I just recently bought an 88 LXi that sat up for two years. I changed the spark plugs, wires, and replaced the battery. I then started it up. Of course a lot of smoke came out and it wouldn't stay cranked. I kept running it until it began to try and idle. A few questions:
White smoke came out, is this normal for a car to do this after sitting so long?
It ran kind of rough, like the engine moving back and forth quickly. Could this be the result of old gas?
Is there anything else I need to do to try and get this on the road engine wise?
Will doing a compression check give me some vital information?
Thanks!

 

white/gray smoke could jsut be condensation(normal).

if the smoke is pure white/milky, then you have coolant being burned off in the combusion process(probably a bad head gasket).

 

If that gas is two years old (which I think it is according to you), I'd be amazed if the car ran at all. Get that nasty gas out of there. Run some fuel injector cleaner (the LXi is EFI, right guys?) through the system as well.

I'd replace the oil, brake and tranny fluids if it sat for two years. You may want to do a 2nd oil change after 500 km to be thorough.

A compression test will tell you the condition of the piston rings and the valve seating. If it seems to be hesitating badly or misfiring, it may be a good idea. But that's after you replace that nasty old gas first

 

Alright, I haven't replaced the gas yet, but I haven't started it again either. But I did do a compression check and here are my results:
Starting from the passenger side to the drivers side
cyl 1 - 185, cyl 2 - 185, cyl 3 - 155, cyl 4 - 130
I don't really know what it should be but I do know that the last two shouldn't be that low. This car has 230,000 miles on it, it doesn't appear to have any water in the oil, and I'm just trying to get it running good. Can I buy some type of additive to improve the compression a little? It makes a put-put sound when it running, like an old tractor would do. Couldn't a bad exhaust leak make this sound? What all can I do to know what condition the headgasket is in? Thanks in advance.

 

ttt

 

i would not worry about it til you change the gas, oil and fluids, i would also see about a new cap and roto as well.
also check the condition of all teh vacuu mlines as they may dry and split possibly....