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Bringing it back to life

I've had my 2000 Mustang Convertible in the back of our unheated hangar since last November, untouched. I covered it with cotton sheets, filled the gas tank to the top, aired up the tires -- and haven't touched it since.

Yesterday I charged the battery up and fired it up. The engine sounded a little "ticky" for a few seconds, and then purred like a big cat. I let it warm up fully before shutting it back down.

I also aired up the tires, which were about 50% low. The floor of the hangar is astroturf over pea gravel, which has enough "give" so that I think the tires aren't flat-spotted from sitting.

The brake rotors are completely rusty. Should/can I do anything about that before driving the car again? Or will that all just come off after a few brake applications.

I figured I'd change the oil/filter right away -- but is there anything else involved with bringing a car out of winter storage?

Thanks,

-- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA

2000 Mustang Convertible Pathfinder N56993
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Reply to
Jay Honeck
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Ticky is just the valvetrain hydraulics pumping up.

Mmmm.... dunno. Thup-thup-thup?

Depends on how rusty is rusty. Surface rust forms quickly on rotors. Drive carefully and don't hammer it at first. Feel it, and get out and check.

Good idea. The 2000+... are your belts OK? Antifreeze (?)

Dump a can of good (e.g., STP) fuel injector cleaner in the full tank, run it to operating temp a few times (>20 min), and run the tankful, and check your tire pressure. Check your fluids again.

Then, once it's completely warm, and you feel confident with the above, run the sucker to or near redline a few times. Just wring the snot out of it at full throttle, and let it rev. Keep it a gear lower than 'usual', 3000+, for a bit. See how it responds. Is it an automatic? Does it shift slowly once warmed? Check your fluids. Pay attention. Let it build up the pressures. Running it hard blows out the carbon, and works your gaskets. Check for leaks, and enjoy.

Anyone else?

Reply to
Wound Up

Jay Honeck opined

Well... i'd like to suggest that you give it a couple good warmup cycles first...

Any condensation isnt going to come out with the old oil. And there's not likely to be enough to drop to the bottom of the pan

If it was ME, I'd change the oil just before storage, because used oil is acidic. Then just fire it up and drive it 3000 or more come spring.

But, like everthing else, just my opinion

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

Radial tires aren't going to flat spot from November.

Reply to
Jimmy

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 03:24:24 GMT, Backyard Mechanic wrote something wonderfully witty:

Yeah that is my recommendation as well. I always change the oil on my bike right before I put it up for the winter. I also run it up for a while to let the new oil circulate all around.

Mine too.

Reply to
ZombyWoof

I had changed the oil in October, just a few weeks before putting it away for the winter, so I figured that was "close-to-new" -- especially given how seldom we drive it. (I really didn't need to put it away that early, but snow was predicted and I didn't want any chance of running this car in the salt.)

Today is predicted to hit 60+ degrees, so I think it's time to bring her out of hibernation!

Thanks for the tips, folks.

Reply to
Jay Honeck

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