[TXalfa]

My 88 Graduate has been sitting in "storage" for about 10 years. I put storage in quotes because it was never prepped for storage. There was still some gas in the tank, oil and other fluids were not touched, nothing. My goal at this point is to simply get it running again. So where should i start?

My thought is to drop the gas tank first. I'm assuming i will find rust or corrosion from the gas that was left in the tank and need to replace the tank as well as fuel filter. Should i plan on replacing the fuel pump as well?

I have been told that after doing that, I should connect a new battery and see what i've got. I've been told that i may just need to run an engine flush treatment, fuel injector cleaner and basically replace old fluids with new. That sounds great, but i am looking for some advice from those of you that may have been through this or something similar before.

I'm also curious about hoses in general. The car was kept outdoors for a few years, but has been in a garage for the last 6 years. Should I worry about any hoses decaying or becoming brittle?

Thanks for any and all advice!

 

[Zunige]

I would start with the fuel system, and change all the fluids. You will have to flush stuff out, and the piston rings could be stuck. Everything that is rubber including tires, hoses, bushings, motor mounts, tranny mount, etc. should be changed. You may want to post some pics to show the general condition. How many miles does the odometer show?

Best regards,

 

[ghnl]

While you are cleaning out the fuel system (good idea, BTW), consider sending out the fuel injectors for cleaning. I used Cruzin Performance with good results. They charge $16/injector for a solvent/ultrasonic cleaning.

Note that the injectors in our cars cannot be rebuilt. Seals and an external screen can be replaced but the innards cannot be accessed. So don't be fooled into buying so-called rebuilt injectors.

 

[TXalfa]

This weekend will be the first time I actually open the hood in years. I will post some pics to see what you all think. I believe there is around 50k miles, but I will have to double check this weekend. Other than looking for extreme cracks, what else can i do to evaluate the hoses and other rubber items?

ghnl, thanks for the tip on the injectors!

 

[lowmileage]

I'd spray something like this
Engine Fogging Oil
(or somethingsimilar) in the spark plug holes and leave it sit before I turned the engine over - along with putting fresh oil (and filter) in by just dumping the old oil. Along with everything else said above, I'd want to try to turn the engine over by hand (can you do that with the fan blades without breaking them) somehow before using the starter.

I don't like "Engine flush" stuff. I'd do with the oil what I said above and after the engine starts and you put a few miles (say 50 or so) on it, I'd then dump it again and put a new filter in. If after 50 miles, the oil is still black, I'd repeat and see how it looks after 100. Hopefully then it still will be fairly clear and you'll then do whatever you choose for oil/filter change maintenance.

 

[lowmileage]

Other than looking for extreme cracks, what else can i do to evaluate the hoses and other rubber items?

No evaluation necessary - after 10 years they all need replacing.

 

[silvrobe]

In addition---- Don't ignore your brake hoses. Change all the hoses- they get brittle with age. Flush the system and replace with fresh brake fluid.

Check your rotors- they may be badly corroded and need to be turned.

 

[lowmileage]

Check your rotors- they may be badly corroded and need to be turned.

IMO, turning rotors is a waste - both in money and in the result. I'd rather put the $10/each cost into a new rotor and, IMO again, once you cut off the surface hardness the rotor is finished.

 

[TXalfa]

Okay, so I wasn't able to spend too much time on it this past weekend...and I didn't have time until tonight to download the pics off my camera, but here ya go... Untitled Document

Let me know what you all think about the hoses and such. Any keen observations from the pics are welcome as well as your general impression. I promised my wife that I would start with a list of all the parts that I will need to replace or repair before I started ordering them. I figure I will just keep dismantling and can always part it out if it looks like it is just going to be too much to restore. My impression at this early stage, though, is that it might not be too bad. Of course, I haven't really gotten into the engine at all, so we'll see.

As you can see from the pics, the brake master cylinder has a good amount of rust on it as do the rotors. I am with lowmileage; I will replace before i try to turn them. I think silvrobe is right in that I will probably be better off replacing the lines altogether.

I'll keep taking pics as I go along and try to get your opinions and advice; it helps serve as a sanity check. Some days i think i'd be very content just taking the car totally apart and rebuilding it from scratch.