car that sat for 5 years

[dsmtalontsi95]

I bought a vr4 thats been sitting for a while and got it to run the other day. After takeing for a spin (5 miles) it just died. It felt like an ic pipe blew off. We went around the car and didn't find anything, so we parked it for the day. Now when I got to start it, it fires up but after warm up it stalls. It feels like the mas isn't reading incoming air after warm up. I don't get it? Also how hard is it to replace the filler neck on the gas tank, or do you need to replace the whole tank?

 

[BoostedAWD91]

did u replace all the basics 1st? plugs, fuel filter... u dont need to remove the tank to replace the filler hose. just remove the clamps and pull it out. i might have to cut it off since its probably never been touched since it was put on from the factory

 

[autobahntom]

If it has been sitting, anything could be wrong. The ECU would be the first thing to look at. Can you hook it up to a logger or scanner to see the values of sensors?
Tom

 

[dsmtalontsi95]

The ecu is why the guy parked it, it was fired. I put in a 1st gen ecu then it started right up. It didn't start this till We took it for a ride. I'll see if my buddy can bring his scanner home from work but there is no check engine light on. I changed the plugs but haven't done the fuel filter though. Changed the fluids and that good stuff.

 

[jepherz]

Did you check the state of the gas tank? I bought a car that had been sitting for 5 years and the gas was all bad. Still flammable, but there was plenty of garbage in the tank.

 

[fivestardsm]

^^^ Same thoughts. One of mine was the same way. After I got it running, it didn'ttake long for the fuel filter to become plugged. And it had not sat for thst long.

Steve.

 

[3rdstrikedsm]

That gas is varnish by now.

 

I would definately consider pulling the gas tank and cleaning it out. Also maybe spraying some brake cleaner down the hard-lines as well.

 

+1 followed by a blowgun to really clean the lines

 

[gtluke]

check for ruptured intercooler pipes. the soft ones tend to crack and explode, check for a gaping hole.
try a different ecu too.
i bought a jeep that sat for 11 years and the gas ran it fine. then again it's a 50hp jeep /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[beaner]

I've never had a problem with old gas, just top it off with some high octane and grandma it around for a bit.

Rinse and repeat.

 

From what I understand gas today has so many additives that it doesn't really turn to varnish anymore. In my personal experience I've seen cars that have sat 5 years or more that ran fine on the old gas that was in them.

Seeing as there is a drain plug on the bottom of the tank there is no reason to remove the whole tank if you want to dump the old gas. Just drain the old gas out and refill with new. Maybe dump in a can of injector cleaner and change the fuel filter if it worries you. The worst part is where to dispose of the old gas. Don't be lazy and dump it anywhere, be responsible enough to dispose of it properly.

 

Theres usually sediment and crap in the bottom of tanks after years of build-up. I've dealt with a car that wouldnt get fuel pressure because of crap in the lines. It was a headache to figure out.

 

[14u2nV]

Quoting dsm_drew:
The worst part is where to dispose of the old gas. Don't be lazy and dump it anywhere, be responsible enough to dispose of it properly.



Off topic, I've always kept old gas from my cars in a gas can for mowers, starting fires, go-karts, etc. Works fine for those.

As mentioned, change your fuel filter. Matter of fact, change it,, drive around for a couple weeks then change it again. They are cheap, easy to swap and make a huge difference. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[jepherz]

I'm not so sure about the additives. My car had deteriorated hoses, rust in the tank, and clogged up filters, so even if a car CAN run on the old gas, I'm not sure I'd want to be running it...

 

[spooling92vr4]

make sure the coolant temp switch is good, check the connections to it, usually they crack and the car wont start when its warm. when cars sit for a while it just compounds the problem ive seen plenty of cars with harness problems due to rats etc nibbling through the harness and such

 

/\/\/\/\ Rodents can be a nightmare...

Yeah change the coolant temp sensor I think they're like 9 bucks at Advance Auto Parts, Its good insurance. If you're going to try using an injector cleaner dont bother with the cheepo sh*t... It annoys me to no end the fact that they actually get away with selling that crap. Use Seafoam, or i've heard good things about Lucas and of coarse the crowd favorite 44K....

 

Quoting jepherz:
I'm not so sure about the additives. My car had deteriorated hoses, rust in the tank, and clogged up filters, so even if a car CAN run on the old gas, I'm not sure I'd want to be running it...



+1

 

I bought a 3000gt vr4 that sat for 5+ yrs in a garage. Once I went through and replaced a huge list of stuff that was shot from sitting it would fire up and idle, but cutout after ~5 minutes. It ended up being surface rust of the inside top of the tank that was clogging the strainer and choking out the fuel pump. If I let it sit for ~10 minutes after cutting out it would start again. I had to pull the tank and had it cleaned and resealed by a local radiator shop. They said it pretty common to see this in our area from cars that have been sitting for long periods that were not properly prepped for storage. The was not a single sign of rust anywhere else on the entire car.

 

I would agree with everyone else on checking the fuel system, i had a horrible hesistation and what sounded like lifter tick after adding lucas injector cleaner, i ran it kind of strong and it loosened up a bunch of sh*t clogging my few month old fuel filter, and making it into the injectors.