my sad 94 e420

[driftking]

so I have had my 94 e420 project car just roll over 205k miles and I parked it in the garage...and it has sat for 2 years now. (I know, stupid)

I am afraid of trying to start it thinking I will cause damage as it was running fine then was not started for a few months and when I did start it, it had some back firing and stalled, then would not start until the next day after it had been starting from cold...same condition the next day.

I figured I would deal with it later in life and now I would like to get back into it and have it rolling again come spring\summer (I'm in New England)
I know that there are general rules of restarting a car that hasn't moved in 2 years, but should I just tow it to mechanic and have them get it started safely or should I risk it, and try to start it with a new battery (after checking all fluids of course, hoping the small amount of gasoline in it hasn't turned to sludge in 2 years)
Apologies if this has been covered already.. (this is my first post)

Thanks

 

[gsxr]

Install a fully-charged battery and see what happens. I think the biggest problem might be bad fuel, assuming you did not add fuel stabilizer before storage. If it won't fire, and the fuel is bad, you'll need to drain the tank and pour in some fresh gas. I can't think of anything bad that would happen besides the engine simply not starting. It may run rough for a bit.

 

[clarkz71]

The back firing & stalling sounds like caps and rotors.........

 

[gsxr]

The back firing & stalling sounds like caps and rotors.........

I was thinking the same thing. If it backfires and smokes even with fresh gasoline, next check would be to pop the caps off and see what they look like. For a quick/temporary fix you can wipe the cap clean and scrape deposits off the brass contacts, on both cap and rotor.

 

[500AMM]

The back firing & stalling sounds like caps and rotors.........

I am sure that is at least a part of the problem. This is a very common problem with high humidity during the day and chilly nights, and occurs often when the car has been resting for a week or so. Dependent on the condition on the contact points inside the caps.

When you open the caps you'll be shocked to see how moisty they are inside, they are covered with big waterdrops all over. And the water won't dry out by the first because the caps doesn't have any vent holes - but only drain holes in the bottom section. The car starts as normal, but as soon as the engine is heating up, the water drops starts vaporizing and the hell is on giving misfire and backfire.

-a-

 

[driftking]

Thanks for the tips. i will see if the battery is chargeable and then if not, I will have to grab a new one and give it a shot. if the gas is bad I assume it is too late to add a fuel stabilizer and then add fresh gas to it right?

How long does it usually take for gasoline to go bad though?

 

[Christian_K]

Hi,
it all depends on what kind of fuel is in there now and how full is your fueltank.
Fuel stabilizer - according to my information they contain large amounts of alcohols/other chemicals for blending with water, that might occur in fuel tanks when they are not 100% filled and standing over years. That would be the main effect. Adding one now might not make that much of a sense. I would add 3-4 quarts of Alcohol/E85 and fill the rest up with your most premium pump gas.

I do started cars here in germany that had 3 year old fuel in them -it was no Problem i just would not want go WOT with em
My 500E as i bought it, was standing 7 years in a barn. The fuel was green already and had a terrible not-to-describe-with-words smell. I poured it and made some tests with it - it was still starting to burn when you tried it with a lighter, but it was much harder, just like when you try it with Diesel/heating oil.
However it killed BOTH fuel pumps (they had a bit of rust-brown colored fuel in them that slowly blended into that green fuel) and also the filter was totally clogged so i couldnt even blow through it with my mouth. Same was with Dirks 320E Coupe that we saved from the wrecking yard. It was standing there 6 years and the old fuel, or rather the non-circulation of fuel, killed both pumps, the fuel filter and ALL 6 injectors (they were either clogged fully or just "spitting").

Here is what i would do:
Get a good so called "injection cleaner" and fill it in. Get 3-4 quarts of Alcohol/Spiritus or even E85 and fill it in + top off with your best available premium fuel. It should be a "good mixture" then

 

[driftking]

Ok so it has been a few months of Winter hell here in New England for snow. But it is now Spring and the snow is gone!
I finally, got to the car in my garage, got the old battery out, and brought it in, it was toast. Grabbed a new one and hooked it up

I didnt add any new fuel, or check the oil condition\levels or anything as I just wanted to see if it would at least crank, start or blowup in my face.

1.Took a few tries but it turned over and started up. Running but sounded rough and deeper than i remember gross cloud of smoke when it started but seemed to start clearing... nasty old fuel burning smell with it (flashbacks to my old 80's camaro i had in high school) But it Starts and runs! I didnt try to move it though, those fluids cant be any good in there.
2.Power steering (i forgot it had really slow leak) is pretty much all gone so it had a terrible whine when I went to turn the wheel.
3.Low oil light came on after it was running for about 4-5 minutes so I shut it down

oTher than the low oil, no other warning lights, no check engine, so I have hopes to bring it back to life. I will return with new fuel and some oil tomorrow.

My questions now are:

A.it apparently has leaked out the synthetic oil that was in there, so can I add conventional just to make sure it can run proper with enough oil in there? (Honestly I dont think i should have ever put synthetic in because I dont think the last owner ever did, but I was running it with synthetic since I had it with a change every 3500-4500 miles... and it would always leak so I kept adding oil as needed (it got pricey)

B.It says enter code for radio, i typed in the number i have and it just kinds stays with the number displayed on the screen. The radio doesnt pop on, I feel like I have done this with this number before with this car... do i have to press anything after i type the code?

Clearly this is no longer my daily driver and too expensive to keep as a main car for me. ( too young for this old man car) I guess it is just a project that I would like to one day have up and running as a 2nd car in the Summer \backup ride if I need one while my truck goes to the shop or something

 

[driftking]

oh also... no back fires... and it didnt stall.

 

[jgt157]

The back firing & stalling sounds like caps and rotors.........

Yeah, my 400E was doing the same thing and new caps and rotors cured it. I'd change out that old gas too.

JimT