Cold Start idea after sitting for weeks

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I bought a high mileage truck for pretty much towing a boat only, which means it's going to sit for a lot of extended periods. It's been sitting a month now and I am going to drive it tomorrow. I cringed at the idea of cranking it after sitting for so long. So I pulled the fuel pump fuse, turned it over for two 5 second cycles, put the fuse back in and cranked it. It made no discernible noise worth mentioning, which I fully would have expected had I not done this.

Do you think this was a good practice? Getting the oil circulated before I allowed it to fire up?

I'm thinking of wiring a simple switch inline with the fuse and doing this before I start it after a long period of sitting.
 
It's over kill. If it had been sitting for a year or more then maybe and it's a big maybe, that it might have some benefit. My dad has an old Ford Ranger pick-up sitting in his driveway that might get run every 6-8 months for dump runs with yard waste / bulk item disposal from his rural property and he has been doing that for over 10 years. No issues. The brakes have seized a few times though.
 
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Not necessary. There is nothing about sitting a month that will take oil off the bearings or the ring pack. My truck is tow vehicle as well and sits for a month or more. No startup noises and no issues. I just turn the key.
 
You can do the same thing by flooring the gas. Activates "clear flood" mode on the fuel injection.
 
This must be a joke! You're worried about a month of sitting!?
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Oh come on, we are obsessives on this forum. If I can save a miniscule fraction of wear then it makes me happy.
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But, you won't. If you were letting it sit for a year, sure; but, a month? You're worrying over nothing, unless you have lubrication system issues to begin with.
 
Why not just make it a point to take the truck for a 20 mile drive once a week or once every two weeks?
 
There is plenty of oil throughout the engine to keep things lubricated. Even after many months of sitting.
 
The wear you save will be offset by wear on your hood latch from popping the hood and the wear on your fuel pump relay pulling it out and back in, and the wear on 10 unnecessary seconds of cranking on your starter.
 
I went to crank my other car after sitting for three days and it had a tick for the first 20 seconds or so. That's the first time it sat that long, and the first time it had any startup noise to speak of. So I'm thinking there's more factors than just the time it takes the oil to drain off internals. Maybe the filter has no anti drainback, or maybe such a procedure would not have made a difference. It just seems to me it's taking one risk out of the equation.

Anybody got any possible disadvantages to this, other than starter wear and worn out fuses?
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Originally Posted by Nick1994
The wear you save will be offset by wear on your hood latch from popping the hood and the wear on your fuel pump relay pulling it out and back in, and the wear on 10 unnecessary seconds of cranking on your starter.


But those are easy replacements.
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Originally Posted by Silver
So I pulled the fuel pump fuse, turned it over for two 5 second cycles, put the fuse back in and cranked it. It made no discernible noise worth mentioning, which I fully would have expected had I not done this.


Originally Posted by Silver


Anybody got any possible disadvantages to this, other than starter wear and worn out fuses?
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2 five second cycles? Thats a long time. Pulling the fuel pump fuse does not mean no fuel dumps onto the pistons. There could easily be pressure in the FI rail and the injectors cycle dumping stored pressure, or even gravity draining fuel into the cylinder. Then you pump the fuel up and down with out the engine firing for 5 whole seconds X 2 cycles?.

To me that is a much higher risk of wear than just starting the darn thing up.

My truck sits as long as 3 months without starting. No issues. You should worry about the battery and pests( mice ) more than anything else. I've had those problems.
 
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Originally Posted by Patman
Why not just make it a point to take the truck for a 20 mile drive once a week or once every two weeks?


Because that's a waste of the OP's fuel and time
 
Spasm3 raises a good point. If you are going to continue doing this pull the ECU fuse or disconnect the crank sensor to disable the injector pulse and not the fuel pump fuse which could still allow the injectors to dump remaining fuel into the cylinders.
 
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After sitting 3 months I oiled the valve gear, took the plugs out and turned it over for three 10-second bursts, then squirted some butane in it before starting.

I used to do the plugs-out thing after a month but now think its too much hassle.

The engine won't start unless the accelerator is pressed anyway so I can routinely turn it over a bit before starting if I want to.

The butane choke substitute seems like it should be a benefit, but I dunno how you'd disable the starting enrichment on an FI engine.

I may try and rig some means of oiling the cams without removing the rocker cover.

The "proper" solution is an oil accumulator, which stores oil under pressure and releases it before starting under manual or solenoid control. Also evens out short term fluctuations in oil pressure during high speed driving. I think Moroso (?) do some.
 
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Originally Posted by gathermewool
Originally Posted by Patman
Why not just make it a point to take the truck for a 20 mile drive once a week or once every two weeks?


Because that's a waste of the OP's fuel and time


Not necessarily. Running a vehicle frequently is better for it in the long run, it gives everything a good exercise. Lots of other problems can pop up if a vehicle is left sitting for many weeks at a time. Driving it will stave off those issues, so in the long run that gas money spent could be less costly than the repairs that might come up.
 
Cranking speeds are often not fast enough for the oil pump to pick up oil in a timely manner. Your better off to start it. It will pump oil immediately.
 
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Speaking of a year or more, my van has been sitting for a year exactly. I was planning on driving it this weekend to burn off the old fuel, use the A/C, and lube the seals. The fuel had stabilizer added in it. You guys think the OPs procedure would be of any benefit to a car sitting for a year? Or just fire it up like normal?It's been sitting in a garage all this time.
 
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