car has been sitting
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Teching In
Joined: Aug 2005
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car has been sitting Greetings,
My 2000 trans am has been sitting for about 3 years. I've been starting it roughly once a month over that time and i've run it about5 miles or so a few times over the years. But since i don't have any plates i never took it too far. Is there any maintenance i should perform other than draining the gas (which is probably stale by now) to get her back on the road.
Thanks
My 2000 trans am has been sitting for about 3 years. I've been starting it roughly once a month over that time and i've run it about5 miles or so a few times over the years. But since i don't have any plates i never took it too far. Is there any maintenance i should perform other than draining the gas (which is probably stale by now) to get her back on the road.
Thanks
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,407
Likes: 63
From: Knappa, Oregon
I don't know how much old gas you still have in the tank, but before you change it I would add a fuel treatment/gas additive of your choice (mine is Seafoam). And then if you can't take it out on the road to run it awhile just back it up, hard stop, move forward, hard stop, to slosh the gas and additive around a bit and run the engine some to get gas through it. Maybe sloshing it a bit more while you are doing that. This may pick up moisture or other deposits in the bottom of your gas tank and send them forward.
Then I would change the fuel filter. If you haven't done that before, it is really easy, a couple wrenches, lift the rear enough to get under it (safely!) and you will spill a little gas. It is on the body frame rail on the drivers side, just ahead of the rear wheel. Do a search if you haven't done it before. One end clips in, the other end requires a wrench or 2.
And because you haven't really had the car up to full operating temperature, there is probably some condensation in your oil. If money is available I would change the oil after 3 years, if not, you may see fog/smoke out the tailpipe as the engine and full exhaust system gets hot.
I would definitely run it until the whole engine and exhaust are heated up.
Then I would change the fuel filter. If you haven't done that before, it is really easy, a couple wrenches, lift the rear enough to get under it (safely!) and you will spill a little gas. It is on the body frame rail on the drivers side, just ahead of the rear wheel. Do a search if you haven't done it before. One end clips in, the other end requires a wrench or 2.
And because you haven't really had the car up to full operating temperature, there is probably some condensation in your oil. If money is available I would change the oil after 3 years, if not, you may see fog/smoke out the tailpipe as the engine and full exhaust system gets hot.
I would definitely run it until the whole engine and exhaust are heated up.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Sounds like the oil has been subject to some harsh conditions (frequent starts without driving the car to get the oil up to full temp), so my first priority would be to change that.
If the engine still runs with the current gas, and there is room in the tank to get 5-10 gallons of fresh gas into it, then I probably wouldn't worry about draining it. But I agree with the above; add some fuel system cleaner (I use Red Line) and then change the fuel filter after the next fill up.
If the engine still runs with the current gas, and there is room in the tank to get 5-10 gallons of fresh gas into it, then I probably wouldn't worry about draining it. But I agree with the above; add some fuel system cleaner (I use Red Line) and then change the fuel filter after the next fill up.
Agree to all the above. I'd run the A/C as well, hopefully you ran it when you started the car every so often. Check for leaks (air and liquid) along with inspecting the brake system before taking it on the road. A faulty seal on the master cylinder could be really bad.
