Hey Guys,
I've got a big mechanic-ing project that I want to do. My sister and I inherited a 2002 Rav4 (170k miles, manual), a 2005 Sequoia (150K miles, auto), and a 03 Tundra. The rav4 and sequoia haven't been started since Dad died (20 months) and I want to get them going again the right way. I drive a 04 Sequoia and have been doing my own work on it for about 7 years so I'm not afraid of working on cars although almost all of my experience has been with the suspension outside of sparkplugs/timing belt/thermostats. The Tundra gets driven every so often so I'm not worried about it. I'd appreciate it if you guys would give me a solid to-do list of what to repair on the sequoia and the Rav so they don't self destruct when I fire them up and so that they can get back to being the reliable and well maintained vehicles that they used to be before I got them. It's my understanding that prolonged sitting will cause fluids to go bad and seals to dry up. I figure that I'll replace every fluid in the rig and check the hoses. But what about the fuel pump and head gasket? I'm not afraid to throw money down on this project and I am looking forward to working on those cars but I can't figure out everything that actually needs to be done and that's where I need you guys to help me out.
Thanks everyone for helping me out.
If you want to watch an expert at reviving cars that have been sitting half a century or more, check out Vice Grip Garage on Youtube. He's a regular car Jesus performing miracles.
He usually just changes the oil and the gas and then drives them 200 MI or more
@gew I don't think you were paying attention. He does more than that.
True but the cars he does are usually listening for more than 10 years and usually weren't running right when they were parked
After 20 months the only thing I would be worried about is the gas and oil
obviously those old cars would be an extreme case, but a lot of the procedure for first start would be similar. After two years, I still might squirt some oil down into the cylinders and turn it over by hand first in case the rings got rusted in place.
Yeah your gas would go bad probably after 6 months. The battery is dead for sure. You may want an oil change too
I would only change the oil after warming it up though, to make sure it all comes out.
Good idea. From this forum I figure I'll just be draining the gas, changing oil and batteries. And then I'll just wait for the code reader to tell what to do next haha
Yeah like he said try to warm up the oil so it flows out easily. Then check your battery. If it's new and still has a voltage of at least 12 (ideally 12.6-14.6) after jumping it, I don't see a need to change it. Batteries are usually good for about 5 years. And the gas there are tools out there that can pump it out of your tank. You could also drop the tank and empty that way
After 20 months the main thing I would be worried about is the ethanol in the gas separating into alcohol and water
vgg is great but he usually does cars that have been sitting for 10 years or more
Right on, I'll definitely do that.