I was given a 1998 Chevy Malibu v6. It sat for two years unused/non driven. And now when it starts, the engine shakes, the acceleration/RPM is poor, and after driving, and then braking the engines goes off. And idea of what the problem could be. There are no engine leaks, the oil looks clean, and clear, smooth. I intend of taking it to have a tune up, but what can i learn from you guys?

 

Sounds like it could be anything. If the battery is not charging the way it should then the car might shut off when you hit the brakes, but if there is a problem with the engine it might also shut off as well. To be honest I would take it to have it looked at before getting a tune up. How many miles are on it and is it smoking any? How does it start up? Does it take a bit or fire right up with no problems?

 

how much gas is in it? has that gas been sitting for 2 years? if you have very little in the tank, you may try putting a few gallons in to bring it back to life.
I would try driving it a little more, or idling in your drive way changing the RPM's. After siting for 2 years you may have some cobwebs, moisture, or corrosion build-up somewhere

 

it had next to no goas in it. i put a few gallons in it. when it starts, it cranks, and turns over fine, and it'll idle in park, when when i apply the brake, and then switch to drive, thats when the engine shakes, and hard, very noticable. To keep it from going off when i switch to drive, i have to apply gas while i hold the brakes. But after a min it'll shut off. I did a few laps around the block and i started to lose acceleration. if i came to a stop, and then tried driving, there would be no immediate acceleration. And then the coolant tank started to overflow. and as far as smoke goes, it's very little puffs, and its white/grey

 

My guess is that the fuel left in a tank that long probably had the flow characteristics of Mrs. Buttworth's syrup. That stuff will gum-up injectors like nobody's business. I sense the tip of an icebreg here too. Just a guess though.

 

Good point Gwampa

You'll prolly want to pull the injectors since they could be gummed up like Gwampa said. Also throw in a fuel filter if the car has one & run a bottle of fuel system cleaner through it. The car might also need a fuel pump with how it's acting.

Why was it parked to begin with? Might be a good thing to ask.

 

if i take it to a repair shop, and have the necessary things done to it to get me back in shape, how much am i looking at. i know that may be a tough questions, but any answer/ guess is as good as any for me. I would love to do it myself, i'm mechanically inclined, but i've never gotten that technical with a car, to mess with the fuel line.

the reason the car sat for so long is because the owner died, and the widow(aunt) let it sit

 

fuel filter should be easy, under driver side door would be the first place I'd look.

as for the injectors, the bottle stuff you get from a gas station might help, but I'd have a shop do a tune up on the injectors if you dont wanna pull them yourself. prolly run $100-$150.

 

i'll try doing it myself. could the problems i have be symptoms of a blown cylinder head?

 

Anything is possible but if it were then your oil would be real milky from coolant mixing with the oil. If the oil is clean as you stated earlier then the chances of having a blown head gasket or bad head ar quite slim.

When you pul the injectors to clean them use new injector o-rings & apply some clean oil to them. Reusing the old o-rings is asking for a fire.