I'm selling a ran-when-parked 76 Buick Century to a guy from work so I can clean up my yard (insert Georgia joke here.)
any tips or precautions for firing up the Buick's 350 since it sat neglected for 5 years?
I intend to turn the crank a little with a breaker bar to make sure it's free - do the Buicks rotate CW or CCW looking at the front of the motor? I'm pretty sure it's CW, but I don't want to hurt it...
Thanks Peeps.
You won't hurt it no matter which way you turn it. You might want to pull the distributor and make sure you spin the oil pump. If you lost the prime in the pump, you'll wipe out the engine in a few seconds. If you do loose the prime, then you have to pull the pump cover and repack with vaseline.
Don't turn the engine over yet!!
Pull all the plugs and spray PB blaster liberally in the cylinders, and let it sit overnight, then bump it over with the starter If the starter is in good shape, and the blaster has done its job, it should turn over easily. Place rags above the spark plug holes to keep it from blowing out all over the place. .
Drain/siphon as much of the old gas out as possible.And throw in at least 3 gallons. Preferably 5-6 to dillute the remaining junk in the fuel tank.
Change the inline fuel filter before trying to fire it.
Clean the spark plug wire leads, and, if it has a distrib cap and rotor, remove and clean.
Pour half a quart of oil in it, just to get some oil to the top end so it's not a complete dry start---efficacy of this will vary on the fill point on the valve cover.
Dribble a little bit of fuel down the carb (has one, as it's a '76, or TBI?) and cross your fingers when you turn the key.
Make sure it still has coolant, and the hoses and belts aren't holed/rottted through from sitting..
You're going to get as many different opinions as there are replies.
Mine: Wiggle it with the bar as is with no plugs, if it gives you any resistance at all, stop and try the PB blaster thing. If it doesn't, prime the oil pump to see if you can get pressure out of it. If you can, replace the gas and let it flow from the tank out to the pump until you see clean stuff. Fill the carb bowl, throw a new filter on, put the spark plugs back and fire it up.
Is the sale contingent on you starting the car? Ran-when-parked infers it's the buyer's responsibility.
E36 M3, a mid-70's car that only sat 5 years? fresh battery, a couple gallons of fresh gas in the tank, check the oil, give it a huff of starting fluid, and have at it. i've done less to start cars that sat longer.
AngryCorvair wrote: E36 M3, a mid-70's car that only sat 5 years? fresh battery, a couple gallons of fresh gas in the tank, check the oil, give it a huff of starting fluid, and have at it. i've done less to start cars that sat longer.
this..
sometimes, i get he feeling that people think these engines are made out of tissue paper and Pla-Do and held together by good intentions.
unhook the coil wire and crank it for a few seconds to get oil in the pump and into the oil galleys. dump some gas in the carb, pump the gas a couple of times to set the choke and squirt some gas into the engine. hook the coil back up and crank it over like any other engine. you aren't trying to get it to run smooth here- you are just trying to figure out if it will start. if it fires and starts, then you can decide if you want to bother with changing the oil and dumping fresh gas in the tank or if you want the new owner to worry about that..
Hook up the battery, hit start and see what happens.
The OP works with the potential buyer, and rings really don't like surface rust too much...so, I'd at least spray the cylinder walls. With the heat cycling and humidity from five years of sitting, I wouldn't be too surprised if there's even a small water puddle in one of the cylinders--especially this time of year. .
Sure, one can just jump it and spray ether down the carb and see what happens. And it'd probably cough and maybe run. Without knowing the details of this deal, and the condition of the rest of the vehicle, it's up to the OP how far he wants to prep the vehicle. And if he sees posible future business, or just getting along with his co-worker.
AngryCorvair wrote: E36 M3, a mid-70's car that only sat 5 years? fresh battery, a couple gallons of fresh gas in the tank, check the oil, give it a huff of starting fluid, and have at it. i've done less to start cars that sat longer.
This is how I started a 1st gen RX-7 that had been sitting for 8 years less the starting fluid. Drove it home, changed the oil and filter and burned the rest of the fuel in the tank. That engine ran another 9 years of constant abuse on autocross courses with my teenagers and my wife driving it before it let go. An American made V8 will damn near run without oil. If it will turn over at all dump some gas down the carb and fire it up.
I would not spray ANY sort of solvent down in the cylinders... Unless i'm mistaken, PB Blaster falls within that category.
It's a solvent and a lubricant, says so on the can....and the OP mentions using a breaker bar to see if the engine can turn, so the assumption is made he thinks it might be frozen, hence the PB Blaster suggestion to loosen and lube the piston walls. That was my line of thinking.
You guys are forgetting one very important thing. Buicks have the oil pump mounted in the front cover. They can loose their prime if they sit too long. Same thing as a Rover V8!!!!! Don't even think about starting the engine until you know you have oil pressure. They are not self priming. If you lost prime, you need to repack the pump with vaseline to prime the pump.
In reply to tr8todd:
Well, a little research shows you are correct. I would still spin it over with the starter and see if the oil pressure gauge blips. I'll have to remember that.
tr8todd wrote: You guys are forgetting one very important thing. Buicks have the oil pump mounted in the front cover. They can loose their prime if they sit too long. Same thing as a Rover V8!!!!! Don't even think about starting the engine until you know you have oil pressure. They are not self priming. If you lost prime, you need to repack the pump with vaseline to prime the pump.
Or just crank the engine a few seconds with the coil wire unattached. It will "prime" itself (which I've never heard of being a problem in car engines). If it can lose the prime in five years, what's keeping it from losing it's prime in five days? The engine already has enough wear that a few seconds of cranking while somewhat dry won't affect it. Not like we're starting a new engine here...
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I would not spray ANY sort of solvent down in the cylinders... Unless i'm mistaken, PB Blaster falls within that category.
Pretty sure Gasoline also falls into that category
Timeormoney wrote:92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I would not spray ANY sort of solvent down in the cylinders... Unless i'm mistaken, PB Blaster falls within that category.Pretty sure Gasoline also falls into that category
I berkeleyed up, meant lubricant methinks.
Back when I still lived in NJ, I had a neighbor who restored antique farm tractors and stationary engines. His standard operating proceedure (weather the engine was locked up or not) was to pull all the plugs and blast the cyl out with a blow gun then pour kroil down in the holes and let it soak for a week. Next he rocked the crank back and forth by hand untill it would roll easily. It worked almost every time.
Keep in mind that theses machines had often been sitting for decades in all manner of unprotected out-door storage. This Buick can't possibly be as bad as a Farm-All pulled out of a swamp; I would just pull the plugs and try to turn the crank by hand with a breaker bar on the front of the crank, if it rolls easy your good to go, if not put some kroil or PB blaster in the holes and come back to it in a day or two, but I doubt you will have a problem.
As for the oil pump/lost prime problem mentioned, I can't speak for Buicks because I've never had one, but if the oil filter is mounted horiziontally the oil could have drained back out of it over time leading to a lost prime. If cranking the engine for a few seconds (with the coil disconnected) doesn't build some oil pressure you could try cranking it for a second or two with the filter removed and also while the filter is off you could try pouring some oil back down the port to the pump (I've reprimed a few stubborn hydraulic oil pumps this way).
i've read of putting a bit of diesel to soak (perhaps that was for a locked engine)
but after the volvo engine which sat for 4 years with mice living in the engine bay and also the s10 which has sat even longer i'm amazed at what engines can deal with... once I repaired the mice eaten wiring in the s10 she started and ran on starting fluid (and on gas once I got the rotten hose between the sender and the pump installed) and that was with a blown HG killing cyl 2 and 3.
Don't sell it to him out of concern that the engine may be seized.
Sell it to me dirt cheap so I can install the Buick big block in it from my garage.
Thanks for all the info guys
The buyer is a friend but I've been very clear that the engine may or may not run and the sale doesn't hinge on it. He's seen the car and he's convinced it will fire right up once the mouse-eaten spark wires are replaced. I keep telling him I don't think it will ( better to be pessimistic in this case.)
But I'll also lend him a hand spinning it over and offer advice - the final call on procedures is his, because it's his car wether or not it starts! Mostly he's interested in the body, plus I'm giving it to him at just over scrap value. I just want it to run so he can drive it off my property - without having to TOW it THROUGH my shop to get it out!
Whenever he gets around to trying it I'll let you know what happens.
My '66 Pontiac sat for 10 years prior to my getting it. A few quick squirts of oil, some fresh gas, and it fired up. It didn't run well, but it ran. Sitting isn't that bad unless it's exposed.
I eventually went through and replaced pretty much every gasket and seal, but for the purposes of driving it out, it should be fine.
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