Alright so this is a 1985/5.0L/Carburated engine,,, It was my pops
But he let it sit in the drive way for years and years with out touching
It. To me am trying to get this Started,,
- now my pops tells me he had half a tank of fuel in the car,, but when i went
To go syphon it,, no gasoline poured out,"could it have evaporated? "
Now the oil is changed in the car so thats fine,, but the question is can i pour a little gasoline in to the tank and try to start it. (Not drive it)) ... Just 2 let it sit

 

If it's been sitting that long, hopefully all of the gas evaporated out of the carb and didn't turn into crap. I'd probably pull the carb, rebuild it, and while that's off, pull the distributor and prime the motor with an oil pump primer. I'd probably also bump the starter a few times after you re-install the distributor but before you plug the wires back into it in order to make sure the motor turns over freely, and that all of the journals and bearings are fully covered in oil before you start it.

You can try to start it with the carb as is, but I'd still do everything else i recommended to ensure that oil is where it needs to be.

 

I follow you with that,, but let me ask you
Couldnt i take a socket wrench and crank the
Crank shaft,, dont ya think the oil would
Circulate if i did that ?

 

no. The whole point is to spin the oil pump WITHOUT turning the motor over until it builds oil pressure in order to be sure that oil is everywhere throughout the motor, on all the journals, on the cam lobes, blah blah blah, then turn it over by hand a couple revolutions so that it fully coats those areas. If you just turn it over first, you're turning it over bone dry.

To that point, I'd probably also spray some WD40 into the combustion chambers before I attempted to turn it over first too. Chances are there's surface rust on the bores, and the rings may even be partially stuck to the bores, so some WD40 in there will help keep those bores together when the rings start going up and down.

 

Don't mean to thread jack but I'm in the same boat. Going to look at a 87 GTA with the 5.7 TPI. Thing is, the tank has already been removed due to the gas going south. The guy says the engine still turns over just fine but obviously won't start. Is there any way I can get some gas going to it or am I in the dark on this one?

 

i had the same problem with my 87 iroc when i bought it. it had been sitting for 12 to 15 years. if the tank is already removed check the fuelpump cause most likely it is no good (i would replace it either way) and check to see if its getting power... the change the filter. Then comes the fun part, i also had to tear apart the tpi and clean the fuel rails and injectors. ones all cleaning is done and u know that everything works i put 3 gallons of 93 octane gas in the tank with an octane booster and some starter fluid in the tpi plenum and it finally started after cranking for about 3 min..

 

Thanks for the insight. Unfortunately the pump and sending unit also went out with the tank. So it's going to need all that back there. I guess I'll also be taking apart the TPI to clean it up

 

Dumb question,, when i remove the spark plugs and squirt
The oil in em,, then pull the distributor, then prime the oil,,
With in anyway will that mess with the timing
Of the sparks to spark plugs because i am turning
The oil pump gear,, would i be able to place
The distrubtor and direction of the rotor the same
Way it was before,, or would i have to reset the timing
Of the 1st cylinder to TDC and place the rotor towards
Tower 1 in tha distributor

 

Make sure you put the dist back in the same way you took it out and it sould start. The timing will have to be set after it warms up because it's impossible to re-install it perfectly. Turning the oil pump will not affect the timing position, just make sure the slot/groove line up between the oil pump and the dist (you will see what I mean when you take it out).

 

What do u mean about timing ,, do u mean
When i put the distributor back in the way
It was before,, it could still lead to a misfire ?

 

If you put it back in the same way it came out it will run. But it won't be exactly right until you set the timing with a timing light.

 

before you disassemble the tpi i would try just the fuel pump, filter and some starting fluid....

and i might also be getting rid of my tpi set up so let me kno if you might need anything..

 

If your not sure on how to do this you might want to get some help from a friend that has done it before.

 

Tried all this today and got no luck. The car will run all day on starting fluid. I'm getting fuel into the rail but from that point I don't know if the pressure regulator is working nor if the injectors are spraying. Also, when I first got the pump in, I submerged it in a bucket of fresh gas. After a few attempts at starting it, it looked like it cycled some very old and slightly rusty gas into the bucket which turned all the gas a dark brown color.

I've got the plenum off now and trying to get to the fuel rail. The ohm on the injectors is supposed to be in the 16s correct?

 

My problem was the injectors. Got a pulse from the harness with a noid light but my injectors are most likely locked up. Looking at a set of Bosch IIIs at the moment.