^^^

Ive seen a lot of threads about this, and im still not sure whats best. (hence the poll) Ive heard both sides of the story, and both sides seem to swear their method is best. My car has been untouched since about Nov 25th... so should I start it... or wait till spring. Which would you do and if you have time to waste, feel free to explain why.

thanks

 

Starting it and letting it run until it's warm will recirculate the oil and keep everything in a better state of lube. It can't hurt. OF course, driving it doesnt hurt either

 

don't start it!!! unless you start it everyday, there is no need to start it do "lube it up" Most of the oil in your engine seeps down within 24 hours so it is just more stress on it to start it "now and then" I would say wait till spring, change your oil, and the proper thing to do it to take your plugs out and crank it so it get all the oil everywhere, put the plugs back in then start it.

 

my only real concern about not starting it, is that I heard that if an engine sits in the same position for so long, certain valvesprings could be weakened.

edit: and isnt taking the plugs out just to turn the motor quite a project for something like that? Would the computer throw codes when you cranked it without spark plugs?

 

Looking for more opinions (votes)

 

Taking the plugs out may be a workout, but if you have headers then it isn't. Otherwise, you could just remove the spark plugs wires. Cranking the engine over a few times without the spark plugs may help some, but not much. Just start it in the spring, and let it idle for a while. Get the engine up to normal temp, then change the oil. Or if you can, change the oil before you start the car for the first time. This will allow the oil to run down the valve train component and lubricate those at the same time.

 

Do not start it unless you intend to drive it.

1 - Most of your engine wear comes from starting it. Starting a cold engine does about the same amount of wear as driving it 700 miles.

2 - When its cold outside, you never get it up to normal temp, especially with colder thermostats, electric water pumps and reprogrammed fans. My car will idle all day long with the fans unplugged and never lift the needle on the temp guage. Plus if you are running rich at idle from a cold engine, all you're doing is washing down the cylinder walls.

3 - When I store my car for the winter I remove the battery and loosen all my rockers.

 

Is this something that should be done? I've never heard of anyone doing this before. I always thought of valve springs the same way as I think of suspension springs. They're meant to be under load, so why decompress them?

 

Niether have I, but along the same lines I was wondering if hitting the starter for second just to change the position of the crank (and therefore springs) would be a good idea... without it starting.

 

TTT

If im gonna do it, it has to be tonight... 3, 3, and 3 doesnt help my decision

 

You dont Have to pull all the spark plug wires just the one going to the coil will do.I would also pull the fuel injector fuser cause you down want to dump fuel in the motor.

 

Thanks for all the replies...

looking for a few more votes

 

should I start it when I get back from vaction or not? ...according to the votes right now im going to.

More opinions pleeez

 

I would not start it unless you're going to drive it long enough to fully heat up the oil. Idling an engine won't get the oil very hot, so you'll just end up introducing more moisture into it, and then when you shut it down that moisture will begin to do it's dirty work.

Even if your engine sits unstarted for six months you'll still have a thin layer of lubrication left on the parts, so your very first start won't be completely dry.

 

I realize that, im just concerned about my valvesprings being compressed for a long time and therefore possibly weakened.

I think I'll be starting it today, but im only going to do it once. I'll try and do a 1/4 mile blast down the road if my parents let me... theyre pretty firm about me not driving it without insurance even though a cop might drive by here once a week.