My car has been sitting in my drive way for about 6 months, and was wondering if theres any preps to starting it, if it sits that long? or can i just start it up and not worry

thanks in advanced

 

You could take some atf and dump it down the sparkplug tubes, first take the plugs out and only use about a cap full each cylinder. More than likely it will start right up though..

 

Whats does putting atf into the cylinders do exactly?

 

Make sure the oil and other inportant fluids are OK. Turn the key to 'run' position and back to off a few times to presurize the fuel system and prime the injectors. Once the engine fires, let it idle a while and listen for any strange noises or behavior. Don't rev it. Once you're rolling, the brakes may feel crappy due to rust on the rotors. That should wear off after a while. You should probably change the oil as soon as you can.

 

Before you do anything check all fluid levels. Then I would remove the fuel pump fuse. Once the fuse is removed try starting the car. Obviously it wont start, but it will circulate the oil. Once you have done that put the fuel pump fuse back in and pressurize the fuel system.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TouringAccord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Whats does putting atf into the cylinders do exactly?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It will lube the rings if they have seized up at all and aid as a quick lubricant so they dont scratch the cylinder walls.

 

But, why ATF instead of, say, motor oil?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by walker111 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It will lube the rings if they have seized up at all and aid as a quick lubricant so they dont scratch the cylinder walls.</TD></TR></TABLE>

ah, ok. But, like philadd said, why not just use oil?

 

thanks for the answeres and quick replys

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TouringAccord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

ah, ok. But, like philadd said, why not just use oil?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i'd guess because its alot slicker and more of a lubricant than regular oil is, but im just guessing. Plus i'd change my oil after doing that, but you should anyways.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 88LXi68 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would remove the fuel pump fuse. Once the fuse is removed try starting the car. Obviously it wont start, but it will circulate the oil. </TD></TR></TABLE>What? If just turning it over creates enough oil pressure to lube the bearings rings and cam then why not just start the ****** and get REAL oil pressure. Bad advice from 88lx

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Blamm!! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What? If just turning it over creates enough oil pressure to lube the bearings rings and cam then why not just start the ****** and get REAL oil pressure. Bad advice from 88lx</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah crank that bad boy right up and run it straight to redline, thats some real, oil pressure right there homo

 

cranking creates basically no oil pressure

 

I hope 6 months ago you put some stabil in the gas tank, changed the oil and pulled the battery.(if it got below freezing where you are, that is)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eddiebx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah crank that bad boy right up and run it straight to redline, thats some real, oil pressure right there homo </TD></TR></TABLE>cranking creates basically no oil pressure

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Blamm!! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">cranking creates basically no oil pressure</TD></TR></TABLE>
Really now? you checked this?
When oil isn't at 160 degrees and cold (say ambient temperature) it's a lot thicker. Therefore the pump is able to pressurize it a lot easier even at very low rpm (about 500 with a normal car and good battery) After about 10 seconds of cranking it has good pressure.
Try hooking up an oil pressure gauge to the service port and you can see what i'm talking about.

But as far as starting this car that's been there for a few months. Just check the fluids and start it up, the instant that there isn't much oil isn't going to hurt it because there is no heat or friction yet. Before the heat even begins to show up the oil is already there.
What I would do though is disconnect the battery and touch the cables together, then start the car and let it run till the cooling fans cycle twice. (Idle learn has been done at that point)
good luck

 

not to argue but accoding to you, the motor will have about 10 seconds of dry cranking to possibly damage internals. that is why I suggest just starting it and getting the normal oil pressure. Maybe only 1 or 2 seconds to start up. I say add octane to compensate for the old gas and just start it and let er idle for while before driving.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by typhoon &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I hope 6 months ago you put some stabil in the gas tank, changed the oil and pulled the battery.(if it got below freezing where you are, that is)</TD></TR></TABLE>

No unfortuantly i didnt put any stabilizer in the tank, i didnt think it would be sitting 6 months it wasnt planned and it didtn cross my mind. Oil was changed right when it sat (like i said the 6 month stand wasnt planned).

but its in the past now, obviously and its ran great sense i restarted it up, no problems yet.. if i didtn put any stabilizer in the gas tank.. is there anything i should be looking for , for future problems?

 

No, you'll be fine. Many people believe thas gasoline degrades after sitting for only a few months, but it really takes much, much longer than that. At least with today's formulations it does...

 

maybe due to amt of detergents in the oil...atf is great at cleaning carbon deposits........

 

My brothers car has been sitting there for months now, and recently he started it without prepping it the way you guys said. It started to smog real bad. What should i do to fix this?

Thanks,
John

 

Thought id just post in here instead of making a new topic.. is it possible for ur battery to just give out (it was 8 years old and was rated at only lasting 6 so i was impressed) and the battery light never come on and it just wouldn't start the car no more? because i mean car would start fine and drive fine, then one day i left it unhooked for a day or two, and it would never start again unless it was jumped and i finally had to replace the battery..

this has nothing to do with the sit, it just actually crossed my mind just now for some reason and thought id get yall to educate me a little further

so again question is, is it possible for the battery light to never come on and the battery just die (sense im dumb and forgot to hook it back up one day) and never start the car again? just crossing my fingers that it was nothing except just the battery.

 

yeah, if the battery is that old i wouldn't worry about it. And the light wouldn't come on unless it detected a low voltage, IE, your alternator wasn't charging the battery or charging at all. but since the alt. was working and doing its job, the light wouldn't come on for a dead battery.

 

BTW new gas turns bad much sooner than older formulations. !! ethanol anyone?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Blamm!! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ethanol anyone?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Didn't think about that...