Periodic winter startup

[Watkins Family <watbmv@xxxx>]

<Don Ekhoff wrote:
<Hope this experience is helpful. I just cringe when I hear of people
<starting their cars every week as a way of keeping them preserved.

Don,

It sounds from your post that you are only opposed a start up without
reaching operating temp. So can one assume that you are more in favor
of a periodic start-up *only* if the car reaches a good hot running
status? A simple start up and run for a few minutes is certaintly not
a good idea, I think everyone would agree to that. However, the
question for the 4-6 month storage crowd is: Is starting the car and
letting it run for at least 1 full hour (or more) harmful or hurtful to
the car? If the car runs long enough for the cooling fans to activate
then the system is doing the same thing when you drive it during the
summer. Albiet the car's clutch,brake and transmission system are still
not being used.

Look forward to a response

Thanks
Tom #005732 MT