jamesbob02

Due to significant life changes in the past few years, I haven't driven or tinkered with my 92 Z28 in over a year. Recently I got back on to it, and last night I tried starting it for the first time.

I expected the battery to be dead (which it was), so I jumped it to my Sierra, but it still wouldn't crank over. I tried ramping the truck's RPMs to get some extra amperage under the Camaro's crank load, but it still wasn't able to get the job done.

I'm looking for assistance on getting this think running. I'm guessing it's just slightly siezed up after sitting for a while, so here's what I'm inclined to do to free it up when I get home today....so let me know if there something I should / should not do:

- Pull plugs
- Disconnect injectors
- Remove serpentine belt
- Spray lubricant in cylinders through plug holes
- Jump to truck & crank

Assuming it turns over and loosens up some, I'll reinstall the plugs and belt, hook up the injectors, and try to fire it up.

(BTW, I realize that leaving it sitting like that was a dumb move, it just kind of fell off the priority map...)

Thanks in advance!

jermdm

If you think the engine is seized a little(which I think it wouldnt be from sitting), try to turn the motor by hand. Get a half inch drive ratchet or breaker bar and a socket(think its 5/8) and try to turn the motor by hand at the crank pulley. Should turn fairly easy. If it turns, get a fresh battery, disconnect the coil wire off the cap or the coil and crank it for a while so you can build oil pressure. Hook up coil wire and see if she starts.

jamesbob02

I'm a bit hesitant to turn the crankshaft like that....I used to do it a lot in troubleshooting, and I think I remember it being close to stripping. Still, I'll pull the plugs and belt, and probably try to turn the pulley by hand before I give it any juice.

Thanks for the reply.

Big Dave

You can put a socket on the alternator pulley and try to turn the motor that way, with the belt. Should work if its not seized up which I also would doubt. If if turns easily, follow jermdm's advice and crank it with the coil disconnected to build oil pressure before firing the engine.
Mine sat for almost 4 years, no problem getting it going again. I shouldn't say that, getting it to start and run was easy enough, but problems will show up as you drive it. Letting a car sit is the worst thing you can do to it.

Dave

88I_R_O_C_ZTPI

iTrader: (2)

get a new battery , if it still will not turn over ill bet the starter is seized or the battery cables are corroded . smack the starter with a hammer a few times ... i doubt the motor is siezed after sitting only a yr ..

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

squirt motor oil in the cylinders. change the oil and filter.
try to bar the motor over, but DON'T use the bolt in the crank. Use a prybar on the flexplate. The bolt will probably snap if you use it. Break it loose.
Then put in new plugs and hook up the wires.
Let your truck run for a while hooked up, like 10-15 mins so you can charge it up first.

jamesbob02

Ok here are my results:

I pulled the serpentine belt, plugs, disconnected the coil and injectors, and sprayed lube in the cylinders. NOTE: I was only able to remove seven plugs due to limited tools on hand.

After this, I was able to turn the motor over with much effort by hand-turning the crank pulley. Again, due to limited tools, I did not have the sockets to turn any of the pulleys with a breakover, so that was a moot point.

I jacked the car up and smacked the starter a few times. Then I jumped it to the truck and tried cranking.

The motor would turn once or twice slowly and then stop, bogging down the electrical system. If I held the key on crank, it would then turn again and bog down. I could repeat this cycle as many times as necessary. Unfortunately, it never got "easier". Considering this, I knew there would be no point in hooking everything back up to see if it would fire.

Here are my thoughts:
- I know the battery won't take a charge, but I don't think that is the limiting factor right now. I should have been able to get as many amps as I needed from my running truck, yet it would barely turn over.
- My next guess would be the starter is too weak. However, I'm hesitant to run out and buy another one until I get some feedback on my results.
- I also do not think it is my battery cables. Yes, they are somewhat corroded, but they still read less than one ohm between any two points on their continuity. I also bypassed the corroded sections and got the same results.

What do you guys think?

jermdm

Replace the battery. It is very easy to get a bad connection when jump starting with jumper cables on a side post battery. You will not get a proper charge either if you are letting you truck charge the battery. In any case, you should get a new battery.

Fullsizewagon

Jermdm is right, jumper cables are rarely heavy enough to do the job all by themselves when the receiving battery is so long gone that it's unable to take a charge anymore.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

exactly. Jumper cables are never big enough. New battery, but don't get a new starter just yet. I think the battery should do it.

jamesbob02

Interesting; I wouldn't have thought the cables were the weak link.

Just to make sure, I think what I'll do is move my truck battery over and try it. If it works, I'll go right out and buy a new one.

Any other thoughts? Thanks, guys.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

No, that's a great idea, as long as both are side posts, etc, so that it'll fit in directly.
Let us know if it works!

jamesbob02

Unfortunately my current cables are top-post, but I needed an excuse to replace them anyway.

Doc_G

iTrader: (1)

try draining all the oil out of the engine, and replacing it w/marvel mystery oil. Let it sit for 24-36 hours and it should free up your "slightly" siezed engine.

osirus

mine wouldn't start for a while, we finally traced it to a bad battery and a bad lead to the dizzy. used a jumper from a new battery and.. yay.

jamesbob02

Bingo!

It was the battery. Luckily, I still had 7 months on a 3-year free replacement battery - that was quite a nice surprise. Within an hour of beginning work on the car tonight, I had her back up and running.

I had torn it down over a year ago to try and solve a hard-start issue, but I couldn't nail it down and was to the point of expensive part-swapping, so I gave up. Recently, I realized that I had upgraded injectors at some point, in anticipation of upgrades I never did....and in hindsight realized that the hard-start issue cropped up about the same time. Why not throw in the old injectors and see if that did the trick? And that's exactly what happened.

I have no idea how that makes sense....I had figured that maybe the newer injectors were leaking fuel into the cylinders, which would tend to delay system pressure and cause a slight flooding. But since I couldn't reproduce a leak with the fuel rails off, I had given up......I only decided to give it a shot recently because it wouldn't cost me anything.

Funny how things work out like that sometimes! Thanks for all the help guys.

Doc_G

iTrader: (1)

yup stroke of luck fixes are my favorites. Especially the ones that dont cost anything. Sometimes its better to be lucky than good. So now that you've got your car to start... what kind of plans lie ahead? Inquiring minds want to know.

jamesbob02

Hmm....I really don't know. At first I just wanted to get it running properly so I could sell it and pay off some debt, but I still have all my old dreams of making it into a screamer, and finally have the job to pay for it.

Of course, growing up causes one to develop "bigger ideas" for life than a hobby car, so the money may go to those things instead. (e.g.: mortgage, home improvement, investments, family planning, education & career advancement, etc etc)

At the least, I'm going to revamp its suspension for driveability, and who knows - maybe I'll catch the bug and start looking at major upgrades.

wulfgar the pen

yeah i had the same problem with my camaro when i got it
funny how just the battery can keep that much power held down