cafe_racer Posted 19November, 2021 Report Share Posted 19November, 2021 I'm heading to my mates place tomorrow to help him with a car he hasn't started for 6-8 years (1988 3.2 carrera). It has been stored in a good environment, so exterior is ok, but mechanically I have no idea. He didn't drain any fluids etc. I was thinking the following; drain oil & fuel add new oil and fuel jump start battery and see if it turns over? Anything else I should consider? Thanks for your help. Yeatesy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDW911 Posted 19November, 2021 Report Share Posted 19November, 2021 Sounds like you have everything covered. The only thing I would do is to pull the DME relay and crank it over to get some oil pressure once you have changed the fluids and ready for the initial start. I think in the 3.2s the relay is under the passenger seat. cafe_racer and Merv 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philbee Posted 20November, 2021 Report Share Posted 20November, 2021 I’m not a techie but I listened to one those car repair/barn find shows where they said something about the oil in the pistons / cylinders may wane over time and if not squirted with oil to re-lube it may scratch the barrels or pistons. just a thought, something to check before your crank it... tomo and cafe_racer 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 20November, 2021 Report Share Posted 20November, 2021 Beer ! Peter M, micknine01, 3legs and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter M Posted 20November, 2021 Report Share Posted 20November, 2021 I think there are many ways to approach this, depending on what you perceive the risks to be. Find out why it was parked up and not driven in the first place. This may save some grief. Was it because of a fuel leak? Electrical short? Failed brakes? No oil pressure? Snake under the seat? Buy a new battery as you may as well do that now when it is convenient to replace rather next week when it is likely isn't. Just be a bit circumspect with the brakes. I'm sure they will work but just keep an eye out for a seized or dragging brake caliper. As for the engine, you would expect the contents of the oil tank would have drained back through the oil pump by now and the engine sump now chockers (but well lubricated!) and consequently very smoky on start up. If the car has been parked on a steep slope, rear down, just be a alert to hydraulic lock of the rear cylinders. Many will suggest temporarily unplugging the DME and building oil pressure before running the engine but I can't see the point of this unless you also temporarily remove the spark plugs as well. I ask myself what does all this really achieve anyway? If the tank only has a quarter or even half full of old fuel, it will be easier just to add 20 litres or so fresh fuel rather than replace the old first. However let's not overthink this, I reckon add some new fuel, install a new battery, push it outside and I bet it will start in about 10 seconds and run fine. Fast idle or drive gently to get the engine hot and replace the oil and filter as normal. Good luck! cafe_racer, Merv, tomo and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafe_racer Posted 20November, 2021 Author Report Share Posted 20November, 2021 Was parked up and not driven due to family commitments - was driving fine when he parked it up last...Imagine driving your car home, parking it not realising it would be years until you drive it again! Thanks for the advice all, I had forgotten about the beer and fire extinguisher...both necessary! If it starts up I'll let him know values plummeted and that I'll but it off him for scrap 😉 tomo, Peter M, prigg and 5 others 2 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OBRUT Posted 20November, 2021 Report Share Posted 20November, 2021 Keep a close eye on the temp gauge / fan belt failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelrik911 Posted 20November, 2021 Report Share Posted 20November, 2021 How did it go? (I would have just taken the sparkplugs out and spun it up for a bit. Clean plugs & put some fresh 95+ petrol in & go from there). They can smoke for a bit until warmed up, bonus - this will kill the mosquitoes in the garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafe_racer Posted 21November, 2021 Author Report Share Posted 21November, 2021 false start - pun intended. Got there and mountains of things to be moved prior to being able to roll it out of the garage and giving it a start. next weekend! James P, tomo and Yeatesy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomo Posted 21November, 2021 Report Share Posted 21November, 2021 More Beer 😀 Spectre 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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