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things to do before starting car for first time in 4 years?


Roundeye67

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I want to make sure I dont forget anything: Im gonna pull the spark plugs and run a little oil down in the cylinders and turn the engine over by hand a few times. Then change oil and check coolant. I'll prolly run gas from a gas can to get her started. Should I do anything to the carb other than clean with carb cleaner? What about fuel pump? Also how do I know if I have an oil filter?

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I'd get a carb kit and rebuild the carb. Reason being, any gas that didn;t evaporate has turned to varnish and will clog your jests and passages. Your accelarator pump is probably dried out as well. As far as the fuel pump goes, pull it and clean it for the same reasons. Double check the diaphram for cracking and tears.

 

Joe

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I wouldn't mess with running off a gas can.  Just keep spraying the carburetor cleaner.  It's easier to stop the flow of fuel if there's a fire emergency.  Every spring when I wake my car up, I give a liberal spray of carburetor cleaner before kicking over.  My extended family is always amased at how quickly my P15 fires up (and stays running) in the spring.

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Be very careful with starter spray can fluid. Yes you can spray this into your carb to give it a shoot to help start, but if you continue to spray and spray and the car does not start the starting fluid is known to get into the cylinders as a vapor and then will wash away any of the oil that has coated the cylinder walls.

 

So you need to make sure that the car starts and not let the engine oil be removed from the cylinder walls because of the starter fluid spray.

 

hartung

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Change oil and filter, drain gastank and refill with non ethanol gas,  push the gas petal a few times and turn key.  If it doesnt run well then worry about the carb etc.  Might add some fuel system additive-cleaner to gas.

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I usually put marvel mystery oil in the cylinders let it sit before turning over, change the spark plugs there cheap, squirt lil wd40 down the carb lubricate the linkage open and close the choke don't be afraid to lubricate well let sit for a while. Brakes? Exhaust mice, rats build nest in there clean out of you can hope this helps.

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I put the MMO in the cylinders as well to free up the rings, usually a day or three does the trick...also pull the air horn off of the carb to put MMO on the accelerator to soften it back up again to see if it works; if not, then a new carb kit is in order.  Either way, put a little fresh gas in there before sealing it back up to prime the jets.  Ya might want to pull the distributor cap and do some cleaning in there and the cap to blow out the cobwebs (lubricate as needed) and shine up the contacts, maybe the same should be done with the regulator as well.  To soften up the crank seals, after startup, let the engine idle for <5 minutes then kill it to let the oil soak into the seals a little.  Grab some lunch, then restart :cool:

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The car has been sitting for four years not forty years.

Best laugh I've had today!   :P  On the other hand there is a wealth of information here, and it appears it's running from one extreme to the other.  

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This thread comes at a good time for me.  Sadly, my P15 has not been started in several years, and I'm headed out to buy a new battery.  MMO soaking in the cylinders overnight last night.  Time to resurrect this hobby!

 

By the way, what's the easiest way to hand turn the engine to make sure it's free prior to cranking?

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Neil, thank you for that advice!

 

You mentioned fresh gas.  I think the tank is almost full of old fuel, although I remember putting preservative in the tank a couple of years ago. Guess I'll pump it out.  What does a person do with 15 gallons of dead gasoline?

 

I should be shot for letting my car sit for 3 years!

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Well, mine started and ran great once I got the MMO burned off.  Warmed it up, changed the oil and plugs. Added water to the radiator, gave it a bath and took it for a spin.  Like old times!

 

Interesting discovery.  When I attempted to siphon what I thought was a full gas tank, I found that the tank was empty.  Then remembered that I had siphoned that tank for fuel to run a generator when we lost power for a week after hurricane Ike!  Ike happened in 2008, so it's been 7 years!  Won't let that happen again.

 

My apologies for hijacking your thread. :D

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