StormTrooper Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 Alright guys, I am getting two soobs in the next coupla weeks that have sat for over a year, and the guy says they no longer run. one's an '85 hatch, the other's an '82 wagon. A year is relatively short amount of time in "stationary soob" time. I'm wondering what I should bring up there to see if i can drive away with one, as making two trips towing sounds no fun. Here's what I came up with: set of wheels/tires, inflated to reg. psi (or a compressor) battery water oil These cars were both running before they were parked. So there shouldn't be much that could go wrong in year of sitting, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archemitis Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 my wagon sat behind a junkyard mans house for three years, and all i brought was a battery and oil and coolant.and a radiator, cuz it was crashed. as long as there was no water getting under the hood, i dont see why they wouldnt start. maybe bring a junkyard coil. good luck, sounds like fun. just thought of something, ether, and maybe some gas. 1 year isnt anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooperjeep Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 Of all the "lot cars" I have ever brough home that have sat for a long time outside, here is a list of things to check that typically "go bad" when a car sits too long... Fluids: power steering, brake, transmittion, gas, etc. all slowly absorb water over time. It is always a good idea to drain and replace the fluids *before* you drive the vehicle. Bad gas can really ruin an engine so you should test it first in a small gas powered tool first like a push mower or chain saw. If it seems ok, add some dry-gas (water remover) and some fule-injector cleaner before you drive. Tires: will develop flat spots and become out of round. Rubber also cracks and weakens in the sun. When in doubt, replace the tires. Brakes: will typically seize when parked for too long. Emergancy brakes (if left on) will always sieze. Pull a wheel and look at the brakes before you drive. Try to spin the wheel by hand. If it dosen't rotate freely, take the brakes apart and work the calipers back and forth by compressing them with a large C-clamp then slowly pumping the brake to get the piston back out. Mouse Nests: look in the air filter box and tail pipe *before* you start the car. Also check the fresh air intake for the heater. Good luck! T.J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archemitis Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 yah but... subaru calipers have to be turned in, and a clamp wont work. besides the emergency brake is on the front, not the rear drums, so just let the brakes fix themselves. as soon as it comes up to temp all the water in the oil, and all that will be vaporized. rock on with your ea81s they are tough as dirt:headbang: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormTrooper Posted November 15, 2003 Author Share Posted November 15, 2003 Thanks for the heads up, the mouse nest sounds like a nasty one!! my stepdads friend couldn't get his old 64 impala to start, and when it finally did, a crap load of nuts (from rodents) went flying out of the dual exhaust!! Dude said he could probably get them started..if he cant i hope i can..anyway, this is a score..I'm trading an old computer for two ea81'a!!! :headbang: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 i brought all the above , if fact one of my 4wd wagons did not have a hood on it ,and it fired right up . , i looked at another 4wd sedan at a lot and i know it sat for over a year , check oil, coolant, power steering fluid , later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 My '86 BRAT, sat for afew years before the guy I got it from, got it, was last plated in '96, he got it in late 2001. Fresh battery, and 2 gallons of gas, fired it up, and drove home. Lost the rear brakes on that drive, rusted lines, but the E-brake worked fine. 1st oportunity to do so, I would do a flush and re-fill of all fluids on the cars, especially the brake system. Wouldn't have anyone standing behind the cars when you do fire them up. Just fired up the XT-6 parts car Miles and I bought. Blew a wasp nest out of the tail pipe with a little bit of force. Had the XT sitting in front of the garage, and the nest hit the inside of the back wall with some force. Didn't do it right away, but it only took a couple gooses on the go peddle to, let her rip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 ya be careful about the brakes. rubber lines can dry up and blow, as well as rusted metal lines, it seems to me that they often do. Don't expect it to run well at first, and the gas will be stale in the tank, you can tell by the smell. it's hard to explain how it smells, but if you've ever smelt gas before you could probably recognize it. your car will either not start or run ****tily on stale gas. If theres just a little gas in the tank, pour a good amount of good gas in it to thin it out, I don't think stale gas itself can do much to hurt a car, except not burn well. also check the fuel filter after running it before you take off, so you're not stranded if it clogs from tank rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beauregaardhooligan Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 Spray a bunch of WD-40/SeaFoam or your favorite slickum in the carb 1st. Let it set and turn the engine by hand if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted November 16, 2003 Share Posted November 16, 2003 as for brakes locking up after sitting for awhile, my 76 Triumph does this. All I have to do is take the parking brake off and hook a chain up to it and gently tug on it with another car. If that doesn't work, put a breaker bar and the right socket for the lugnuts and jack the car up and bounce on it tillit breaks it loose. I've had to do both of these methods before:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKIRA Posted November 16, 2003 Share Posted November 16, 2003 My dads 79 TR7 did that too, and the clutch did also, check it out on page four of my brat page, we are putting a 231 V-6 in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormTrooper Posted November 16, 2003 Author Share Posted November 16, 2003 Check the brakelines- that's a good one... Stale gas does have a very disitnct smell, youre right...i'll bring some gas too.. Hey Ed, what does the wd-40 in the carb do? I've seen my friend spray some carb stuff n the carb when he was out of gas, and it fired right up after not gettin the fuel gor awhile, what up with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beauregaardhooligan Posted November 16, 2003 Share Posted November 16, 2003 It'll not only work as starting fluid, it'll help lubricate the valves, pistons, rings, etc. before the oil pressure comes up. It might be a good idea to take the coil wire off and just crank it till the oil light goes out. Sometimes after sitting, the gas drains out of the line and it takes awhile to get pumped up. The slickum will fire the engine and get the fuel pumped up faster. WD-40 is the AmericanExpress of cars, never leave home without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormTrooper Posted November 16, 2003 Author Share Posted November 16, 2003 thanks for the advice, Ed. That's what I was looking to hear...Will definatley throw some WD-40 in the toolbox when I go up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyruss Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 hey Don, why dont you (or we) take a mission there to just check these bad roos out. if need be I still have that car trailer and I need to return it to its home in holister some time soon. I can only pull one at a time but its a better option than limping a car that just woke up from a long sleep a long distance. mabey see if one will run better than the other and drive one tow one. dig it? let me know;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormTrooper Posted November 17, 2003 Author Share Posted November 17, 2003 That's great news, russdogg:headbang: Dood told me that he got em both running today, but that they defonatley need to be trailered. Wonder what that means..gotta call him. But yeah, sometime this week, lets go check em out. Could you tow, if i throw down $$ on gas, or is the yota not up to it? I got a couple o buddies with p/ups but no trailer, so we can do it that way too.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warp3 Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 I've also had issues with thermostats freezing up on cars that haven't been run in a while too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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