Car Hasnt Been Started In 2 Years

[VB-]

ok so i'm looking at buying a car, apparently hasnt been started in 2 years as he has both a better weekend car, and a company car as a daily.

he says it will need all new oil and fluids etc, new battery. now all the fluids i can understnad, BUT, he lives pretty far from me, and i wanted to just take a battery to get it going.

i asked if he would change fluids etc at my cost just to get it running for me, as i didnt want to go to see a car thats not running, but hes pretty busy and doesnt have the time to do it. fair enough, as i do believe he is genuinely pretty busy.

now, i want to take a battery down there just to get it started and going, with the old fluids in it. now i thought that oil doesnt just 'go off' over time if its just sitting there, but not sure on this. are there any dangers in starting it with old oil in it? i'm worried it might start knocking and him saying its my fault for starting it with the old fluids in it or similar.

the other danger is i get it home, change fluids, its still rooted, and he says its my problem.

question is, is it safe to start it on old fluids? i was just going to take a battery and some basic tools. pull the plugs, crank it to prime it/build oil pressure, then start it normally. thoughts? ideas?

cheers,

Ben

[br3ndan]

if he doesnt mind change the fluids there

2 years is a long time...

oil is very easy to do as with most fluids.

If thats still no go i would seriously think about getting a flat bed to bring it home.

LAst thing u what is the oil that has already broke down or coolant thats all brown and dirty... usually its 6months or 5000km for a performance car

or normal car is 12 months or 15 000 - 25 000 .

[CRoNic...]

Oil change is a must at the bare minimum!!

And don't forget to disconnect the CAS (crank angle sensor) and manually crank it over a few times to build pressure, since it hasn't been started in aaages.

[VB-]

thing is, i've never really seen a mechanic do a service after a given period of time, they all go off km's.... thats what i've seen anyway

does oil actually 'go off' over time?

and yes i was going to crank it without starting it to build oil pressure

flatbedding it home isnt going to happen. 1, he lives too far from me and 2, if it is f*cked, i wanna know before i buy it, not when its in my driveway

[KezR33]

Taken from ironchefimports.com;

drive your new car like a granny until you can put a fresh tank of 98 octane in it. After a couple of weeks, fuel starts to drop octane, and I can guarantee that any fuel left in the car will be totally stale, so no thrashing or you may wind up with a dead motor!

[SS#eater]

might like to add that ive seen cars sitting for a shorter period that had rusted cams ...something to consider...

[CRoNic...]

Wow rusted cams? Must have been in a damp environment?

If that's the case, all the hoses, belts, etc would be well and truely worn?

[~Hypnotik~]

As said before, just remove the plug to the CAS and crank it over to build pressure, saves pulling all the plugs out.

I'll be in the same situation as you soon, my car has only been started once in about 2.5 years and i'll be changing all fluids and the spark plugs. Last time my car was started (first time in probably 8 months or so) we jump started it, started first go and was running fine, then noticed fuel was pissing out at the back of the car. Turns out one of the fuel lines had perished and dryed over time and with the pressure in the lines when the car was running caused the line to split... So that is something to keep an eye out for once you get it started!

It was really annoying for me, as i was meant to be moving the car to my friends garage, but since i was flying to QLD the next day to live i had to leave the car outside at my grandpa's house... Damnit!

[MrStabby]

Make sure you get it cheaply. If he cant demonstrate that it runs and drives properly - assume it doesnt and pay a price that reflects. I'd be worried stuff like brake cylinders will have rusted up, so make sure you have extra cash to fix stuff. Cars dont really like sitting idle.

[keith_4204]

the fuel will be totally stale. had my car sitting for about 2yrs and I went to start it one day but forgot about the fuel and it ended up fu*king up my injectors. Clean the tank out and put new fuel in it then take the feed line off at the engine turn the key and let it pump any thing out of the fuel line. I had to get my injectors cleaned and thats not cheap.

[VB-]

i can get injecotrs cleaned cheap. and i cbf changing fuel

[baron25]

Another thought, after two years, won't pretty much all the oil have drained into the sump? I'd be concerned about metal/metal contact when i started it.

[VB-]

thanks guys, go it sorted

[GTR-N1]

Another thought, after two years, won't pretty much all the oil have drained into the sump? I'd be concerned about metal/metal contact when i started it.

Correct! The first 3 sec can be murder.

You can pour in a little oil at the top before starting. But better still, do an oil change on the spot and another in 3-5K depending on colour.

Earlier post correctly mentioned coolant/water to be changed asap lest there be the beginnings of corrosion (radiator, heater core etc).

[~Hypnotik~]

Correct! The first 3 sec can be murder.

You can pour in a little oil at the top before starting. But better still, do an oil change on the spot and another in 3-5K depending on colour.

Earlier post correctly mentioned coolant/water to be changed asap lest there be the beginnings of corrosion (radiator, heater core etc).

What i'm going to do when i first start my car after 2 + years is dump all the old oil, pour a full bottle of some cheapo oil and just let it all drain straight out, sump plug back in and fill it with some quality Royal Purple oil... Should do the trick.

[assyrian4evaa]

ok i'm starting to worry now. my liner sits in the garage for up to 3 months without starting but services are all done on time(every 6 months ect.) since i dont even come close to doing the Ks.

i dont disconnect the CAS and crank it i just jump start it and off i go.

any feedback?

[GTR-N1]

ok i'm starting to worry now. my liner sits in the garage for up to 3 months without starting but services are all done on time(every 6 months ect.) since i dont even come close to doing the Ks.

i dont disconnect the CAS and crank it i just jump start it and off i go.

any feedback?

No worries!

Just add a little oil at the top before start-up. It's preferable that you use high quality synthetic in the engine & same one for top-up.

And perhaps a bit of trickle charge for the battery.

[CRoNic...]

ok i'm starting to worry now. my liner sits in the garage for up to 3 months without starting but services are all done on time(every 6 months ect.) since i dont even come close to doing the Ks.

i dont disconnect the CAS and crank it i just jump start it and off i go.

any feedback?

3 months isn't too bad - but you could always disconnect the CAS and manually crank it over just as a precaution.

[assyrian4evaa]

No worries!

Just add a little oil at the top before start-up. It's preferable that you use high quality synthetic in the engine & same one for top-up.

And perhaps a bit of trickle charge for the battery.

but if i keep topping up the oil i'll end up with ecess oil which is also not too healthy for the motor?

3 months isn't too bad - but you could always disconnect the CAS and manually crank it over just as a precaution.

please elaborate on this manual crancking?

[acsplit]

just take spe spark plugs out and crank it for a minute or 2 in a couple of intervals, then their is no compression on the bearings. put them back in and fire it up