KentuckyCats

I have an 89 Toyota Truck 4x4 22re that has been sitting for close to 10 years. Mainly in the garage, however, I know it needs a fuel.pump for sure. The fuel was drained before it was parked, I am wondering what else I should before I try and fire it up? I don't want to just throw a battery in it and hope for the best. What route should I take and ensuring that nothing goes to wrong when trying to get it running?

RJR

Some of the things that come to my mind:

Drain and flush the cooling system, replace with fresh coolant.
Change the oil
Pull all the plugs and clean and gap - leave them out for now
Refill tank with fresh gasoline
With plugs out, turn engine over by hand with wrench on front pulley several times
Install good battery
Still with plugs out turn engine over with starter until oil pressure comes up.
Run fuel pump to get lines and injectors full of fuel
Replace spark plugs, cross fingers/say a prayer, and hit the starter.
If it starts, run it at idle, check for oil pressure, listen for strange noises, shut down after 1-2 minutes and check for leaks.
Fire it up again and let it run for 10-15 minutes while watching the temperature gauge.

If you get the engine up and going, then I would change fluids in the transmission and diffs, and grease any fittings.
After that long it wouldn't hurt to flush and bleed the brakes, as well as check the pads/shoes.

Air up the tires and take it for a drive!

KentuckyCats

Thanks RJR. I'll give it the ol ' gun ho try and see what happens. Little nervous about this. It was my first vehicle ever and I let it sit and kinda let it go bad. Thanks again.

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

X2 what RJR said. I'll add though when you pull the plugs add a teaspoon of oil to each cylinder before trying to turn the engine over, even by hand

Gevo

10 years!? that's a lot. I'm curious what it looks like.

If you parked it with no problems, it should start fine. Hopefully there was only distilled water in the coolant system.. else you'll be battling rust in the coolant for a while.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

For a motor that has sat for a long period of time, I put Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinder and let set for a few days and then try to turn it by hand as has been mentioned. I have been into two motors where you could see the rings rusted to the cylinders after such a long period of time. The starter is strong enough to break the rust, so I suggest not using the starter and take your time. It is tempting to hear it run but patience is a virtue on this project. It can pay off in the long run.

By turning it by hand, with the plugs out, you should get an idea if the rings are stuck to the walls. If stuck, just let it soak some more days and go gently until it does start to turn over.

A friend of mine did this to a motor that was stuck and eventually got it to break free and it is running great with no issues up to this point.

JoeAllie

Did you get the recall fixed ?

KentuckyCats

Ok after being away for awhile, thanks to each and everyone for the responses. I did say that the tank was dry, howevrr, I decided to take the pump out. When I did I realized that there was gas in the tank it's not alot but it's there. I took the pump out and was very sticky almost like glue had been on it. I want to drop and drain the tank, but what is the best thing to do considering the pump is not in and obviously not running?

Nervo19

Terry87 did a great write up on dropping the tank and coating it with a product called Red Guard in one of his builds. He even had a link to a cheap eBay fuel pump. Do a search with his name.

the 38 special

No joke, I literally just started mine up after 5~ years of sitting while I was away (same year and everything). All I did was jump it (battery is shot) after adding three gallons of fresh gas (tank was mostly empty) and some fuel restoration stuff. You can go through it all, but honestly outside of the gas itself, and making sure it has fluids in it (water in the radiator and oil in the engine / trans), maybe leave the rest until it doesn't start. No sense in creating new problems for yourself until you know the state of things.
May want to give a turn on the alternator just to make sure nothing is stuck if it doesn't crank for you right off the bat.
I applaud you for dropping the tank BTW. I really should do that when I start taking things apart (mine needs some work to be highway ready/safe on the suspension/brakes just due to wear and tear).
Outside of the battery mine has no new issues though (the battery had a replacement deep cycle gel battery for it that went missing while it was parked, so its demise was expected at least), so maybe that might give you a bit of hope for yours.
GL

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

the tank started to varnish over if it's sludgy/sticky - pretty common when you look inside gas tanks of cars that have been sitting. luckily, there is a market for fixing these types of things and many products to help remedy it. i don't know of specific brands, but it's pretty common for motorcycle restorers to use the stuff, since people have a tendency to permanently park running motorcycles...and then you have to deal with it 10-20yrs down the road.

good luck with getting this rig running, it's probably not a bad thing to have referenced here on YT since many people are currently buying new trucks and someday we'll be talking about "barn finds" of 90s vehicles.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I have seen trucks that have been running and not parked have alot of build up in the tanks. It will look like rust but when the tanks are cleaned, you will not see any damage. I see the return lines clogged and the fuel rails can have some nasty stuff in them as well. I feel it is due to the poorer quality fuel we are getting now a days. I use Red Kote after cleaning the tanks. It is in My wifes 88 Runner rebuild link below on the second post on somethings to look for. Here is a link https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...ment-s-283905/ that may be some intrest to you as well.

the 38 special

I've been thinking about getting one of the funnels with a proper fuel filter built into it for filling up at the pump. They are sold for farm equipment and such I think.. Can't remember where I saw them, but they were not like paint filters or anything wonky like that. Would make more sense to do it if I cleaned the tank first. But I mention it because it is an option if you are concerned about what might be in your fuel coming from the pumps, or if you store fuel at home as a backup for a storm or something (heard of people doing that where they can be buried in snow) and you are worried about having to use something past its prime in your vehicle.