just wondering...

Hi there, since i joined this forum ive read quite a few threads that start " having left my disco for a few days the bugger wont start..." so during this cold weather ive gone outside every day to see if it would start, it has every time and so i have let it run on petrol up to normal temperature with the heaters on and then turned it off, i've only done this on the days we havent been out in it, my theory is that it will stop the disco from becoming cold/damp and thus developing moisture/electrical/starting problems, i would just like to know am i helping things or hindering them? am i doing anything beneficial/detrimental to my disco, cheers. 96 V8efi LPG

ps: at the mo i've put some injector cleaner in so at the very least when im doing this at least the injectors are getting cleaned.

It will shorten the life of the exhaust and may also cause condensation in the oil giving the oil the apperance of headgasket failure due to the possible mayo type substance that can form. If it keeps the vehicle running I would carry on as you are.

So long as it gets a decent run every few weeks I can't see a great problem, but I wouldn't do this for more than a month or so. In fact I've never heard of anyone doing this ... I don't and mine (albeit a diesel) doesn't have any problems starting after being left for a few weeks, I know 'cos I left it recently unstarted whilst I did the rear diff.

The one's that do have problems starting after being stood for a while probably had a problem before they were stood, it just didn't manifest itself 'cos they were being used.

Trouble is, as Ratty suggests, you're basically making it do a lot of short runs where it won't get hot enough for long enough to do any real good. It might even put more strain on the battery 'cos it's not getting run enough to fully recharge it from the start, IYSWIM.

Frankly I'd leave it unstarted. Night, or day, before you need it again put the battery on charge ... most of the starting problems come down to a weak battery ...

Once its gone cold, the engine dosn't know whether it's been stood for a a few hours or a few days or even a few weeks. I would give it a run every couple of weeks to free off brakes and other moving parts, the engine shouldn't suffer through standing idle for a while because it's soaked in oil inside.
If it's only standing for a week or so then if the battery is sound then the car can't tell the difference between standing for a day or a week, unless you tell it that is