine. Shipping to Nova Scotia Canada.

Was told by someone tonight that it's not a good idea to leave the truck sit all winter without starting it because the turbo will corrode and cause issues with it....think thats possible? gets pretty cold here, I know I put my alloy wheels in an unheated building one winter, by spring they were corroded up real bad, had a hard time hand buffing them back to rights

Trick to try... Anything your worried about corroding over winter spray a light coat of WD40 on everything and it won't corrode. You don't have to make it dripping wet but to cover the article in a light oilly coating. Just wash with soap and water. Another way but you'll hate it is to cover the article in car wax and then buff it out in the spring. I found this works too but the wax really harden up after a long sit and is a real PITA to get back off.

I was actually thinking of the WD 40 idea. If I were to take the air box tube off going to the turbo, i was thinking i could spray some in the turbo while turing the fins by hand, just don't know how i would clean it off when I get the truck back out where it's insie the turbo a bit . Maybe it wouldn't even hurt it if I didn't get it off, would probably be dried quite good by then

Just take the tube off the turbo that goes to the intercooler and move it aside, start it up and spray the compressor wheel with the hose. Just light spray, not drench mode lol. You just make sure the water doesn't fall into the intercooler tube.

If your worried about cleaning pull the tube and spray it down with carb cleaner or brake cleaner... As for the tube just stuff a rag in the tube and the drop a plasic sack over it...

Its hard on equipment to sit. I would drive it on days when the weather is nice, at least once a month. This will get the oil hot, dry the exhaust, lube the seals, etc.

Its hard on equipment to sit. I would drive it on days when the weather is nice, at least once a month. This will get the oil hot, dry the exhaust, lube the seals, etc.

I heard you should turn the A/C on once a month also to keep it from ever leaking.

I heard you should turn the A/C on once a month also to keep it from ever leaking.

Yes this is very true. Since my CTD is no longer my DD I make sure I run the a/c every time I drive it.

--- Update to the previous post...

Most of our trucks run the a/c with the defrost as well, and you can tell by listening if the a/c clutch engages. This helps dry the air for better defrosting, and keeps the seals sealing.

Subaru is a decent car... wife drives an 04. I really can't complain about anything except it likes to eat headlight bulbs. (About to post on this.) I don't recommend letting your truck sit. I couldn't drive mine for medical reasons & had the brakes rust up. I DON'T like WD40 as a preservative. Great as a penitrant but it evaporates. Wheels... wax 'em! Leave unbuffed if you want. In the Spring clean 'em & rewax. During periods when I don't use the truck regularly, I still exercise her once a week. I drag the brakes lightly on the 1/2 mile hill leaving our house each week. This has worked for the last year. Russ

Lots of good thoughts..thanks guys! I plan on taking my alloy wheels off and putting them in my basement, i'll put my steel wheels on . I made the mistake once of letting the alloys sit in a unheated building, many hours of hand buffing I got all the white corrosion off of them . They pepper the roads with salt so bad here I hate to take it on them if I don't have to. I plan to start it once a month or so, if I can get it out I may take it for a drive out the guys driveway which is about 1/2 mile long so hopefully that'll be sufficent. As for the Subaru flagmanruss, i'm absolutely lovin it! A $600 car that rides almost as good as my 09 Corolla and even has heated seats! I also got my gas leak fixed, come to find out it was a pinhole in the line from what we could tell, dropped the tank and saw no wet spots, replaced a few lines and doesn't seem to be leaking now I keep telling the wife we should get rid of the Corolla but she keeps at me