Truck that hasn’t ran in ~10 years?

[dlundblad]

My wife and I are getting her late grandfather’s Chevy 1500. I believe it’s a mid 90’s. 4.3 V6, 5 speed, 2WD. As far as I can tell, it’s rust free. Nothing fancy, but I’ve always liked it.

I am getting it towed home. It’s likely full of old gas (her grandfather would have been the type to add fuel stabilizer so we’ll see) and likely needs tires.

Aside from an oil change, checking other fluids, and fresh gas, should I do anything else before trying to start the engine?

 

[Escape08]

Replace spark plugs and check for error codes. Brakes could be stuck or wouldn't brake at all

 

[BAJA_05]

Good buddy of mine just last Sunday started his 99 Dodge Ram 4X4 with the 5.2L for the first time in 3 years. He put 4 gallons of Exxon 93 octane first, turned right over first crank with a good battery installed. Did have some initial valve/lifter noise the first 10 seconds. We were both smiling. Soo good luck with your initial start. Like I said to him, either it will or wont fire up.

 

[SeaJay]

Aside from an oil change, checking other fluids, and fresh gas, should I do anything else before trying to start the engine?

This is all I would do before hooking up a battery with some power, then turn the key to see what happens. From there, figure it out based on what happened.

 

[cptbarkey]

crank it a short while with the plugs removed to blast out anything nasty in the cylinders.

 

[bullwinkle]

Siphon out as much gas as possible, and fill the tank with new fuel & a bottle of Startron. Pull all the plugs, put a teaspoon of oil in each plug hole, pull the fuel pump relay, and crank it over. Plugs back in, relay back in, try it. A fresh sump of oil & filter wouldn’t hurt either. Will need brake fluid flushed before driving. The cranking with oil in the open cylinders will help prime the oil system, and hopefully help knock any rust off the cylinder walls.

 

[eljefino]

Don't change the oil until you get it running-- if the oil pump loses prime, it'll be dry dry dry before it gets it back. Oil is oil, it's not going to not start because it's old oil. And you're going to scrape some rust off the cylinder walls into said oil, so might as well dump it into the old stuff.

Do put the ounce of oil in the plug holes-- that'll help the rings get compression back so it'll have enough to start.

Fuel is a return system AFAIK. I'd pull a return line, prime the pump, and see if anything comes out, and if it smells ok. If you do get liquid out, thank your lucky stars. Jumper the pump relay, pump the tank dry, put it back together, refill with a few gallons of high test to get it going down the road.

If the fuel system is a hot mess, and you add fuel, now you've got 20 gallons of bad gas to get rid of instead of five.

Look for acorns in the air filter!

 

[JWC86]

I usually would say start it first and then drain the oil but make sure you check it well for water. Heck I might even fill it with some cheap sacrificial oil for the first couple hours of operation and then do another change.

Pull the air filter and check for rodent damage.

Check the spark plugs for rust, oil in the cylinders would be a good idea, crank it for awhile without the fuel pump like others mentioned.

Check brake and PS fluid for water.

Good luck!

 

[350Rocket]

crank it a short while with the plugs removed to blast out anything nasty in the cylinders.

If you're going to do that might as well squirt some oil in them as well. Then it will build some oil pressure when you crank it to spray the oil out.

 

[andrew_j]

Hopefully 1996+ with OBD-II.

 

[wpod]

See if it starts and runs before doing anything.

 

[Nick1994]

As eljefino said, I’d jump the relay for the fuel pump and pump out all the old gas. Take the fuel filter off and hook up a hose to that line to pump it out from.

Though it is an old Chevy, the fuel pump very well could be dead anyways.

 

[clinebarger]

Never...Ever run bad/varnished fuel through an engine!!

 

[dlundblad]

Thanks everyone. Obviously the number one goal is to see if it starts. I won’t “drive” it until I’ve gone over other things more thoroughly.

We talked to her grandma last night and she said they last drove it late 2019 so that’s somewhat reassuring. Makes sense since it has 2020 plates on it too.

I’m still getting it towed btw.

 

[AdmiralYoda]

Captain overkill here... A few thoughts. First check the oil and make sure it is about full and that there is no water in there.

The internals of this engine are probably dry as a bone so if you are handy enough you could remove the distributor and turn it with a drill. There is a tool for this if you are interested. Take the valve covers off and spin the drill until oil is coming out of every pushrod. If you are manually priming the engine like this, drain the old oil and put some new stuff in there first.

If you don't want to pre-prime, perhaps take the plugs out and give a quick squirt of some lube into each cylinder. Just to get some oil on the rings.

If you want to just go for it...make sure you have a fresh battery. Your biggest problem is probably going to be bad fuel and junk in the tank. Take the fuel cap off and take whiff. If it smells like turpentine or paint thinner you may want to think twice about using that fuel. It would be a good idea to locate the fuel line and pump all the old stuff into a jerry can by manually jumping the fuel pump. Might not be a bad idea to change the fuel filter after also.

Then fire it up and see what happens!

***EDIT. Just saw your last post that it was driven 5 years ago. I'd just go for it! If it runs...top off the tank with the highest octane gas you can get. Add a double dose of Gumout with Regane in it to help clean the fuel system out.

 

[dlundblad]

Here she is. Decent shape overall. 90k miles. Needs a bath.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I used to drop or drain the fuel tanks ASAP. Then pull the plugs. Soak the cyclinders with Marvel Mystery Oil for 7 to 10 days (which we now know was overkill). Change the oil / filter and air filter. Brake fluid / power steering fluid plus of course the coolant and ATF. Spring for a set of new plugs and shortly after crank her over after of course checking to be sure the harmonic balancer was still in on piece and not leaking or damaged in any way. Also used to spin test the cooling fans , checking hoses and belts as a last item.