Starting her up after a long lay up
Discussion
cerbfan said:
Anyone have any advice on starting the car after its been laid up for around 6 months? I take it I should try and kill the spark somehow so I can just crank it over and get the oil round the engine again.
I just started mine up after 2 months and ran her gently - no problems...started firs time too!Guess six months is longer....sure someone has recently advised about removing specific fuses that will allow you to spin the engine over without a spark...would / should diconnect the fuel pump...?
Good luck
I am going to have to do this soon.
I am fitting a sump heater that will preheat the oil and most of the engine so everything will be nice and warm before the engine even turns over.
Before I turn the engine over i will take the rocker covers off and pour some oil over the top of the engine as I am pretty sure the top of the engine will be nearly dry.
I am also going to turn the engine over without it firing to circulate the oil.
I think this is as much I can reasonably do!
I am fitting a sump heater that will preheat the oil and most of the engine so everything will be nice and warm before the engine even turns over.
Before I turn the engine over i will take the rocker covers off and pour some oil over the top of the engine as I am pretty sure the top of the engine will be nearly dry.
I am also going to turn the engine over without it firing to circulate the oil.
I think this is as much I can reasonably do!
Depending how long it was laid up and whether you oiled the bores, it might be a good idea to turn the engine through a complete revolution by hand to make sure the rings haven't seized or left any corrosion ridges before you turn it over on the starter.
Other than that I would just charge the battery, check there is fuel in the tank and fire it up.
Turning it over with the spark disabled without also disabling the fuel will just flood it. In any case you're probably doing more harm than good by deliberately cranking it over, since cranking gives very poor lubrication and very high valve train loads so is not good for the engine. I suggest you just fire it up, keep it to 2000 rpm for a couple of minutes and then start worrying about whether the brakes or clutch have seized.
Other than that I would just charge the battery, check there is fuel in the tank and fire it up.
Turning it over with the spark disabled without also disabling the fuel will just flood it. In any case you're probably doing more harm than good by deliberately cranking it over, since cranking gives very poor lubrication and very high valve train loads so is not good for the engine. I suggest you just fire it up, keep it to 2000 rpm for a couple of minutes and then start worrying about whether the brakes or clutch have seized.
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