Need To Start A Car After 4 Years

dreezone · March 10, 2010

One of my cousin has a car which he is going to buy from the harbor. Apparently the car was lying for 4 years there. (Sad Situation)

However the body of the car is in good shape. No rust as so on....

Can anyone help me with the steps that should do before starting the engine. The car has an EFI engine.

Thankx in advance...

VVTi · March 10, 2010

dreezone said:
One of my cousin has a car which he is going to buy from the harbor. Apparently the car was lying for 4 years there. (Sad Situation)
However the body of the car is in good shape. No rust as so on....

Can anyone help me with the steps that should do before starting the engine. The car has an EFI engine.

Thankx in advance...

What is the car?

Before cranking her up, a good clean up of the engine to clear the salts and moisture from all electrical contacts. Change the oil, fuel and oil filters, check for rusted connections in the fuse box. Check cables. Also flush the brake system. Also something a mechanic fried of mine said to do before you start car that has not been fired for a long time is to put the car in to gear and push it a round a bit to 'loosen' up any gears and piston rings. Just in case they are frozen.

Change the plugs. Check the leads for cracks.

Expect some smoke and rough running for a while till all fluids start circulating. after running about 200Kms, change the oil and filter again with fresh oil.

Thats hould be it.

This sis what we did for a Nissan Caravan that was not started for 3 years... Talking through experience.

dreezone · March 10, 2010

VVTi said:
What is the car?
Before cranking her up, a good clean up of the engine to clear the salts and moisture from all electrical contacts. Change the oil, fuel and oil filters, check for rusted connections in the fuse box. Check cables. Also flush the brake system. Also something a mechanic fried of mine said to do before you start car that has not been fired for a long time is to put the car in to gear and push it a round a bit to 'loosen' up any gears and piston rings. Just in case they are frozen.

Change the plugs. Check the leads for cracks.

Expect some smoke and rough running for a while till all fluids start circulating. after running about 200Kms, change the oil and filter again with fresh oil.

Thats hould be it.

This sis what we did for a Nissan Caravan that was not started for 3 years... Talking through experience.

Thankx for the reply.

It is a Honda Fit ARIA (CITY) with IDSi engine. Any idea whether to flush the fuel system?

harshansenadhir · March 10, 2010

VVTi said:
What is the car?
Before cranking her up, a good clean up of the engine to clear the salts and moisture from all electrical contacts. Change the oil, fuel and oil filters, check for rusted connections in the fuse box. Check cables. Also flush the brake system. Also something a mechanic fried of mine said to do before you start car that has not been fired for a long time is to put the car in to gear and push it a round a bit to 'loosen' up any gears and piston rings. Just in case they are frozen.

Change the plugs. Check the leads for cracks.

Expect some smoke and rough running for a while till all fluids start circulating. after running about 200Kms, change the oil and filter again with fresh oil.

Thats hould be it.

This sis what we did for a Nissan Caravan that was not started for 3 years... Talking through experience.

couldn't have replied any better,

Quote
Thankx for the reply.
It is a Honda Fit ARIA (CITY) with IDSi engine. Any idea whether to flush the fuel system?

better flush the tank as well because petrol evaporate slowly over time and what is left in the tank might not be combustible..

Ripper · March 10, 2010

dreezone said:
Thankx for the reply.
It is a Honda Fit ARIA (CITY) with IDSi engine. Any idea whether to flush the fuel system?

i think it's safe to say that all fluid stuff should be changed and cleaned when possible with flush.

it's possible that fuel lines might have developed some oxidation and/or corrosion.

even running wurth kinda fuel system cleaners should do the job.

If the tanks has had petrol in it...best to empty that out a clean it all up...

also check the condition of the tyres.

i think most tyre rubber is no good after 5 years or so and if the rubber has become brittle, it can burst open when loads are applied when you drive.

VVTI gives good advice.

it's best you don't start this up cos there's a chance the internals are frozen up. so best to give it gentle push in gears just to get things moving again slowly

good luck and let us know how it goes

VVTi · March 10, 2010

dreezone said:
Thankx for the reply.
It is a Honda Fit ARIA (CITY) with IDSi engine. Any idea whether to flush the fuel system?

Any petrol engine.

Also to add to the list Harshan and Ripper mentioned, make sure before you start, the MAF sensor near the air cleaner is removed, cleaned of any oxidization.

In fact you will have to be a very patient person to make sure all these are done BEFORE you even crank it up once. 4-5 years in the harsh sun next to the sea is not good even a for a diesel locomotive, let alone Honda with a lot of electronics.

Like Ripper said, tires will be no good anymore. Also once you start the car, make sure one of the first things you do is to flush the ATF also. and the coolant. Not even God's own coolant fluid would lasted this long.

No crazy driving for a few days till you are 100% sure all is OK.

Other than that, take it as it comes. and good luck!

pradfred · March 10, 2010

VVTi said:

Any petrol engine.

Fantastic advice by VVTi.

May I ask the buyer why he is buying this car ?

I am sure there has to be rust , even if not visible right away after 4 years of standing near the sea.

Unless it is really really really cheap.....walk away.

Trust me, we have all bought cars which look like a cut n polish will get em running only to find that a full restoration ( Bare bones) is needed...sigh.

VWvortex · March 10, 2010

As pradfred said, WHY buy a car like this, which is already freely available in the market? A hard to find 4x4 diesel jeep- yes one can understand....Seen a few of them rotting inside the port too

VVTi · March 10, 2010

True... I'd rather buy a high mileage car that has been run properly. Rather than a car hat has not been moved for 4 years next to the sea.

nissmoz · March 10, 2010

VVTi said:
True... I'd rather buy a high mileage car that has been run properly. Rather than a car hat has not been moved for 4 years next to the sea.

one of my mechanics bought a toyota carina like this. He ended up restoring the whole car after he bought it. he found lot of rust inside the door jambs and such. but again he owned the garage and he expected all of this. He bought the car very very cheap though.

hope this helps.!

VVTi · March 10, 2010

Defeats the purpose of getting a new car, isn't it?

topgear · March 10, 2010

Interesting.... They dont seem to have any mini's in the ports, do they? :-)

SeanD · March 10, 2010

Why don't you just load it on to a lorry, and take it to a GOOD mechanic, of whom you'll find plenty of recommendations on this site, and get them to do everything you need? Because you may neglect one aspect in favour of another, and then not catch it until it's too late or the damage is done. Do you know the history of this car? What was the reason it was just lying around in the harbour? Was it imported by a car sales or what? And has it been wrecked/have permanent chassis damage? I know a couple of guys who bought cars through customs contacts like this, and ended up regretting it and spending more on fixing it up than the car was worth (of course, this is before the crazy taxes came in). You could end up with a very good deal, or you could end up with a total lemon, the only way to find out is to have someone fully knowledgeable check it out, especially due to the environment it was kept in.