i am planning on purchasing a vehicle that hasnt been driven in 2 years and all fluids are still intact.

- are there any downsides to driving this vehicle home if it cranks?
- should i do anything before i take it home besides adding gas and oil?
- the trip will be about 90 miles half of which is an interstate highway the rest is local roads.

any suggestions aside from towing the vehicle would be great. thanks.

 

- Take out the spark plugs.
- Disable spark & fuelinjectors (pull fuses?)
- Crank starter for a minute.
- Watch for oil pressure lamp to go out as oil pressure is established.
This circulates the oil while minimizing the loads on the bearings & stuff. You want enough oil to splash around the camshafts & cylinder walls, because in 2 years it all dries out. If you're NOT lucky, there might be some rust on the cylinder walls.

Change oil & filter. At least take a good look at the oil on the dipstick AFTER you crank it like above.

If the gas tank was empty, you may have to worry about corrosion inside?

Verify brake fluid in the reservoir & anti-freeze in the radiator (not just the overflow).

Pump up tires.

The brake rotors will be corroded. They'll probably drag & grind at first, until they get polished up with use. Drive around the block using the brakes until you KNOW they're reliable enough for your drive home.

 

yeh, i agree, if the tank wasnt empty, man that is some bad gas, lol drain it out and put new gas.

that car must be dusty from sitting so long, i also recommend cleaning out the air filter

 

cool i will follow those steps. as far as the gas tank. i was told there is fuel in there, should i still be worried about corrosion?

 

i would recommend you drain everything out

 

Corrosion is one reason you want it to be full all the way for storage. Above the liquid level it can rust. Not much you can do about it, but replace the tank if it becomes a problem. If you really want, you could pull the fuel pump or the gauge sender & look around in there with an inspection mirror.

Also... Take out the air filter & look for mice. They like to chew holes thru the filter, leaving nests of fuzz & stuff wadded up in the filter housing.