playbass

My XJ is not my daily driver -- what are the opinions on how often and how long an XJ needs to be driven to keep it running well?

doublechaz

I have five cars. I make sure to drive each about once a week until it has fully warmed up. That is probably more often than needed, but I wouldn't go one month. Note: driving is needed, not just starting them and letting them sit in place until warm. You want to flex the tires, belts, hoses, axle seals, and turn the wheel bearings, carrier bearing if equipped, etc. Also, with modern cars you can't go more than a couple weeks without killing the battery because of the computer drawing a tiny bit all the time, unless you put some type of battery minder on it.

Many years ago I had a car with a blown trans. I let it sit while searching for a used unit. I only started it about 4 times in a year and didn't move it. It was a great car at the beginning of that process. It was never the same again after that much sitting. Constant problems. Hence my efforts now.

More recently I bought a car from a friend who put it up in good repair and let it sit with no action for some years. It was pretty much a total rebuild for me. Even the struts were ruined because they never moved and so the seals dried out and then they dumped all their oil. Every engine, trans, diff seal had to be replaced, every wheel bearing and axle seal. All brake parts has to be replaced. The water pump seal was done. The radiator was done because coolant gets acidic over time.

I tell people that parking a car for a year is worse for it than if you drove it like it was stolen for that whole year.

BlueRidgeMark

When you drive it, give it an hour. Short drives are murder on an engine.

RocketMouse

^^ this....
If I find myself having to take a couple short trips in a row especially with my old XJ... I'll make it up by intentionally taking a much longer trip with it soon afterwards. Like Mark said.... short trips are hard on any vehicle...

RockyMtn96XJ

I have 2 good stories for this. Maybe it'll help some.
1) My XJ (4.0 HO) was a summer vehicle here in Colorado for the previous owner who lived (retired) in FL. He kept it at his daughters house all the time, and his son-in-law would go out once or twice a month maybe and start it up, let it idle a minute and then take it up the highway and back to round the tires back out, knock the rust off the brakes, etc.... This went on for SEVERAL years. But, I can say my XJ is in such good shape, zero engine issues, zero trans issues, great tires, no weird noises, etc... everything was very well maintained even while sitting.

2) My 2001 Camaro (5.7 LS1) sat for nearly 2 years, and was only started about two times in one of those years. I would trickle charge my battery occasionally then turn the key on to see if I had decent voltage, but other than that it sat. I had emptied the gas tank and oil, and sucked out as much fuel as I could from the tank and lines via the fuel rail. After I finally got done working on the car, I put oil in it, new filter, and a new fuel filter, some fresh gas and fuel stabilizer w/ injector cleaner, and it cranked right up after 2 years. (I did pour ethanol stabilizer/water remover/fuel treatment in the tank to run through the injectors before it began its long slumber, so I believe that helped) I drove it around for about 20-30 minutes to warm it up, get the flat spots out of the tires, etc... and it runs just fine now. Matter of fact, it runs like a scalded dog!!

So............ I say as long as it is sitting, if you are still taking care of it, it should be fine. Even if you neglect it for a couple months, I see no harm. The XJ sat outside with a car cover, and my Camaro sat in my garage up on blocks. You may just need a battery charger or jump start. Or as I mentioned, a slow trickle charger will work good too.

IJM

The most important thing is to get the oil temperature up to operating temperature and not just the water temperature.