Hey guys I was wondering if its true if the pistons will get stuck if the car has not been in use for a couple of years? Some guy told me that since my car hadn't been used the pistons were probably bad. I was just wondering what you guys think.

 

They could be stuck but not bad. Normaly they will get a litle rust around the rings. You can put some disel fuel or some penatrating oil in each cylynder and let it sit over night then turn the engine over by hand and that will brake them free. But i would see if the engine will turn over by hand before you do this if it does just do a tune upfresh gas and fire it up.

 

Cool, so how much do you think it would take to get it running and how long do you think it would take. like a full day or a few hours to know whats wrong with it.

 

Id throw some new plugs in it tank of gas charge the battary and fire it up see how it runs. Once you do that then you can do a FULL tune up. Id say a good day just to be on the safe side.

 

Change the oil and filter before you start it up as well.

 

thanks for all the tips

 

Here's what ya do
Remove spark plugs
Hook up battery, remove coil wire
Check horn, lights, radio for operation
Hit starter
IF all goes well, "ya OK"
How long will this take
We ain't there
Will it be "fun"
Depends
In end, you'll let us know.
CAN pistons "stick" due to long NON usage
SURE had one happen myself.
Took lots of oil seepage & "hammering on piston" to get it to work loose.
Motorcycle engine with head removed & bottom end got "wet".
BUT eventually did so loosen up that piston.
Only you, also know if this car/engine was stored in good "sleeping environment".
Removing plugs allows engine rotation with least resistance.
After ya tune up the car (just reinstall plugs & see if fires up), change oil/filter.

IF not start, start searching for spark.
IF "spark" but no fire
COIL ($15-40)
If NO SPARK
ECM under the cap. ($30-50)
Replacement of either will allow engine to start.

Change oil as soon as possible before running engine long time or at all.
LOTS of stuff "down there in old oil" can clog your engine & cause death after a short bit of "long term usage".
FastRS knows, so do I, as it happened to both of us.
Not changing old oil fast enough, then using engine that sat for long time.
Even after ya get that old engine to "run again", change that second round of oil, too, real quick.
That's the "oil that soaked up the stuff", which can also clog parts.

 

Yes make sure you have really clean oil in it my enigne hadent run in about 5 years got it running then it destroyed it self KED85 saw the aftermath of it i ended up with some awsome paper weights a block with a hole in the side of it and all kinds of cool damage i never knew an engine could do to it self. and it was a matching number block to

 

Before you start the motor, pour some oil or mystery oil down each spark plug hole.

Then leave the plug out and get it turned over by hand, and then use the starter to spin it around a few 100 times. So its all lose before you fire. Change oil real soon. get cheap oil as you'll want to change it again real soon.

They use mystery oil to clean engine of rust that have sat for 20+ years. They they soak the whole thing in a bath for 6-8 months.

 

When ever I am dealing with an engine that has sat for a long time I do exactly what Gumby said and it works every time.

 

Thanks guys

where are you guys from

 

It shows were we are from below our user name.

 

IN END
Ya kinda shooting craps
Ya MAY GET LUCKY
Ya may end up with paperweights!
Pistons "don't go bad"
It is the fragileness of the cast iron piston rings that is the part of the equation of unknown.
Mix in the "old it sat long time oil" going thru small passages.......

 

Hm. Ya know, when I bought that '84 Firebird to use as a parts car for it's frame and windshield and front clip, the motor barely ran. I had to floor it to get it up the little ramp between my driveway and the street. I wonder... the car had weeds growing out from underneath... maybe I cracked the rings when I started it up! We had it towed to the house; the guy dropped it off in the street, I never drove it further than into the driveway.

Of course the carb looked like it had caught on fire and there was mud (literally!! the car was covered in sand, like it went off road) in the radiator, so maybe the motor was really just in bad shape.

 

In the Haynes they had a distributor with the cam gear removed to allow a drill to run the oil pump. Getting some oil into dry bearings sounds like a good idea.