I am going to be starting a LT1 in the next few days that hasnt been started since back in 1998 i believe... maybe 99. At any rate what would you guys do to prep it before starting? All the fluids were drained. Fresh is going in. Oil was drained outta it but that was jsut last week so tis not like everything would be dried up in there ...

1- Fresh antifreeze
2- new Mobil 1 Syn. and a good filter
3- New power steering fluid
4- Fresh Brake and clutch fluid
5- Has new plugs and wires
6- Im going to syphon the gas outta it in a lil bit, then add 5 gallons of premium with dry gas in case any water got in there.

before i start it, i was going to hold the fuel lines into a little coffee can and get someone to turn the key to ON. This way i can pump all the old gas sitting in the lines, and in the filter, through and into the can. Then once i know its fresh fuel ill plug them onto the fuel rails.

Then i was going to pull the wire off the ICM, crank the engine for a few secs, wait , do it again , do this a few times off n on for the next couple minutes. I ripped the factory oil cooler off and replaced it with a Perma-Cool cooler, what kinda pressure should i see on the gauge before i start it ? Or will it not register any from jsut cranking it? Also at idle what kinda pressure would yins expect to see with a oil cooler on it?

How long would you go easy on the engine? Its a mostly stock engine that was pulled from a wrecked car. It only has 13,000 miles. So i figured since it sat that long go easy on it for the first 50 miles or so before i get on it and see what it can do... maybe ill get a suprise and find out the previous owner ported the heads and dropped a cam in it ...

Ok well anyways , anyone else have any suggestions as to what i should do before i start it ?

 

I'm sorta confused and interested about what you said is going on.

The engine was pulled from a wrecked car... then why are you worried about the fuel thats in the tank of the car you are placing it in? And the brake fluid, and power steering fluid? Seems like if you're just swapping the engine, all you'd worry about is the engine.

Just kinda curious how you found an engine/car that hasnt run in 5 years, lol.

 

I've never started a motor after sitting that long but a few things I can think of to do to be safe before starting it would be when you are adding oil, pull the valve covers and pour a quart of oil over the whole valvetrain since it's probably bone dry after all these years.

Other than what you mentioned another good idea would be after you clean out the fuel line, reconnect it then disconnect the coil wire before starting it and just crank it over for at least 5-10 seconds to get the oil circulating again before actually firing the motor. Then reconnect the coil wire and start it. Watch that disconnected fuel line, I went to bump mine over when working on the cam forgetting that the line was disconnected and fuel sprayed all over the place, that coffee can might fill up pretty quick!

 

As long as you have good fuel and enough spark it should run. Tranny fluid pressure doesnt have a guage. But that doesnt effect the engine starting.

 

I bought a 95 Z28 that was in a bad wreck back in 96. The original owner had the car totaled. It was then bought by another guy who had the engine pulled, and the frame work done. I then bought it off him after the frame work ( Which i made sure was garenteed lol ) put the engine in it and am bolting everything back up. The wiring sucked but its like 99% done. Its new everything actually since the wreck. New alt, pwr steering, brake lines, ac pump, rad , fans, condensor, waterpump, opti, wires and plugs, basically everything is new , and the engine only has 13000 miles on it.

 

I'd run a carfax on that engine. You'd be surprised how many "13K miles" engines I ran into, in search of a good, low mileage engine for the car I just bought ('93 Z).

 

You must clean the fuel rails, take those injectors off, and clean the crud out of them.....

 

lol yea i no what ya mean ... the car is a 95 , was totalled in 96, and hasnt been on the raod since then. The #'s all match sits the original one lol ... if it didnt have matchin #'s to verify the low miles i woodnt have bought it ... seeings how it was kinda totaleld lol , and i had enough to buy a older ( 93 ) Z with 75K ... but i figured they match , and its got low miles , most of the new parts , all i had to get was minor parts here n there putting it back together , so why not lol

 

I'd pull the plugs and spray some WD-40 in there so those rings are not scrapping on dry cylinders at start up.

 

Two weeks ago I started a 1969 350 SS Camaro that had been parked for 13 years. I went through less work getting that thing fired up than the advice you are getting. DON'T put WD40 in the cylinders. A bit a engine oil is all you need, if any. DON'T bother pulling the injectors - they will be fine. Put fresh oil in it, crank it a bit to get pressure and fill the filter without starting the engine (pull the PCM fuse) and then just start it and drive it. It will be fine.

 

Thanks for all the feed-back guys. O and i did put oil in the cylinders when the plugs were replaced... it was about 2 weeks ago , but im sure theres still a film coating at least part of the cylinder walls.

 

Would you expect the lifters and stuff to tick at first and the engine in general to be noisy from sitting as long as it did ? If i turn the engine over a few times without the fuse in, and i open the bleeder on the water pump lines , shouldnt that get all the air out or does that need to be done when the engine is started or what ? lol wow that is yet another stupid ? from me today , im on a roll this is like the 5th retarded thing ive asked ... and relized what i sed was retarded lol ...