1995 chevy lumina not driven for 1 1/2 yrs
 

Hi y'all! I am a newcomer to these forums from Texas! I am the owner of a 1995 chevy lumina sedan which has been sitting in my drive for about 1 1/2 years. It was running great before I stopped driving it. I put seafoam in gas tank after the first two months. I now want to get car ready for my teenage son who has just started driving. I know it needs a new battery but what else should I do before attempting to start car? I want to make sure I don't cause any damage to it because it has been sitting. I have heard stories about people starting cars after sitting for years and they are fine...but I have also heard some horror stories. Thanks for any advice and input.:)

I'd siphon it out, and refill with a tank of high test (89 at least) - run a couple of tanks of that, and then back to 87... depending on how much gas is in there... but I just but some dry gas in my tank when I knew it would be sitting for a while, and it was fine...

I would also just drain the oil, and let it drip for about 2 hours - it's gonna be thicker than normal since it's just been sitting in the pan all this time - so do an oil change... nothing special - just use a good oil and filter. don't replace the fill plug till it all out, and takes like 5 mins to drip with it totally out.

I'd also check, and possibly drain and re-fill or better - flush the cooling system. when these sit, rust can get in the water, and be all throughout the cooling system - you should drain it every couple of years anyways, but I'd do that, and throw a new t-stat in as well... the engine will run cooler regardless.

if the tranny fluid has never been changed, now would also be a good time for that, but if it still looks bright red, you can leave it for a little while...

I'd also check each wheel bearing - if the car has been sitting on the wheel bearings for 2 years like that, chances are, one is going to be weak and fail if they are all original - I had a 93 that sat for 6 months, and the rear drivers side was actually locked up, and the front one was making noise after a while....

you just want to spin them to be sure they are free rotating, and no rubbing or tight spots, etc...

if you need it inspected, you need to check all the usually crap like lights, horn, electrical stuff, etc - since it's a 95, as long as it runs and doesn't smoke, etc - they will pass it on emmisions in most states now, since I think they only check 96 and up (OBDII)

check the front end too... wiggle each front side tire... check for any play... if there is play, they will fail you for that in most states.

be sure to also check your brake fluid - if it's low, etc top it off - some might say to flush it as well, as moisture from the air gets in there over time, etc - but it should be ok...

power steering fluid too... check to see if it needs some....

Good Luck...

I'll have to disagree there, I wouldn't drain the oil out of that thing cold. The oil contains detergents and coagulants that suspend contaminants. With the oil cold and sitting, these contaminants will simply settle to the bottom of the pan, and by pulling the drain plug, you'll only drain off the oil on top of them.

Start the car first, should start up just fine with a new battery. I'd let it run for about a half hour, and cruise it around the neighborhood a while. Then get home and dump 1/3 of a can of seafoam into the engine oil and let it run about a half hour more. The warm oil and seafoam should clean out the crankcase, and suspend any dirt or contaminants. Now change the oil and filter, and you should be good to go.

Of course, move on to all the other items he listed above me. I can't argue with the coolant flush, though the sitting shouldn't affect the coolant's life, it should be about due for a flush by now anyways. You're gonna have to take it out and drive it a while to get a feel for everything else on the car (and knock the rust off the brake rotors, be ready for an ugly noise the first few times you stop). After a good warm up and test drive, listen closely for any noises you're not used to, and it's probably a good idea to have your mechanic give the whole car a look-over if you're giving it to your son anyway.

Of course, if you're in Dallas, we'd be happy to look it over to make sure it's safe for him any time.

New is always better than old - it's the same reason you change your oil every 3-4K miles or 3-4 months - so even if a car sits for 4 months, the oil should be changed, even if it has less than 4K on it... you really want to run the engine with oil that is almost 2 years old? why do that to the engine and oil pump, etc...

I think seafoam in the crankcase is a big mistake - there are enough detergents in a good motor oil (the new oil your changing) that you should be fine with it doing it's thing, esp if you change the oil on a good regular basis... ristone is a decent product that will help keep it clean over time, but seafoam can cause damage seals and bearings - but some people do use it with ok results... I wouldn't...

Seafoam's best use is as a top end cleaner - once you get her going again, you can pull the brake booster vac line, and add a little bit in there... it will run like it's gonna stall almost, but just add a little at a time when it's warmed up - do it away from people, cause it will smoke like crazy, but it will clean up the upper end of the engine, and really does make a big difference - in the gas tank is good too... I'd avoid the crankcase though, so there I, and many other mechanics, would disagree.

And, if you drain the cooling system, no way 2 year old coolant is gonna look like new stuff, or even close... 1/2 the coolant is water... not a huge deal, but it should be done, esp if it wasn't done soon before the car sat...

This whole time no body mentions check the tires for flat spotting or dry rotting, or the fuel lines, or the fuel filter, or @ least that I saw, and stay away from sea foam in your engine period, if you use a quality motor oil, and stay current on the changes, and keep the car running well, plugs, wires, air and fuel filters, and try not to always run 85 octane, and run a bottle of fuel injection cleaner through every 4 tanks, and add the cleaner to the tank when it's @ 1/4 or lower, just before u fill up. Also get some mass air flow cleaner, any parts store should have it, pull off the big round thing and unplug the wires going to it. There will be an arrow indicating which way the air moves through the unit, spray it from behind first, this will dislodge stuff from the screens and the sensor wires first, then spray it liberally with the maf cleaner, don't use brake cleaner or any thing other than maf cleaner, or u will have a 300+$ paper weight. Let the maf dry, don't blow it out with air, once dry, reinstall it, be sure to properly tighten the air intake fasteners or u can cause the car to run rich. Next, since u already have part of the air intake apart, pull of the last part, elbow, going to the intake manifold, use throttle body or carb cleaner, NO EATHER, and open the throttle body, spray it down especially on the inside of the butterflys, notice how dark it is, lots of deposits, use the straw and really try to spray it down well, I use a clean rag, clean of dirt and other bad things, and I wipe the deposits off of the inside of the butterflys. Also u r down here in texas, make sure the ac works lol