2004 Accord EX-L V6 parked in storage for 2 years

10

Asked by drspecials Mar 03, 2012 at 09:18 PM about the 2004 Honda Accord EX with Leather

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I am planning on buying a car from a friend with 95000 miles on it, well serviced until 12/2010. For 2
years it has been parked in a storage and never started. What all maintenance should I be expecting on
this car. Is there a risk of serious damage in next few years because of being in storage for so long?

Thanks very much for anticipated replies!!

2 Answers

2,655

Strictly from a general maintenance view and to prevent there from being any problems, I would: check all belts and wiring looking for any signs of dry rot, cracking or damage caused from an animal building a nest in the engine compartment. Charge the battery or replace it. Replace the oil and filter. Drain any gas that's in the tank ( it almost definitely is no good and may have water in it ), Refill your gas tank with fresh gas and add Seafoam ( gas and oil additive ) to gas tank. Remove each spark plug and add about an ounce of clean engine oil to each cylinder -- with the spark plugs still removed, turn the motor over by hand ( use a ratchet and socket on the crank pulley ) several revolutions. Turning the motor by hand will coat the cylinder walls with the oil, lubricate the piston rings and prime the oil system at low rpms. Reinstall the spark plugs ( or replace them and the wires if they look rough ). Start the engine and ALLOW IT TO IDLE FOR SEVERAL MINUTES ( it may idle rough at first due to the old gas still in the fuel system ) -- DO NOT REV THE ENGINE OR PUMP THE GAS ! If the engine won't start or starts and shuts off, cycle the key and start it again -- NO GAS PEDAL OR REVVING ENGINE ! After engine starts and idles for several minutes, hold your foot on the brake and select each gear ( automatic trans ) Reverse, Neutral, Drive, Neutral, D3, Neutral, etc., allowing the car to idle in each gear for several seconds ( to circulate the trans fluid in the torque converter and transmission ). If everything seems fine at this point, drive the car SLOWLY for a few miles to get the lubrication in the driveline flowing again and allow you time to detect any problems with brakes. Good luck !

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10

Thanks very much! I actually tried starting the car to get it out of storage using a jumper cable, but it did not, just made some cranky sound, so I didn't go ahead. Now as you suggested, I guess the best bet would be to tow it to a garage and get it fixed as you suggested..

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