Car help - what maintenance required on a vehicle that has been sitting for a year?

Armueller2001 · #1 05-17-2010, 08:54 AM

Alright dudes, my 2002 Olds Intrigue has been sitting idle for about a year due to the fact that I drive my company truck everywhere. I took the car on a 300 mile trip in February but thats about it.

Other than the obvious oil change, what would ya'll suggest?

guroove · #2 05-17-2010, 09:03 AM

You got the main one. Some drygas in the fuel tank if you live in a humid area or have cold winters. Other than that, make sure you don't have spider nests anywhere, make sure everything electrical works.

MakiSupaStar · #3 05-17-2010, 09:05 AM

Check the battery.

Sonicfrog · #4 05-17-2010, 09:05 AM

Gas can degrade after a while. If less than half full, just fill the tank with premium. If the tank is more than half full, consider either getting a gas stabilizer, or draining the tank.

You might want to replace the A/C and alternator belts if their old. Sitting for a year will cause the rubber to mold into the position they have been in, which causes them to weaken at the spots where they were bent.

Speaking of belts, this car has a timing belt I think. If it has 60 to 100k miles on the belts, definitely get those changed out. Yes, it will cost a few hundred smacks, but that's better than having the belt snap while you're driving, and destroy the engine.

Replace the wipers. This is something I always overlook, and pay with a blurry windshield when the rainy season comes.

Can't think of anything else, but then, I haven't had breakfast yet.

guroove · #5 05-17-2010, 09:07 AM

Also, check the condition of your tire rubber, and make sure they are properly inflated. I'm assuming the car starts ok, so the battery should be good. Make sure you don't have corrosion on the top of the battery. If you do, just clean it with some baking soda.

MJ5150 · #6 05-17-2010, 09:11 AM

-Mike

need4mospd · #7 05-17-2010, 09:14 AM

You should promptly get rid of the car due to it being an Oldsmobile.

You said you drove it in February, how much other driving or moving did it get? Did you at least start it occasionally?

Change oil & coolant for sure. If possible, it's nice to remove the valve covers and coat everything before starting, rather than just pouring it through the little hole. A dry start can be rough.
Tires might need a close look, if it drives rough you might need new ones + alignment. 800+ lbs sitting on one spot of tire for a year will ruin them. I'd take it to a tire shop and expect to get new tires if you didn't move it somewhat often.
I'd question how good the battery is, might be toast or at least not have much life left.
Some people like to drain the gas and refill. Anywhere over 3 months is pushing your luck. Bad gas can ruin a motor.

Your mileage may vary.

Bob Lee (QSC) · #8 05-17-2010, 10:57 AM

Here's what I would do.

Check the hoses--air, vacuum, PCV, coolant, etc.--on the engine (and tranny, if it's automatic). Replace as necessary. While you're under the hood, check the condition of the wiring. In particular, check the battery cable connections at both ends.

Charge the battery. The battery voltage when fully charged (with the charger disconnected) should be about 12.6V. If it's below about 12.3V it either needs more charging or replacement. If it won't get above 12.0V even after lengthy charging, the battery is clearly bad. You can check the specific gravity in the battery cells to verify.

Check the oil. Add oil if necessary to bring it up to "full" on the dipstick. Check your coolant, too, and top it off if necessary. Look underneath the car and see if there are any spots (not good but not necessarily worrisome yet) or puddles (not good--find out why) caused by dripped fluids.

Remove and check each spark plug. Look for signs of fouling. If they're in good shape, gap and re-install them. Before you put them back in, it might be good to put a very short squirt of motor oil into each cylinder through its open spark plug hole, just to initially lubricate the piston rings against the bare cylinder walls when you get around to first cranking the engine.

Since your car is a 2002, presumably it has an electronic engine management system. Plug in an OBD2 scanner and turn on the ignition but do not start the engine. If any engine systems do not pass the turn-on check--for example, a faulty sensor or something--it'll show up as a DTC (Diagnotic Trouble Code--i.e., fault code) that you can read with the scanner. Address any problems that show up in the scanner. This will also allow the electric fuel pump to pressurize the fuel rail(s).

With the hood open, start the engine. It might not sound absolutely normal when it starts cranking but you shouldn't hear any knocking, rattling, etc. If it starts--which it should--don't rev the engine. Let the oil come up to pressure, which it should do within a few seconds of cranking or running. If the check engine light comes on, shut off the engine, turn the ignition back on (without starting) and read the DTCs with the scanner.

While the engine's running, measure the DC voltage across the battery terminals. It should be about 14V, ±0.5V.

If the engine doesn't start, you should be able to find one or more DTCs with the scanner (with the ignition on).

If the engines still runs fine after a couple minutes, let it warm up a little and then either do an oil change, or drive it gently to have an oil change done.

I doubt that the fuel has any problems itself, unless you have a leak in the fuel system that has let moisture in. If that's the case you could pour some methanol (e.g., "drygas") into the tank to break up and absorb the blobs of moisture that would have formed at the bottom of the tank.

Bias-ply tires will tend to form flat spots after a while of sitting in one place, but radials are resistant to that. If the tires were allowed to go flat, though, the rubber may have cracked and the belts developed creases, and the tires might need to be replaced. If they were kept reasonably inflated and not exposed to sunlight, they will probably be okay.

Let It Fall · #9 05-17-2010, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonicfrog

Gas can degrade after a while. If less than half full, just fill the tank with premium.

Speaking of belts, this car has a timing belt I think. If it has 60 to 100k miles on the belts, definitely get those changed out. Yes, it will cost a few hundred smacks, but that's better than having the belt snap while you're driving, and destroy the engine.

Premium isn't required. Nor will it restore old fuel or anything like that.

And not all timing belts destroy the engine when they go. Many cars have a non interfering timing belt.

Let It Fall · #10 05-17-2010, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by need4mospd

Change oil & coolant for sure. If possible, it's nice to remove the valve covers and coat everything before starting,

Id change oil, but coolant? Coolant never goes bad, and its not like changing it will do anything. If anything your radiator might have corroded [would have wether it was running or not], there may be junk in there, but if you have junk in there the problem is where it came from and lesser what it MIGHT do.

Let It Fall · #11 05-17-2010, 12:10 PM

If your battery is dead it is most likely a goner, charge it and then drive it a little bit. When you turn off the vehicle try starting it agian. A bad battery will loose its charge and an alternator is not a battery charger, more of a battery sustainer.

Mike N · #12 05-17-2010, 07:49 PM

You didn't mention if the car was sitting inside or outside. Look under the hood to make sure no critters have made nests there, especially near the belts. Fill the fluids, air up the tires and drive it. Easy on the brakes for the first few stops, since the rotors are probably rusted from sitting. You may feel a pulsation from this, but once you scrub the rust off you should be ok.

Mike N · #13 05-17-2010, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Let It Fall

Id change oil, but coolant? Coolant never goes bad, and its not like changing it will do anything. If anything your radiator might have corroded [would have wether it was running or not], there may be junk in there, but if you have junk in there the problem is where it came from and lesser what it MIGHT do.

Coolant most certainly goes bad, especially the schlock Dexcool that his Intrigue has.

Mike N · #14 05-17-2010, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonicfrog

Speaking of belts, this car has a timing belt I think. If it has 60 to 100k miles on the belts, definitely get those changed out. Yes, it will cost a few hundred smacks, but that's better than having the belt snap while you're driving, and destroy the engine.

The Intrigue should have a timing chain and not a belt, thank God.

blendermassacre · #15 05-17-2010, 08:55 PM

+100 for critter check. nothing like the smell of cooked/ rotting animal coming up through the ac to ruin your month.

**WillPlay4Food** · #16 05-18-2010, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blendermassacre

+100 for critter check. nothing like the smell of cooked/ rotting animal coming up through the ac to ruin your month.

Or worse, turning on the heat and having a critter eat through the hose and cause an electrical fire which is neatly contained by firewalls in the passenger compartment.

need4mospd · #17 05-18-2010, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Let It Fall

Id change oil, but coolant? Coolant never goes bad, and its not like changing it will do anything. If anything your radiator might have corroded [would have wether it was running or not], there may be junk in there, but if you have junk in there the problem is where it came from and lesser what it MIGHT do.

And changing the coolant might help reveal such a problem...