3yrs Garaged Boxster. How to prep it for driving?
 

So my '04 986 has been garaged for about 3 years. I asked someone to start it and give it some revs on occasion, but I am not confident in how much time or love the car has gotten since I'd left it 3 years ago. I can assume something near the worst, which is that it only got moving down the road a few times.

What should I do to get it road ready again? I am primarily concerned with the oil and engine. It has the Porsche IMS retrofit, ie the oversized IMS.

Should I try to get the car on jacks and change the oil before turning the key over? I'm guessing the tires should need replaced, recently heard something about the rubber getting stiffer with age.

What else should I consider or think about?

Thank you for the input!

I take mine out once a month, sometime fewer than this :/ I just chk tire pressure and off we go lol

In your case, you might want to check the air pressure in your spare tire as well. Changing the oil, flushing old gas would also be a good idea

I would do the following:

Drain the gas tank. Put in new gas with gas cleaner.
Change the oil.

Pull each of the spark plugs out
when you do this -- there isn't an easy way to just pull off the rotor wire since each
plug has its own coil pak. Squirt in a little bit of WD 40 -- let sit overnight.
I've seen if a car has sat too long the gas turns into shalaque(sp?) and can cause a valve to stick.
The WD40 might help loosen anything up.

Hand turn the engine -- 24mm socket on the crank.
If you didn't pull the plugs above
-- or at least pull the fuel pump relay and dry fire it with the starter,
but only for a few seconds at a time.

You don't need to change the tires to get it started -- but probably a good idea
to see how old they are -- look for the build date -- up to 5 years is ok.
If the car doesn't feel right -- then your tires maybe out of round.

If you have starting problems -- inspect look for fuel pressure. Check fuel pump and maybe replace the fuel filter.

Once you have it running -- get it fully up to temp. Check for leaks, etc.

Hopefully you won't have any issues.

Mike

Thanks for the heads-up Mike, much appreciated.

I think it has been run a few times at least, just not sure of how long or how many revs, so I don't know if the gas would have turned completely, so is there any harm in not draining the gas, but instead a top off and gas cleaner?

Almost sure you'd just suggest dropping the 2.7 for a 3.6 or 3.8 as a little pre-drive maintenance. :)

I've been on 2 wheels for so long, it'll be interesting to see how I can handle 4 contact points again.

With the way gas is now, I would definitely drain it. If it was 20 years ago I would say otherwise.

Check the air filters - Outlets on exhust pipes - air intakes - your looking for places were mice might have made home and if it was stored in Texas - dirt daubers and yellow jacket nests.

The one I just got running had been sitting since August of 2011 (almost 3 years) without being touched. After replacing the battery and a myriad of other non-sedimentary related issues i.e.: valve spring, etc. mine started and ran fine. I did replace the oil and spark plugs but only because I was in there working already and did have one failed coil pack - possibly related to sitting? I was worried about flat spots on the tires, but didn't notice any.

Also worth noting, I did take apart the idle air valve assembly and clean it out. The mechanism was gummed up and not working - something I had read about in another thread regarding rough idle.

Check the tire pressure
Crank it up
Drive to the gas station and fill with premium. Put some fuel system cleaner in if you're feeling flush.

If you're looking for something to do with spare time, change the oil first.

Enjoy the drive.

How about some pics?

Allowing gas with ethanol in it to sit for a long time would be my worry. Ethanol blended gas can suffer from phase separation.

Just trying to reduce your chances of having an excuse for that option :-)

Mike

Flush and bleed the brake fluid, should be done every two years because it absorbs water from the air.