My 97 Jeep Wrangler has been sitting for just about a year. Besides the obvious stuff like a battery, change the oil and new plugs, is there anything important I have to do before I crank it over? Do I need to pull the plugs and throw a bit of oil into the cylinder to help with lubrication? Should I remove the old gas or just put fresh gas in the tank? Thanks for the assistance in advance.
Getting my 1997 back on the road
- Thread starter John Harbourt
- Start date
The only thing I would think about is the gasoline having aged some, the engine itself will be fine to start. A can of Gumout or similar cleaner added to the tank before you start it wouldn't be a bad idea. Consider that lots of vehicles get parked for a year, like by those in the military returning from deployment, and get restarted without much problem other than perhaps a dead battery. 
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Ahoragi
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I don't think so. If it's only been a year they'll be fine. Now if you said it had been sitting for 15 years, that would be different.
Those military vehicles get winterized before the hiatus! Ask me how I might know that?The only thing I would think about is the gasoline having aged some, the engine itself will be fine to start. A can of Gumout or similar cleaner added to the tank before you start it wouldn't be a bad idea. Consider that lots of vehicles get parked for a year, like by those in the military returning from deployment, and get restarted without much problem other than perhaps a dead battery.
Shoot those salmon eating bastards! Oh on the vehicle? Na just start it up and take it for an easy drive. Let's things warm up and any collected moisture burn off. DONT START IT UP RUN IT FOR 5 MINUTES THEN SHUT IT DOWN!
Ok took all the combined advice. Filled it with fresh fuel, put gumout in the tank, checked the fluids, air filter, and jump started it.....a few cranks and she started right up. Ran it for about 30-40 mins. Took a nice slow drive, checked the brakes, drove it in reverse, ran through the gear ect. Thanks for the great advice. Ok to my next questions lol...
Good job, glad it started right up John! But since the battery was low enough to have required a jumpstart, connect it to a bench type battery charger overnight. Not 2 hours, not 4 hours, overnight.
The alternator was never designed to charge a dead battery, not to mention the alternator requires a good solid 12v from the battery for it to even put out power. Running the engine only 30-40 minutes barely put any charge into the battery.
The alternator was never designed to charge a dead battery, not to mention the alternator requires a good solid 12v from the battery for it to even put out power. Running the engine only 30-40 minutes barely put any charge into the battery.