Recently I've been carpooling a lot so I haven't had the need to put miles on the '93 v6. So it's been sitting out on the street with a car cover... haven't started it for over a month. Any recommendations from you guys? What should I do before I decide to start it up a few months from now? Any other advice?

 

change the oil.. also prime the pump first... most wear occurs on startup.. and a car thats been sitting overnight has more oil on the walls and places that need to be covered than one thats been sitting half a year....

 

wow, thanks for the quick reply! I actually have a fairly fresh batch of amsoil s2k in there. I did my analysis @ 6months and it came back still with a TBN of 8.7 and incredibly low wear rates.

how do i prime the pump? (i'm assuming you mean oil)
I've actually read about people doing this... if i'm not mistaken, the purpose is to achieve oil pressure before actuallly starting the engine. but how is this done (specifically what steps should i follow?)

thanks!

 

pull the coil wire off and ground it out... then crank the engine.... the truck wont start but it will build oil pressure... or other means, such as pulling the fuel pump fuse

 

how long should i crank for? and would pulling both the coil wire and the efi fuse be better becuase there would be no chance of fuel and spark being introduced?

 

don't forget a fuel additive, I'd be most concerned about moisture in the tank and the gas going bad..

 

I've used "Sta-bil"fuel stabilizer for years in my lawn mower and 68 Camaro. It works great. I can store my car all winter and start it right up in the spring.

 

I'd be more worried about the car cover than the oil. Those car covers can cause more damage than the elements. Water mixed with air pollution (acid rain) can get trapped under them and cause damage. Dirt can get under them and scratch the paint like sand paper every time the wind blows it around. Put a thick coat of wax on the paint and don't rub it off. Then when you take it out of storage wash it first and then rub off the remaining wax.

Yes, put some fuel stabilizer in the tank and drive it a while to mix it up and get it into the system.

 

 

I would'nt worry about priming the pump. But I would add the fuel stabilizer into the tank first and then fill it all the way up. Having a full tank will reduce condensation/water in the tank. If I were to store a vehicle for a long period of time I would also fog the cylinders and pull the battery. This is the same thing that is recommended/that I do to my boat.

 

How do you fog the cylinders?

 

First you need to disable the spark to the engine, either by romoving the coil wires or ECU fuse. Pull out the spark plugs/label wires squirt fogging oil into the cylinders and crank engine over several times. Reinstall plugs and thats it. You could also just take it for a 45 minute drive every few weeks.

 

Yeah that's the best idea. In San Francisco that's only one trip half way across town too. I lived there in the 80's and it was an hour to go anywhere.

 

Yea, I know what you mean. I lived in San Fran and L.A. 3 years ago. Traffics a killer-even on weekends.

 

I personally wouldn't worry about starting after only a month. Cars sit on dealer lots for sometime several months, and I'm sure they start up just fine. I say no sweat except for the fuel stabilizer.

 

unless you prepped the vehicle for sitting for long periods of time its a good idea to just drive it every other week till its nice and warm....maybe even just around the block....so once you get it up and running again you may want to drive it more often just to keep thing circulating a little...

 

I would drive it for at least 45 min. to burn out the condensation and fuel from your oil. Short trips are not good for a vehicle. Multiple short trips anyway.

 

I love my truck so much I try to avoid short trips whenever possible by taking advantage of friends and family (having them give me rides) and most of the time i just bike everywhere in the city. It's fast, keeps me healthy, and prevents the worst kind of wear on my baby

My pickup only sees highways driving and I plan on keeping it that way. Besides, cars are for long trips (or in the rare event you need to move around something huge/heavy anywhere).