Spring start-up after winter storage???

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by willd

Stale fuel.......how long does petrol (gas, sorry guys ) take to go stale?

And if it did, i'm presuming it would just be absorbing moisture from the air in the tank.....what would the symptoms be?

I'm just wondering about my own, it's been laid up in the cold months and I haven't re-fuelled, and it's idling badly....

Euro gas (petrol in Brit speak) is more highly refined than US gas. Unfortunately that also means it goes off sooner - 30-35 days vs 35-60. This can be extended by using a fuel stabilizer to 3-4 months.

Moisture absoption is an issue, but the real problem is that gasoline is a very chemically unstable compound. It changes over time. Gums and varnishes (parafins) come out of solution plus the octane rating drops. When this happens, the fuel is less able to withstand compression and combusts too soon causing knock, ping and general poor starting/running.

Fortunately, is doesn't take more than a couple gallons of fresh fuel to somewhat 'revive' the old fuel making it at least capable of running the car and being burned.

Whether you use stabilizer or not, it's a good idea to keep diluting older gas by short-filling it 3 or 4 times before emptying the tank.

Cheers!

[boxsternut]

Thanks for the name explanation LB!!! Interesting! I will give the 5th gear move and refill the tank a few times...makes a lot of sense. This is my first time around at storing and waking as I just purchased in Sept. '09. I really like to stay aware of the technical side though!!!

[Mike_Yi]

Something else that is very important is to prime the engine. It's been sitting for months. Where do you think the oil is right now? On the rings? Nope. It's all in the sump.

So what you do is disconnect the coil(s) and crank it until you get a normal oil pressure reading. Unfortunately, in this car there isn't an oil pressure gauge. So you'll just have to crank it for a bit. Anything is better than just firing it up. In my Firehawk, it generally takes about 10-15 seconds of cranking to get a normal oil pressure. Since you don't have a gauge, and this motor is not a GM v-8, I'd crank it for 20-30 seconds to be sure. Then, reconnect the coil(s) and fire her up.

By disconnecting the coil, you will be preventing combustion. This will prevent putting a lot of pressure against the piston while there is no oil in the engine.

Of course, the best way to prime the engine is with a primer. On GM V-8s, you can remove the distributor (which is driven by a gear off the oil pump) and use a special tool on a drill which will spin the oil pump. I don't know if there is a way to do that on the Boxster.

[Lil bastard]

Originally Posted by Mike_Yi

Something else that is very important is to prime the engine. It's been sitting for months. Where do you think the oil is right now? On the rings? Nope. It's all in the sump.

So what you do is disconnect the coil(s) and crank it until you get a normal oil pressure reading. Unfortunately, in this car there isn't an oil pressure gauge. So you'll just have to crank it for a bit. Anything is better than just firing it up. In my Firehawk, it generally takes about 10-15 seconds of cranking to get a normal oil pressure. Since you don't have a gauge, and this motor is not a GM v-8, I'd crank it for 20-30 seconds to be sure. Then, reconnect the coil(s) and fire her up.

By disconnecting the coil, you will be preventing combustion. This will prevent putting a lot of pressure against the piston while there is no oil in the engine.

Of course, the best way to prime the engine is with a primer. On GM V-8s, you can remove the distributor (which is driven by a gear off the oil pump) and use a special tool on a drill which will spin the oil pump. I don't know if there is a way to do that on the Boxster.

Mike,

What you suggest would be an excellent procedure if you could power the oil pump externally via a power drill to charge the oil galleries and pressurize the system to float the internals such as the GM small block you describe, I've had some Brit cars where you could do this as well. And then there is an electric pre-luber system which does the same thing using an electric powered pump.

But for the Boxster it's not such a good idea.

Think about it... what you're describing is turning the motor dry on the battery/starter motor in order to avoid turning the motor dry via combustion. While that may sound same-same, it really isn't.

The starter motor operates at a set RPM, much lower than idle and much lower than necessary for the oil pump to achieve maximum pressure/flow. Cranking it on the starter means you have to crank it dry longer than if you had the engine running to charge and pressurize the system, if you even achieve that at all on the starter.

Not only that, but on the Boxster there isn't a single coil... there are 6 individual coilpaks, inaccessible except from underneath, making what you describe a very cumbersome procedure.

Nope, for the Boxster, I'd say once you know everything is loose and not binding by manually rotating the drivetrain, start the car right up.

Cheers!

[willd]

I can see where you're coming from Mike_yi, but I thought the moment the engine is turning, whilst not at ideal pressure, it will still be pumping oil to the essential areas....... Otherwise, a car like the TVR I used to have would have done some serious damage, the pressure didn't go up to optimum for about five minutes?

Lil Bast, thanks for the fuel info, and sorry for micro-stealing some of this thread Boxsternut

[stephen wilson]

I have a related question, after letting my 06 sit for a month or so, the oil level showed high when I went to start it for the first time. After that first start, the level read fine. I've let the car sit for a week or two, and this didn't happen. Oil drain-back, moisture, thoughts?
Thanks,
Steve

[boxsternut]

Wow.....I'm glad my 3.5L Honda V6 isn't that fussy! I'm going to stick with the moving 10 feet in 5th and refueling a few times to dilute the tank. Anything special with the tires besides bringing back down to normal inflation? Thanks again!

[carguy]

Wow that sounds like a lot of work. I really don't think all that is necessary, at least not for Toronto. I "stored" my car from early December to early March. That's 3 months. I drove the car twice in that time, thus every 4 weeks, for 20 km or so just to keep it loose, overinflated tires a bit (40 psi), and kept the tank full to prevent condensation. Other than that, when I pulled it out of "storage" last week, I just adjusted tire pressure, started it (it always fires up immediately, no battery charging needed), and drove.

If you are leaving the car untouched for 6 months or more, maybe more precautions are required. But if it is stored indoors and driven every 4 weeks or so for 3 months, I don't think there is cause for more.

[dennis]

wonder if you over service the oil to let sit then drain same amt when ready to start? Kind of a pain but might keep engine well lubricated??

[clickman]

I tried pushing the car forward in 5th last spring and just about had a hernia. Couldn't get it to move. Yes, the brake was off. Need more Wheaties I guess.

[Bobiam]

Don't overthink this thing.