Restarting a car that's been stood for ~10 years

[7heGeneral]

Hi all,

I've been given a job from a neighbour, to help him with getting his '99 Saab 93 Turbo back up & running. It's been stood for ~10 years, so I know at least all of the following will need changing:

- Oil & filter
- Air filter
- Fuel filter
- Tyres
- Brakes
- Battery
- Possibly a timing belt

Is there anything else I should be looking out for before trying to start it up?

Thanks

[200Plus Club]

I'd put a drop of oil down each plug first and turn it over by hand on the crank pulley bolt, carefully rocking it.

[300bhp/ton]

There is lots you could do. But tbh, very little that can go all that wrong. Just check it has oil and coolant and give it go. Fresh fuel might be needed plus a good 12v or power supply. If it doesn't start, then you'll need to dig deeper.

Once running, then look at doing all the service stuff.

[jamieduff1981]

Might be worth flushing a bit of fuel through the system with the lines disconnected from the fuel rail so you don't flush any corrosion debris into the injectors. The coolant has sat for a long time too and changing it wouldn't hurt. The thermostat may or may not be stuck.

You should probably assume the brake fluid is full of water and at least one caliper is likely to be stuck - either the piston, sliding pins or both.

There's probably a few things (moving parts, suspension, handbrake cables, stuff like that) which will fail shortly after a return to regular use.

[steveo3002]

that sort of time id expect the fuel to have gone off and causing pump /inj problems

[Chubbyross]

A useful reference for you might be on one of the Late Brake Show videos on YouTube where Jonny Smith attempts to resurrect one of the barn find cars. He often goes through several steps to bring cars back to life that have been standing for decades.

[SturdyHSV]

Personally, I'd check the timing belt visually in case it looks cracked and like it's falling apart, check it's got oil in it and possibly replace if I really liked it, check it's got fuel and coolant and then give it a go.

If it doesn't want to start then investigate further and perhaps do the things you've listed and try again, if it goes immediately and catastrophically wrong then you've saved yourself a lot of effort doing all of those things for it to have piston rings rusted to the bores that then disintegrate anyway etc.

Or it'll just fire up fine and again, you've saved yourself a bit of time in finding out that it'll run, and can make a more informed decision from there.

[Monkeylegend]

Does that not have a timing chain rather than belt?

Maybe less likely to cause a problem if so.

[ARHarh]

If the car has been stood for 10 years I would be tempted to check for structural rust before spending any money on oils and stuff. No point trying to bring a rotten car back.to.life, unless you intend to fully restore.

[Krikkit]

200Plus Club said:

I'd put a drop of oil down each plug first and turn it over by hand on the crank pulley bolt, carefully rocking it.

Definitely this!

Once the above is done roll it over on the starter with the plugs out for a few revolutions, just on the off chance the cambelt wants to give up.

After that, fresh fuel, fresh battery and give it a go

[s p a c e m a n]

Chubbyross said:

A useful reference for you might be on one of the Late Brake Show videos on YouTube where Jonny Smith attempts to resurrect one of the barn find cars. He often goes through several steps to bring cars back to life that have been standing for decades.

I'd send him a message and see if he wants to drag it out and start it for you whilst you drink a cup of tea and keep your hands clean