Author Topic: car sitting for 18 months (Read 3567 times)

stump · « **on:** March 28, 2008, 03:13:29 pm »

hi all what is the best/safest way to try and start a diesel thats been sitting for awhile any & all suggestions appreicated thanks kevin

jtanguay · « **Reply #1 on:** March 28, 2008, 04:31:22 pm »

18 months isn't so long. maybe change the oil? moisture can accumulate there and then turn the oil acidic. it then eats seals. also most coolants only last about a year or two... might be a good idea to change that too since it likes to eat seals when it turns acidic. flushing is also a good idea to decrease the chance of overheats and head gasket failure.

brake fluid too. nobody changes that stuff and it clearly says that it only lasts about 2 years. i had one of my rear wheel cylinder's leak because of old crap fluid and the combination of old parts.

you might also want to test things like the rad fan and make sure that it works. otherwise it could wreck the motor. best way to check if its working is to jump the wires on the thermosensor located at the bottom of the rad on the driver's side. another way of checking is just to run the car and keep an eye on temps. should kick in 3/4 of the gauge, or maybe a wee bit more.

i would imagine a lot more of bad stuff could have happened to the car, such as mice eating the air filter, regardless of being diesel or gas :lol:

burn_your_money · « **Reply #2 on:** March 28, 2008, 04:40:48 pm »

look at the timing belt and turn the engine over by hand before attempting to use the starter.

As mentioned 18 months isn't that long

Possum79 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 28, 2008, 05:08:24 pm »

My rabbit sat for 6 years or something the guy said before i bought it. fired right up after a jump start.

of course that sounds very stupid to me now. id be more concerned with the belt breaking then the acidity of the fluids, as long as you end up changing them sooner then later that is. Could ruin you day throwing that timing belt. I never knew that and i never thought to look.

Learning more here then in any book.

jtanguay · « **Reply #4 on:** March 28, 2008, 08:20:37 pm »

never thought about checking the timing belt, unless the previous history is unknown. at that point other things come into play such as tires, brakes, fuel system condition (fuel filter) etc.

yes always good advice on this forum. i love it!

stump · « **Reply #5 on:** March 28, 2008, 09:25:48 pm »

thanks guys the timming belt has about 10k on it. i plan on changing all the fluids asap great point on the brakes. this this site is full of great info thanks again guys kevin