taking a car out of incredibly extended hibernation

Ok, here is a chance for all the car buffs and wrenchheads to come out of the woodwork. I've had an 89' lancer ES sitting out back since sept of '02, it's now january of '04. Insurance premiums have now dropped to the point where I can safely unhibernate my car. The terms of hibernation that this car has had to endure have not been pretty. I would hazard to say that they have been grueling. Exposed to the canadian climes for the better part of a year and a half, untarped, and generally left to fend for itself. All the fluids are basically the same way as when they were left. Put it this way, no special precautions were taken to ensure that this car survived. Now i'm gonna have to undo the damage that's been done thru neglect. It didn't have a decent burial and now it's gonna need a really soft resurection. REALLY soft. I'll tell yu thus far what I've done, plugged her in for a few hours and fired her up a couple times for thirty seconds apiece. Not a good idea, at all. I don't think I've done any serious damage to the engine/components, but knowing my luck I've royally f***ed it already. Save the flames. If you think you can tackle this one, reply by e-mail preferably, the address above is the right one. Help me get this beast on the road and off the cement pad out back.

Clay

Reply to
Clay Smith
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When you started it up how did it run? Are there and codes that you can pull by going the click-click thing with the ignition switch.

Change the gas and other fluids. I see cars/trucks/tractors left for a year or two here in Manitoba and they run OK when started. Mind you, sometimes it takes a bit to get it started! Some of this "damage" stuff is over-rated in my opinion - after all you are looking at a car that was driven for 13 years before it was parked. How was it just before you parked it?

I parked my '73 Datsun 510 from 1987 to 1988 (about 15 months) and before I started it. I got another battery for it (as my brother was using the one from the car in one of his farm tractors (a very small tractor). Started up fine. Filled it with fresh gas and drove it to a carb shop to redo the carb. That was it. Ran it for another 5 years until the timing chain went.

Just another bit of anecdotal evidence for you to consider.

Ken

Reply to
Ken Pisichko

If you already started the engine then any potential damage has already been done, but I doubt that you hurt anything.

Change the oil, check the fluids, make sure the brakes are still functional and off you go. You might consider cleaning out the gas tank, but I probably wouldnt bother with it unless you start having problems.

Your car really wasnt sitting all that long... I've pulled them out of a field after five years and started up and drove it home.

Steve B.

Reply to
Joe

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