It's been parked for about a year and, before I parked it, I changed the oil & filter and put in brand new spark plugs & wires, but it only had about a 1/4 tank of gas in it. Is there anything in particular I should do before I try to start it up again?
99 D has been sitting in Park for a year!
Aloc107211
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It's been parked for about a year and, before I parked it, I changed the oil & filter and put in brand new spark plugs & wires, but it only had about a 1/4 tank of gas in it. Is there anything in particular I should do before I try to start it up again?
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I'd start with draining the gas out of the tank and cleaning it out thoroughly. The gas they've been selling for the last 2 years can be very damaging when it just sits in the tank! Second, I'd remove plugs and squirt a little WD-40 or oil mist into each cylinder to pre-lube them. Third, look at your front rotors and, if they're completely rust covered, take them off and get them cleaned up or they'll destroy the pads. Also check all the hoses and brake lines, fill the tries with air, and then give it a try.
Steve
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Steve
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About the gas in the tank, would I have to remove the whole gas tank or just siphon it out? I'd also just gotten brand new brakes and rotors before it was parked. Guess I should've mentioned that too, but I suppose I might still need to clean them because it's been snowed in completely since it was parked. I'll give them a look for sure.
Be very careful when trying to stuff a tube into the filer neck as a siphon as it can get stuck in there and then you'll have to replace the neck! I had this happened to me when someone tried to siphon my tank a while ago. If you only had about a 1/4 tank, you could probably fill the tank with new fuel and it should negate some/most of the negative effects of it sitting for so long??
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OK, I never thought of that, so I'll just add more fuel into it; just to be safe. 
Also, which would be better to get when it comes to gas? Where I'm at a lot of stations sell the gas with ethanol in it (the CHEAP gas) while some sell it without ethanol. I usually go with the cheap gas. lol
Also, which would be better to get when it comes to gas? Where I'm at a lot of stations sell the gas with ethanol in it (the CHEAP gas) while some sell it without ethanol. I usually go with the cheap gas. lol
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Making sure the gas is fresh is the most important thing. Go to a higher volume station and, if you have a choice, get non-ethanol then add a bottle of isopropyl dry gas before you fill up. To be clear, you'll go get 5 gal cans of gas and add them before starting, right? Don't try to start it up on the old gas and then drive to the station!!
Also take Steve's advice and spray a bit of fogging oil in the cylinders before you turn it over at all.
Also take Steve's advice and spray a bit of fogging oil in the cylinders before you turn it over at all.
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The rear brakes might be stuck, it happens a lot after sitting for a long time. You can jack up the rear end to see if the wheels are free and, if not, take the wheels off and give the brake drums a good punch with a sledge hammer until you can turn them. Also, after you start driving, listen carefully over the next few months for noises from the wheel bearings and joints. When a car sits that long, it can damage these things and pretty soon after you start driving again they'll break. To let a vehicle sit for that long without moving it a least a little bit once a week or so can damage things, so be on the look out for problems. The front brake discs also might need to be turned after that long a time in the snow and wet. Good luck with everything!
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Yes, I'll add 5 gallons of gas to the gas tank. That was my intent, but I've never heard of the isopropyl dry gas you're referring to?? But I'll go to an auto parts store and see if they have any. I've heard of Seafoam, would it be ok to add to that to the gas tank? I've also had my D moved just recently; I asked my brothers to do it for me while I was out of town. It's been moved (towed) a few times because it was making tire marks in my well maintained lawn but, besides that, it hasn't been started or moved at all. Would those few times do any good to keep the axles and brakes from being rusted?
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A few things. First, if you're at 1/4 tank, you've got room for about 15 gal so add "at least" 10 to it, not just 5. There are 2 kinds of dry gas, methyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol, only use the isopropyl.
Some people like Seafoam, but I'm not very familiar with the product so can't comment. I've used Techron injector cleaner and saw it recommended here as well. You could add it but, if it were me, I might run through a tank of gas first and then add it. Not sure which way makes more sense??
No, towing won't have saved your brake rotors at all! The few rotations entailed might have slightly helped the bearings/axles/joints, but not a whole lot. What you really needed was for them to be able to start it up and drive it a bit each time.
Good luck!
Some people like Seafoam, but I'm not very familiar with the product so can't comment. I've used Techron injector cleaner and saw it recommended here as well. You could add it but, if it were me, I might run through a tank of gas first and then add it. Not sure which way makes more sense??
No, towing won't have saved your brake rotors at all! The few rotations entailed might have slightly helped the bearings/axles/joints, but not a whole lot. What you really needed was for them to be able to start it up and drive it a bit each time.
Good luck!
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I've used fuel injector cleaners prior to having to let it sit; I actually had a fuel injector cleaner in it when it stalled on me. My PCM went out during the summer of last year and I took the time to search online to figure out what the problem was. Then money wise, it all went to my 2 newborns. Anyways, I'll get a PCM from FedEx sometime this week so I should be mobile again. I'll definitely add the isopropyl dry gas if the auto part store has it.
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Add at least 10 gallons of Premium Shell gas to the tank to dilute any bad gas. I use Seafoam in all of my motors to store them, so I'd add some in and maybe some dry gas is a good thing too. The front rotors will be very rusty from sitting (my car rotors get rusty after sitting for a the weekend in the rain!) Other than that, spray the cylinders as Steve mentioned and fire it up. Go easy on it for the first few miles to let everything loosen up and run it to the gas station and top it off. Run 1/4 tank of gas out of it and top it off again. I'd throw a bit more Seafoam in it and then drive it.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
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Key thing to bear in mind here is it's been sitting inactive for so long that anything you might have done to it or the fluids that were in it before it was parked are completely irrelevant at this point! All of those things will have decayed/degraded to some extent (some like gasoline/oil much more so than others like spark plugs/tires) due to the passage of time and exposure to the elements. To avoid problems it's essential you start over with as much fresh stuff as you reasonably can.
Having gone thru this with a Triumph GT-6 I had to leave parked for 2 years while I was stationed overseas back in the late 80's, my suggestions are:
Good luck!
Having gone thru this with a Triumph GT-6 I had to leave parked for 2 years while I was stationed overseas back in the late 80's, my suggestions are:
- If you can't drain out the old gas, then "FILL" the tank with as much new gas as possible to dilute the effects of the old gas still in there; which by now will have disintegrated into a toxic, varnish-like sludge that can cause all sorts of damage to the fuel system/engine. Burn this first tank of gas up ASAP (even if you have to let the D idle for extended periods to do it) to get all the old stuff out of there!
- Adding other "gas conditioners" to the first tank (other than the dry gas already mentioned which is a must to soak up the water that WILL be in the old gas) is optional.
- Change the oil. Even if it was fresh when you parked it, by now it "will" have absorbed moisture and other contaminants (unlike the inside of an unopened/recapped oil bottle, the inside of an engine isn't a clean, moisture-free environment.) If unable to do this before restarting it, get it done shortly thereafter.
- If you haven't already got one, a new battery is pretty much a given at this point.
- Jack up all 4 corners and "manually" rotate the wheels to ensure everything (including the axles) moves freely.
- While it's up in the air, check the condition of the front discs/rear drums (if badly rusted, get they turned/conditioned)
- If a vehicle stays parked in one place long enough (6 months or more), the "belts" can become permanently deformed causing the side that was in contact with the ground to "stay" flat even after the tire heats up to normal operating temperature (a condition know as "flat spotting") While it's up, check them for this condition.
- Optional - change the front and rear diff fluids.
- Optional - full brake system flush.
Good luck!
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I use unleaded gas wouldn't premium gas mess it up? And I've never used seafoam before how much of it should I put in the tank? And when I spray the cylinders, do I take the spark plugs out or leave them in?
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All gas is unleaded at this point. Premium just has a higher octane and will compensate for the old gas which likely has degraded.
Seafoam - read the bottle for correct dosage.
Cylinders - buy a can of fogging oil at any auto parts store (I'm not a fan of WD-40 in cylinders), remove the spark plugs, spray some oil into each cylinder, then replace the spark plugs. This ensures you have some lubrication in there when you do the first startup.
Seafoam - read the bottle for correct dosage.
Cylinders - buy a can of fogging oil at any auto parts store (I'm not a fan of WD-40 in cylinders), remove the spark plugs, spray some oil into each cylinder, then replace the spark plugs. This ensures you have some lubrication in there when you do the first startup.
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How much fogging oil do I put in the cylinders and I put it in ALL of them right. :?
Is there anything that can make the old gas better in any kind of way besides adding more gas to dilute it? I was thinking about using different kind of fuel injector cleaners in the gas, that would be okay right? I mean along with the Seafoam. :cheesy:
Is there anything that can make the old gas better in any kind of way besides adding more gas to dilute it? I was thinking about using different kind of fuel injector cleaners in the gas, that would be okay right? I mean along with the Seafoam. :cheesy:
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Fogging oil - about a 1 second spray in each cylinder should do it. Move the spray wand around as you spray and yes, spray all 8 cylinders.
I don't know of anything that'll restore old gas, so it's best to dilute it as suggested and burn through it quickly.
No, don't start adding multiple cleaners to the gas! Add either Seafoam or Techron as a cleaner, plus 1 can of iso dry gas to disperse the water in the old fuel.
I don't know of anything that'll restore old gas, so it's best to dilute it as suggested and burn through it quickly.
No, don't start adding multiple cleaners to the gas! Add either Seafoam or Techron as a cleaner, plus 1 can of iso dry gas to disperse the water in the old fuel.
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No!Aloc107211 said:
Gasoline is a highly complex chemical mixture of various petroleum products most of which are very volatility (i.e. evaporate easily) and/or oxidize easily (i.e. burns readily.) Once those particular components evaporate, oxidize and separate, there's no known way (short of refining it all over again) to reverse the process to restore old gas to it's original chemical composition. Depending on exactly how far along the disintegration process (i.e. evaporation, oxidation, separation) has progressed; which depends on a multitude of different things; your year-old gas may or may not still combust when injected into the engine.
- For further details, see Can gas really go bad?
CNN Living
April 09, 2008|By Eric Peters
So, fill her up with as much "new" gas as possible (a higher octant will help as the "diluted mix" will most likely still be at least close to 87) and then burn thru the whole tank as quickly as possible so the old stuff doesn't have time to separate back out and cause problems. Personally I'd try to burn it all up in one go as, if you leave it parked for any significant period at all (e.g. a few days), the old stuff will likely separate back out and sink to the bottom of the tank! :thumbsdown:
Also, as I noted before, adding extra additives to this first fill-up is completely optional (except for the dry gas which will be essential to remove the water buildup that has occurred over the past year!) They won't necessarily hurt anything, but they also will NOT help restore the lost properties of the old gas. So, if you do use them, do so with the intent of achieving the "other" benefits they may provide.
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What if I just drive in 4-high or 4-low? I know that's a gas burner, but would it be OK to do so since it's been parked?
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Really! I've driven in 4-HI before, but just to see how it was. I've only used 4-LO to pull a Cummings out of a muddy ditch. But I'll make sure I don't use it.
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