Hi folks,

long time no post.

my classic has been laid up for comming up to 18 months now, and i'm hoping to get it back on the road in the enxt couple of weeks.
it's been sitting with the handbrake off thorughout this period so that's one less thing to worry about, but i wondered if anyone had any advice before i turn the key and start getting paranoid over every little noise. Obviously i'll be checking the fluid levels before hand.

I changed the oil abotu a month before it came off the road so am unsure if i'll need to do that again... obviously would rather not!

cheers,

Mark.

 

I should imagine your battery will be the biggest problem

and have a hammer nearby to whack the starter motor

 

fuel might be going ****ty by now too

 

thanks guys.
will have a can of vpower on standby and brace myself for a new battery beign needed.
anyone know if i'm likely to encounter issues with the alarm/immobiliser? s

 

You want as much fresh fuel in as possible or a bottle of NF octane booster.
Disconnect the crank sensor and turn it over for about a min repeat about 4/5 times, then reconnect the crank sensor and fire away, you'll need to make sure your battery is fully charged.

Crank sensor is at the front under the alternator.

 

so similar to the procedure some folks recommend after an oil change?

(I neve bothered with trhat last time i did mine.. just brimmed the filter before i put it on and all was fine! )

thanks,

i'll bear it in mind.

 

turn it over with no spark or immobilser on to get oil round first?

 

sorry ditchy just seen your post..derr

 

Brake discs will probably need a good clean up. Calipers removed, slides and guides cleaned, pistons excercised, pads deglazed. Brake fluid is hyrdoscopic, so it should be changed as well. Ensure brakes work ok before chnaging it so you have a known starting point.

If you have non-factory fuel hoses, Check fuel pipes. Ethanol in modern petrol dries out the rubber when left standing leading to hose failure. Its also hydroscopic so can cause corrosion issues on couplings, filters and steel pipes. The original hoses "should" be ok, but anything aftermarket could be dodgy, especially if it has no SAE or DIN markings.

If the car is parked over grass, thats bad news for the underneath. brakes, chasssis, suspension, steel pipes etc. Its amazing what corrosion the morning dew does to a car left standing in grass.

Oil should be ok - get it comissioned, run it for a few month to makes sure everything is ok, then change it. But when first running it, make sure the oil gets up to temperature and stays there for at least half an hour afterwards to boil off any moisture in the crankcase.

Also check tyres for perishing and cracking. Date stamps should be on the sidewall as 4 numbers in a oval, first two didgits are the week, last two digits are the year. Anything older than six years isn't going to perform well when its wet as the rubber will have hardened - something to be mindful of on a car that can do 0-60 in sub 5 seconds

 

Thanks Ali.. that's quite a list. Car's been garaged so that should help. also am running standard fuel hoses. how essential is it that the brake fluid is changed? i probably wouldn't change brake fluid every 18 months normally!

 

Had to do just the same on my new 02 sti, bought it from my best pal, been sat in his garage for 7 years. Changed cambelt, oil & filter (filled up filter) ran the fuel pump with the pipe disconnected off the fuel filter to empty tank as best as possible, cranked over with sensor disconnected to bring up pressure and fired her up. Hasn't missed a beat so far after a week. Brakes were pretty free too considering.

 

Ahh, garaged stored is much better.

In that case, get it running, drive it round the block then just jack it up make sure each wheel is free to spin (obviously the rear wheels won't spin easy due to the rear limited slip diff, unless three wheels are off the ground, two rear, one front).

With the engine do as mentioned earlier by cranking it over with the crank sensor disconnnected, but really it shouldn't make much difference, as the filter is already full of oil (thats why I say get it running before changing the oil )

Standard hoses, cool. still give them a check over, especially around the fuel filter.

24months for brake fluid, so again if its 18months, thats ok for another 6months.

You may have flat spots on the tyres, but get some warmth into them by driving and usually they go round again (well, they do on my Jag....feels like I have sqaure wheels for the first few miles after the winter lay-up )

 

thanks very much. to be honest, tyres are due replacing anyway so will be doing those prior to getting the MOT sorted.

 

HI folks, still nto managed to get this done in-laws are staying with us for a few weeks so have been otherwise engaged until now.
However, I'm determined to spend some time on the car this weekend...

please excuse my ignorance, but does anyone have a pic of the crank sensor location?
It's been quite a while since i even SAW my engine, let along did anything with it, so I just want to be sure of what i'm doing!

cheers,

MArk.

 

Its a little brown connector plug under the alternator...You cant miss it.

 

ok, thanks. i hope you're right about me not being able to miss it!

 

Well.... started it up ok, but what i thought was the crank sensor clearly wasn't!
I wasn't 100% so i just quickly turned to key on and then off again immediately which hopefully helped get at least some lubrication round the engine. third timwe i did it the car just fired up. no rattles, nothing. well pleased.
got some appointments booked tomorrow to get the slampanel/headlight repairs doen then off to MOT and i'll be back on the road! happy days!

thanks for the advice everyone.. even if i still have no clue where the crank sensor is!