Joe1994ES300

Plus i have a manual tx MG, I like to drive at least one every day and start them all daily,I alternate the one i drive each day, I know it helps to start the engines everyday would it be advisable to run the gears on the automatic tranny in place put in gear say reverse and drive and low and then while in each gear put my foot on the brake and rev the engine about 500 extra RPM to move fluid through the channels of that gear, exercise the solenoids? My logic is to keep the transmission from developing varnish and keeping the fluid Channels lubricated. I know a negative could be I put extra stress on the motor Mounts undoubtedly the best thing to do is take a little extra time and just drive each car about 15 minutes with the exception of the one car that i use for errands that day which will be exercised anyway. Seems like used car dealers would be presented with this issue all the time I wonder what they do? Thank you i know thats a bit eccentric but it keeps mileage down on a the cars, and And I keep them under good quality car covers car cover factory I think it's the brand, and I do take the covers off when rain is forecast to prevent extra moisture inder the covers.

Arsenii

Hello,

It all depends on the plan you have for all those cars, if you are not using them and they are just sitting most of the time, best bet would honestly be to simply get rid of them, as it will only be a source of problems unless you have a place to store them and a reason to keep them.

More to the point, every startup and shift that you do will cause wear on parts, especially when they have to heat-cycle (aka warm up and cool down), so in theory, the less times to start an engine, the better. Same goes to a transmission, every switch into gear is a source of wear, especially changing direction, though keep in mind that we are splitting hairs here, it shouldn't be a source of concern if you are simply using the car as a daily driver and not an ... abstract monument like those to Nubiras that you have, gotta wonder how you justify that..

With that, letting the car sit for too long has its own consequences as well, and it's not just the engine and transmission that are taking the blow, for example the Struts have a seal on the top that would dry out if the oil inside the strut is not moving, causing the struts to fail shortly after you start driving again. All it comes down to is a game of balance between natural wear and increased boredom of watching the cars grow into the ground, a more or less good middle ground would be to start the engine up and go for a ride about once every Month or so, letting the engine warm up, transmission shift into all the gears, and suspension to move all the bushings and circulate the oil in the struts, then parking it again in a dry environment.

Depending on where you live, there may be a Storage Unit in your area big enough to keep a car in, that way it will have a much better chance of lasting a while, and it may not even end up being that expensive. Now that there won't be any concern about rust, especially on the Brake Rotors, you will gain quite a bit more peace of mind in that regard, and it frees up space for even more outlandish vehicles..

P.S. Unlike with the engine, transmission doesn't have any combustion going on inside of it, well, at least hopefully yours doesn't, so it doesn't suffer the same Sludge issues you described earlier. Other than that, transmission is made in such a way that there is always oil on all of the components in there, and unless there is some considerable wear on the inside already, there won't be anything that would jam the solenoids or prevent them from functioning, in fact, my guess would be that the transmission is the least affected piece when it comes to sitting and not moving compared to every other system in the car.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Joe1994ES300

Thanks sounds like alternating the driving of one every third day is adequate. Good info on the struts. I will continue starting or driving the MG Midget everyday to the park as it starts so much quicker if started everyday, 1973 tech.

Oro

Arsenii’s post is very good and thorough. If you are actually driving every three days or weekly, you have no issues. That’s less than I start my daily drivers! ( I have three and only drive about three days a week now).

I am also manic about maintenance like that as I have a few vehicles that get very low miles. What I do is:

- use some ester based oil in engine and transmission. Unlike normal oil, it is polar and will clean chemically (Redline, Lubegard, and a few higher-end boutique oils (Like HPL**) will have ester oil components).

- Use a pump or siphon to empty the brake reservoir once a year, refill it with clean fluid. This will over time mix with the rest of the fluid in the system and reduce water content and resulting corrosion and fluid break-down.

- If you are really leaving a car unused a while, get it on stands at least partially to relieve stress on the springs, tire sidewalls, and shock gaskets (like Arsenii mentioned above). If a car isn’t moving for two months or more, it really needs this.

As an aside, my uncle was, in almost contradictory terms, an engineer and USAF pilot, as well as huge Brit car and bike fan. . In my youth I worked on MG Bs, MG Cs, Triumph TR6s, TR7s, and he also had a gorgeous ‘66 E-type hardtop a while (that thing was hard to keep running. It’s where I learned the whole “Lucas, Prince of Darkness” meme). So I congratulate your MG ownership. Later this year I will finally get to add another car to my (barely driven) repertoire and I am trying to decide between a 97-2002 MB SL500 or 98-2002 XK8 convertible. The Brit genes die hard once activated.

Joe1994ES300

I also have a cool motorcycle a sky blue 2000 kawasaki Drifter 800, Indian look alike, decided to sell since not riding much, age 72, and risk with distracted drivers out there. Heard a pop recently when applying rear brake and rear brakes failed, noticed brake fluid under the bike so i musta blown a brake line, waiting on better weather to ck out further, garaged but tight space as i share garage with wife, lol. I was lucky to get a pvt pilots license and enjoyed flying Cessnas around NC but it just got too expensive, i always rented so no maintenance worries with the Cessnas, fixed gear C177 Cardinal was a great airplane.