Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

I am going to attempt to start my truck after it has been sitting for 15 years. It was running when it was last parked but it hasn't been touched since then. I am putting in new points, plugs, and battery. New gas and oil of course. At this point I am just wanting to hear the motor run, not drive it. What else do I need to be concerned about?

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

My biggest concern would be frozen/rusted piston rings.

Spray a little oil in all the spark plug holes. spray all the way around the piston if you can and let it sit for at least a day or two.

Cheers
Chad

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

:agree: Pour some Marvel Mystery Oil down each spark plug hole and let it sit a day. Then rotate it by hand to make sure it's free rotating, then put the plugs back in it and fire it up.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

Thanks Chad, I will definately do so. The motor only has about 50,000 original miles on it so I would rather not destroy it the first time I try and crank it over.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

It wouldn't hurt to prime the oiling system either.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

Stacy David did a show on this topic with a very old truck he did.

Go through ALL of the fluids, etc. I'm not sure what else was entailed, good luck.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

I really appreciate all the response. Bishops, this is probably a dumb question, but what is involved in priming the oil system?

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

to prime the oil system,,,,

remove both vavle covers

remove the distributor

install the oil priming rod into a drill down the hole where the distibuter goes onto the oil pump
(priming rod can be bought at most parts stores for 10 to 15 bucks. its just a rod that fits the oil pump at one end and a drill motor at the other)

spin the oil pump untill you see oil coming form the push rods/lifters

on gm engines the valve train is the last place to get oil before it drains back to the oilpan

if you prime the system until you get oil to the valve train the rest of the engine should be fairly oiled


hope this helps


Frank

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

get an old distributer pull the cam gear off and upper components so you can get a drill on it pull your distributer out insert the modified distributer and spin it with a drill this will prime the oil system

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

It helps to get the oil through the system up through the lifters, push rods, and over the rockers and spings before start up. This makes sure all rotating parts are oiled before they start moving. The way I have seen it done is to remove the distributor, get an old dist shaft with the cam gear, attached it in the end of the drill. Then insert it into the distributor hole so the cam gear turns the oil pump with the drill.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

priming the oil system requires pulling the distributor and having a priming tool(available at autoparts stores) that is run by a drill it spins the oilpump and primes the system

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

Take the distributor out and take a priming tool, (you can buy from Summit Racing for about $30.00) Stick it in the distributor hole, turn it until you feel it engage the oilpump and take a drill and spin it. You don't have to do it fast, just enough to get it to pump oil through the system. Replace the distributor and get the thing to start. If you order it from Summit, you can usually have it in 2 days time. While you are waiting you could do the things that the other guys said to do. Good Luck!
P.S.
When I was writing this there were no other responces before mine. You have a choice how you want to do it.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

I would prime oil system, ck carefully all hoses, belts and fuel lines, don't want gas spraying all over. ck all wiring, making sure no rodent nests have been made, I've seen electrical systems all chewed by rodents. change coolant and pressure the system, ck for leaks. Change oil before priming, and drain fuel tank and get some fresh gas.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

Sounds straightforward enough. Now if I just had the truck in my heated garage as opposed to my dad's front yard to work on in the rain this weekend, life would be good. Oh well, first things first. Once again, I really appreciate all the feedback. I may be getting ahead of myself, but once I get this thing running, get some fresh tires, and brakes that work, what else do I need to think about before I hit the road? Is there anything to be concerned about with the transmission or the rearend? Or do I just change the fluid and take off? Thanks for the advice, i will try and post some pictures of this beast when I can.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

Something else I thought of. I know I need fresh gas, but I am fairly certain there is some rust in the tank. Will it be sufficient to let the fuel filter take care of it, or do I need to get the tank cleaned or a new tank altogather? Unless it will create major problems, my intentions are to put fresh gas and a new fuel filter on it and run it as is for now with the hopes of doing the blazer tank conversion sometime in the near future.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

You have one filter in line at the carb, put another filter near the tank. I don't see a problem with that. I wouldn't leave it that way past the spring. Change the tank sooner vs. later.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

Be a good time to do the tank under the bed conversion.:D

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

Might want to get some penetrating oil or WD40 with a tube and try to lube the valve stems and guides, the valves could be sticking/rusty in the guides. Check the pushrods where they go thru the head guides, they can rust there and chew up the heads.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

you want to remove the cam gear or your drill wont be powerful enough to spin the shaft

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

When you're finally ready to start your truck up,maybe keep a fire exstinguisher close by, just in case.....

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

Thanks for the advice lpaine :lol: Assuming it doesn't turn into a weenie roast as opposed to a rebuild, I will update everyone tomorrow. Thanks again for all the advice, this is only the beginning.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

I just started my truck after it had sat for 10 years. I did most of the stuff recommended above and then just sprayed some carb spray in the carb and it fired up. Ran a little rough but not too bad. I let it idle for a few minutes then realized the seals on the waterpump had dried out and it was leaking water. Other than that, no problems :metal:

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

you can bypass the rusty fuel tank if you run a soft fuel line off the fuel pump to a small jerry can tied upright under the hood I did this more once to avoid running bad gas thru a unit that was parked a long time..a lot of condensation can form in a tank over 15 years..did you find a source for an under bed tank ? good luck firing that puppy up!

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

Carry a spare fuel filter with you.After that long you may need it right away.You will also want to spray a little carb cleaner or dribble a bit of fuel into the carb so you don't run the battery down when you crank it.It will take a while for the fuel pump to pull fuel to the carb.

Re: Starting Truck After 15 Years
 

i did this same thing you are doing. do pretty much everything these guys are saying. you'll be thanking them when it fires up and doesn't wipe a cam lobe or puke a rod up. you don't want to crank it over a lot at first. that causes excess where on the cam lobes, lifters, main crank bearings, etc... you get the idea i'm getting at? oh yeah, jerry can at the pump, i'd even go and get a new pump if it was me. plugs, marvel mystery oil in the cylinders, crank it over with breaker bar a few times just to make sure it's not binding up somewhere. pull the valve covers, dist. and prime the oil pretty good. check all the fluids, belts, hoses. it's probably gonna smoke for a bit so you might want to do a ring reseat procedure after all this time. but yeah, make sure it's got PLENTY of fuel. of course keep the extinguisher around. safety first. basically everything posted by the other wise men before me. i just wanted to post something worth reading and reiterate the importance of everything they said. good luck, be safe.



edit... if it doesnt crank right up at first, pull a spark plug, ground it on the block and make sure it's getting spark. else it won't ever fire no matter how much you try. possible causes could be hei module or bad coil if you have points.