Hey guys quick question for ya about our trucks. Mine being an '05 PS SWB FX4. I myself like alot of others are part of Uncle Sam's puppet parade, and I will be leaveing my truck. Hopefully for 4-5 months at the latest. My question to the kings of FTE is what would you do to preserve your vehicle for that amount of time. I love my wife to death, but I don't think I want her messing with the color coded gas pumps if you know what I mean.
Any recommendation or solution is perfectly acceptable.

Matt

 

Top off the fuel tank before you leave so that she can start and drive it at least once a month. IMHO the biggest thing is preventing your turbo from getting "lot rot" since it's going to sit for an extended period. The only other thing would be to put a battery tender on it.

 

Just a thought but has anyone thought about spraying something directly into the turbo and then shut it down hopefully coating everything with some kind of lubricant. Thinking about WD40 but sure it would not protect like it should...

 

Be careful many (maybe most) of those lubricants get really sticky as they age.

 

http://www.chrysanindustries.com/ima..._brayco481.pdf

 

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...tml/Q125R1.pdf


I think this procedure gives some clues to what would be acceptable.

Personally, I think operating the truck for 20 minutes (to get everything hot) once every month would be sufficient.

I would also put some good fuel treatment in the tank also.

 

Put some diesel klean in the tank.

 

4-5 months??? Man your being optomistic, unless your looking at being lucky enough to get mid tour leave.

Anyway, The best advice I can give you is to trust your wife with the colored nozzles. I KNOW IT'S UNTHINKABLE TO DO. Give her a class on your truck and have her drive it to the store once every couple of weeks or something.

The last time I had to leave my truck sit for fifteen months I got back to all kinds of issues.
The truck sat in my grandfathers barn for most of it. He would drive it to church once or twice a month. Then one day my step father drove it to to haul my tractor up to our camp. He left it there with two 50 lb sacks of feed in the bed with the toneau cover on. Needless to say that toneau cover didn't hold up when a 400lb black bear decided he wanted that feed.

Anyway I got home and popped the hood and found three rats nests under the hood. One under the turbo pedastal, one behind the passenger side battery, and my airbox was full of corn and hay. The electrical tape that the wiring harness was wrapped in and the edges of about every piece of plastic under the hood was all chewed up too.

As uncomfortable as it may make you have her drive it as much as possible.