HOW TO START UP A CAR THAT HAS BEEN SITTING FOR A LONG TIME

A client of mine had this 2008 ford mustang he bought off an auction on copart. The car has been idle for some months and when it arrived Nigeria, it refused to start. We were able to get the car back to shape and today I would be giving some tips on how to start a car that has been sitting for quite a long time.

Cars are meant to be driven and if they aren't, the fluids in the car begin to break down and rust starts to form on some of its mechanical components. The first thing you would notice on a car that has been idle for sometime is that the key refuses to slide in and out, to fix that you just need to apply a little lock lube oil into the ignition, that should get the key sliding easily in and out of the ignition. The next thing you would want to do is check the engine bay for nest, leaves, and birds, animals sometimes animals turn inactive cars into their homes and failure to check and get rid of them can cause overheating when you eventually start the car and could in some cases lead to a fire outbreak especially if you have leaves stuck somewhere in your engine or some dead animals.

After you have inspected the car for nest, leaves, birds and other animals, the next thing to do is to change your engine oil and the oil filter. Drain the old oil and replace with the recommended engine oil (check your car's manual for this) the ford mustang had its drain plug underneath the vehicle so it was kind of easy to drain. Change the oil filters too. When that is done, check the plugs to see if they are in optimal condition(if they aren't change them outrightly) use fogging oil to lubricate the cylinders to allow for efficient combustion in the upper chamber. When you are done with the engine oil, filters and the plugs, you should check the coolant level, power steering fluid and brake oil. If they aren't up to recommended levels, top up. Make sure your battery is fully charged up or get a jumpstart cable handy.

Drain the old fuel from the tank (this could be done easily with the aid of a hand pump). Top up new fuel and then start the car. If the car refuses to start, then you should check your fuel pump and prepare for replacement. The ford mustang had a faulty fuel pump but we applied some starting fluid and the car came back to life.

This post is courtesy of chi spare parts, we deliver quality auto parts to you wherever you live in Nigeria.

Mods this could go to the front page. There are a few things some nairalanders can learn from this piece.