Buying parts in advance.

[jeffsws]

Hello everyone.

I currently own two 850s. One I use every day and one that I recently acquired and do not use. I need to move it to another location (6 hours away from where I live) due to space and was thinking of doing some repairs before I move it, but the reality is it may be a while before I get to drive it again. Maybe months... years…

I know it requires a new timing belt, pcv and some other things. If I were to do this today and not drive the car for another 10 years (for argument sake) Would I then need to change it again? And if that is the case I suppose buying the parts and storing them in my cupboard for a few years is also not recommended?

Probably overthinking this, but what do you all think?

[erikv11]

Except for the actual timing belt, I would say no problem for these parts sitting in the cupboard or in the garage (hopefully it will be stored out of the elements?) for several years. Rubber will dry and crack over the years, whether you use it or not. So PCV parts I would probably wait on.

However the main parts in a timing belt change are the tensioner and rollers, and the water pump in the rare case that it is very high mileage or of unknown quality. The belt itself is a pretty small part of the job both in terms of expense and urgency. I would replace the timing parts now including the belt, then decide later about if you still trust the belt. But unless it actually does end up being 10 years, the rubber will likely be fine when you come back to it later. This way you know you don;t have to have the inertia of a timing belt job to be able to drive the car, going forward.

[Clemens]

I don't know, 10 years is a long time. I would actually waot with the timing belt because they have an 8 year life time. It will age if under tension. On the other hand, erik is right, if you do the belt now it might be good because you don't have to worry aboit starting it then.
But in long term storage I would be concerned about bearings getting rusty, ignition components getting rusty, rubber rotting out, deteriorating fuel gunking up the fuel system... If you really plan tobstore it that long I would consider removing all fuel from the system, fillong the cooling system with pure coolant, removing the battery and spraying all rubber components with silicone or something (I don't know what to use for that).

If you could fire it up twice or trice a year and drive for a few miles it wouldn't bw that bad, but parking a car for an extended period of time is going to hurt it, no matter what. I've been through this with my 83 Opel, I wouldn't let a car sit that long again until I'd plan to completely restore it. Make sure the storage area is dry and well ventilated. Bags of silica gel in the passenger compartment might help against mould. Mouse traps or poison will help against - surprise - mice ppoping all over your carpet and tearing up the seats.

[scot850]

I would do the service now and fit a new belt if it is not used for another 3 years or so. The car needs to be used even once a month for a short drive to keep things moving. I have found out from bitter (read expensive) experience that a little used older car is going to bite you. If you know the PCV needs done, and plan to drive 6 hours to leave it somewhere I would change that oo and put in fresh oil. You could put a fuel stabiliser in the system, but not sure how well that works over a long time.

Replacing all the fluids is also a good idea so the car is not sitting with nasty old stuff eating away at the interior of the engine, trans, etc.,

Removing the wheels and brake pads might be a good idea so the pads don't stick to the rotors and the wheels don't get flat spotted.

I would suggest using the car from time-to-time just to keep it good is a better plan.

Neil.

[abscate]

I'm running the time / miles experiment on my VW right now

It's got 16 years , 50,000 miles on it.

[PeteB]

I wonder if the timing belt would go NLA in 10 years and therefore a valid
question would be to ask a chemist/rubber expert if it would be best to buy
one and put it in the freezer or vac seal it. My dad was a chem eng/rubber
expert but I am not.
Are these belts standardized in anyway?

I'd think that keeping it cool as compared to a hot engine, and exposed to as
little oxygen as possible would help a lot.

[abscate]

If you bought one and kept it cool and away from sunlight and ozone I would use it in 10 years without worries.

My OEM went 14 years and 137k under the hood

[PeteB]

You have to wonder how long parts sit on the shelf at the dealers, warehouses, parts suppliers.