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Stationary for 5 years

Beaky

PCGB Member
Member
I wonder if you folks can help

I'm just about to acquire another house which will include a 924 sitting in the drive which hasn't more for about 5 years.


So to get her started I was thinking: -

Charge the battery
Re- inflate the tyres
New plugs
Check the oil "" add some to insure some lubrication in the top end
Turn her over a few times before adding fuel

Once she running will have a closer look to see if she worth salvaging as she's parked right up against a wall and under a tree

Your thoughts and comments would be much appreciated

Regards

 
Battery will probably be knackered by now, try and borrow any battery that will fit and crank it over, my Golf Mk1's battery fits and works in emergency situations (944's own battery dead as a doornail and I want to move the car). Any petrol in the tank will be useless now as fuel so drain the tank, Keep any petrol you get out for cleaning stuff or put back in the tank at a ratio of about 20:1 |Add fresh petrol into the tank undiluted for starting (add a bit of 2 stroke oil only).
Take out the plugs and spray loads of WD40 down the plug holes. Turn it over by hand a few times before cranking it on the starter motor. Before replacing the plugs put some petrol in (with a little bit of 2 stroke oil in it for lubrication). Crank it over until you can smell petrol. Replace plugs and see if it will start. If it starts try to let it run at idling speed for a couple of minutes before increasing the revs. Clutch will have a good chance of being seized. Sometimes they can be freed off by towing it , other times it is a strip down job.

Good luck with it.

Cheers,
 
Check out the elusive cam belt for good condition. A snapped belt on a normally asppirated 924 is not normally a problem mechanically as the valves can't strike, but it will be a source of embarrassment to you if you conk out anywhere remotely populated.
 
Don't waste your money on new spark plugs yet. Wait until you have had the car running and decided it is worth saving. Providing they are clean and reasonably gapped, expect them to work. Sitting idle for 5 years has no effect on plugs, it is usage that wears them out.
Clutch.
"Clutch will have a good chance of being seized. Sometimes they can be freed off by towing it , other times it is a strip down job."
No need to strip down as Mr Porsche provides a useful access plate in bottom of bellhousing.
Sit in car, press clutch to floor, measure distance from pedal pad to back of lower rim of steering wheel. Cut a piece of wood to this length and prop clutch down so that the spring load is off the centre plate.
Jack up nearside and place axle stands under front and rear for safety.
Find a comfy carpet offcut to lie on and slide under car equipped with a Phillips screwdriver and a thin bladed table knife. Plus a torch or lead light.
With the plate unscrewed and removed, you can see the flywheel cover bolted to the flywheel and at regular intervals there are opening/slots that allow the dust to emerge. You will also see the edge of the friction plate. Carefully insert the blade between the flywheel and the plate, then between the cover and the plate. No need to get vicious and chip bits off, just gently ease the blade in about a quarter of an inch. Usually very little pressure is needed to unstick the surfaces but if necessary turn the engine using a socket on the crank pulley nut. Bring the next 'access gap' in the clutch cover into view and you then repeat the 'easing' bit with the knife blade. On my car (static for 4 or 5 years) it took just one attempt through the very first 'access gap' to unstick the plate.
Usage will then clear the very slight rust marks that are usually left on the surfaces of the flywheel and cover plate.
Above is a lot easier than dragging the engine or transaxle out - and it works.

Tyres.
If tyres have been flat they will probably have developed cracks and be totally unsafe to use.

Brakes.
Outdoor storage means you will probably find enough surface rust on discs to prevent easy movement. So that means wheels off and clean up surface with emery cloth or similar. I would remove pads and ease piston back into caliper to ensure it was not stuck. Check caliper slides are clear of rust and clag.
If handbrake was left on then rears are probably stuck also. There is a bung in the backplate (NOT the two outer plugs to allow you to check lining thickness) that you poke a small screwdriver into in order to 'de-adjust' the brake shoes. Having done that, thump the drum a few times with a rubber or plastic faced hammer and they should free up.

I wouldn't worry about oil and the top-end. If, with fresh petrol, the car starts even for just a few seconds on the cold-start injector you should see oil pressure gauge instantly rise and any wear due to lack of oil would be so low as to be impossible to measure in real terms. Only if you were cranking it over for ages with no pressure at all would you run into the slight risk of scuffing valve stems, cams or bores.
 
I'd go with just a good clean up of the electrical parts, and just clean up the plugs as well for now, if its sat there for 5 years though, I'd take a big spanner and turn the engine over manually before connecting a battery and cranking it, just incase its a bit ceased, less chance of causing any more damage doing it by hand fisrt[;)]

But that said, so long as the engine wasn't goosed when it was parked up, should have much problem getting it to start
 
Draining fuels a b1tch so unless it's a full tank I'd top up with some new fuel to dilute. People talk about it going off but all you're trying to do is get it running not run a race so leave it in.

Everything else they say goes as well! If you know someone with a Halfords Trade Card then a set of plugs will set you back £1.30ish. I kid you not.
 
Oh yeah, other way to try unsticking a clutch - wedge pedal down with a broom handle or something and leave it. Go back a few days later and you might well find it's freed off (with a loud bang). Not fulproof but free and easy try!
 
Monty is right, heard of that done before, think it was actually monty mentioning it somewhere else [;)]
Do you have anymore enws for us on how things are going Beaky??
 
£1.30 for 4 plugs ? Truly astonishing.
I hope they are not Chinese ?
Halfords profits have soared since they started sourcing so much stuff from China and some of it is ........................

I ordered two small bearings for one of the twin cutter spindles on my ride-on mower from a local bearing specialist. Was quoted £22 the pair when ordered and I was a bit dischuffed when they turned up and were Chinese. The words off and rip came to mind. Especially when I discovered via eBay that I could have bought 10 of them (and had them shipped !) from America for the same sort of money.
Anyway, being a non-complaining Brit - and needing to cut the grass - I fitted them. Less than 3 months later they are knackered (and the other pair of used Skefco bearings are still silent). Lesson learnt the hard way. No more Chinese junk (no pun intended) for me.

 

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