Hey i am hoping to get some input here on what i should/need to do before putting a 1992 Nissan Maxima GXE back on the road.
Little back ground, its my brother inlaws car, i am buying it non-running at this time, its sat for about 5years for the most part outside.
it has 107,000miles on it.
ok, so 1st off its sitting in their drive and its on an angle. charged the battery some the other day and i am most worried about the untreated fuel in the tank, its about a 1/4 tank so i am guessing around 4-5gallons of fuel. i opened the gas cap and it smells more like turpentine to my nose. Which is scary, so i attempted to siphon some out for about 2 1/2 hours only getting about a quart of fuel. i think the incline has something to do with it and it feels like i am hitting something as i push the tube down i know the filler neck bends some too.
So my 1st Question is what do i need to do?? i was told by a family member fill it with fresh fuel and start it and drive it which i cant right now as the rear brake caliper(s) are froze.
i did take out the rear seat and seat back and removed the fuel pump access cover, the i tried to remove the 6 screwson the fuel pump/sender top but after trying some i feel that i could possibly snap the heads off the screws/bolts as they are some what rusted. Is there any other way to get this fuel out? Or do i need to be so worried about this?? i just dont want to harm the engine or injectors or? with running this old fuel, i have wondered about getting some fresh fuel to add to it.
All the fluids look good and the radiator was a little low, after i can get it running and able to move i will drain it and the oil and replace.
What else do i need to do before i can actually say its road worthy?
There are some other issues the Bose radio isnt working and i spoke with a repair place in Florida that tells me its probably the amp(s) and i can send the whole radio to them. i am a little concerned about the tires (flat spots) tho the tread looks good and they dont seem weather checked.
I know this is some what of a gamble putting a car back on the road thats sat for a good bit, but i really like it, and having been a member here for awhile i have learned alot. i know i can have other issues pop as time goes on like water pump, front brakes since its sat so long and the transmission.
I would appreciate your alls input here in helping me get this car to where i can drive and enjoy it.

 

does any one have some advice here?

 

I saw your question. but I'm a noob. So to avoid giving advice on something I don't have any experience on I just wait until the more experience guys answer. Just have patience. They may be busy.

 

let's break it down some.
why was it sitting so long, do you know?
gas sitting that long will solidify. dealt with a supra that was sitting for a while. had to replace the fuel pump, and fuel tank. best bet would be to drop it and get another one. Sorry.
just change them. don't even bother cranking the engine before changing them. especially if they've been sitting for five years.
20+ year old bose technology isn't that great. you'd be better off getting a new head unit, new speakers ("new" is also fine) and bypassing the amps.
if the tires have been sitting outside for five years, they're dry rotted and need to be replaced. last thing you need is to be finding out what the car will do, blow a tire and go careening off into oncoming traffic (yes, melodramatic, but not unlikely with old tires)

 

well i guess thats a possibility, i know one thing they should have some nice flat spots!

 

check your brake lines as well and the rest of your brakes always deal with the safety aspects first also check your airfilter for rodents you dont want to crank that motor and suck up any debris.2 then tackle the performance aspects i.e. belts plugs, wires, rotors have an injector balance test done get to a shop get it in the air and check your bushings as well as leaks.Has the timing belt been changed? these are things that need to be covered before you get a nasty surprise. then after that is done then worried about all the stupid sh*t good luck with your project

 

yep i want to get it where it can run then do the brakes i am taking a sweeper to under the hood this afternoon to get all the little bits of leaves dirt etc out. its almost kinda overwhelming but exciting too. i am looking forward to getting it driveable!

 

Change out the starter and alternator. For some reason with these cars when they sit up for a while the starter and alternator tend to go bad for some reason. May work in the beginning but they won't last long.

 

ok thanks on the alternator and starter, tho thats not something id do until it actually went out.
update: this afternoon i managed to get the fuel pump out and started getting the bad fuel out... Gosh it stinks!!! i am not sure from here if i need to flush out the tank after or not.. i know i am planning on blowing out the fuel lines and changing the fuel filter.

 

Great idea. there is a hose at the bottom of the tank (behind drvr side rear wheel) disconnect and and fluid should drain through there. Other than that I would flush the tank and lines. Don't they have some solution to put in the tank for thingas like this?

 

My vg sat for 2.5 years an I got it going along with timing belt and water pump change.

Definitely do fluids first, if you don't want to drop the fuel tank, fill it completely with high octane fuel with a jerry can if necessary and a bottle of fuel cleaner. Also change the fuel filter before starting it and maybe again after a tank or two.

Tires air cleaner brakes need checking as stated and when you start it for the first time do it on level ground and don't rev it. Let it idle through to get fuel up around the seals but don't be surprised if you blow a few, just like the tyres they can get brittle and the fuel and oil and heat may bust them...

Always a good idea when doing the coolant to flush the system fully and take of/replace the smaller hoses if cracked or flush them out seperate if ok.

Also check flow of water through IACV ports and throttle body chamber I didn't do this and wound up chasing poor and high idling to kingdom come.

Then when It's started if its running rough start troubleshooting from there.

 

thanks Maxkiller i will be doing that, i know its had a recent timing belt but its been years and almost no miles So i should do that again? Also if the timing belt does go on these cars ( mines a GXE so its got the Vg30= SOHC? right? engine) it does ruin the engine??
going out to work on it now i think this a a labor of love
thanks to you all for your input so far!

 

If it has been done recently (miles wise) then it shouldn't need doing again but it might pay to do a visual inspection on it (you should be replacing alternator and air con belts anyway) as per the FSM. As for the water pump that depends on the quality of the coolant that
has been sitting in it for so long.

And yes if the timing belt goes on a vg Then its a very expensive kind of going, I think the ve is the same. Easiest way to tell a vg is by the triangle style silver manifold with red rocker covers under (albeit covered in grease).

 

OK thanks Maxkiller i see now i have the VG30E engine.
i did manage to get all the old gas out of the tank, and have pulled the old fuel filter off and i have poured some of this "sea foam" down the hose for from the engine to the fuel tank i am going to pour some more in it tomorrow and shoot some compressed air in it (fuel hose is off at the rear of the car too)
my Question: what can i do for the fuel line from the filter to the fuel rail? when i removed the filter some old nasty fuel came out of it. would pouring some "sea foam" in there and letting it sit. i guessing its not a good idea to add some compressed air too??
also ordered a new umm sock filter for the bottom of the fuel pump and how does that go on? never dealt with this before
thanks!!

 

Okay, what?

I guess I don't see what exactly the problem is. Your first post is pretty hard to read as it's one giant blob of text.

Unless I missed something, I think you're worrying entirely way too much about the gas (and fluids for that matter). Hell, I've started cars up that have been sitting for 15 years.

You say the car is non-running. Is that because it's been sitting for 5 years or is that because it was parked and left for dead after falling into a state of disrepair? If it was running, parked, and forgotten for 5 years (and it sounds like this is the case), then by all means try to fire it up with some fresh gas.

It's not like this is some super car. Charge the battery and see if it'll start. Obviously you'd ideally want to change the oil and whatnot before actually driving it around - but just to see if it'll start and run? I think you're looking WAY too far into all of this. I mean it can't hurt, but you're really just spending money and time/effort that is unnecessary IMO

 

well sorry for the blob!!!!! odd most every one else got it!
do you know what turpentine smells like?? i am not trying to rebuild a car just to insure when it starts i dont trash injectors or what ever else can go when you try to burn any thing but gas in a car
the car has sat because my brother in-law bought an I-30 and got to where he drove this car less and less.
super car far from it, but i feel this is a prudent way to get it going again

 

[QUOTE\]=Hell, I've started cars up that have been sitting for 15 years. [/QUOTE]

I'd be interested to know what kind of cars these were and for how long after you started them they continued to run. I doubt any of them were efi motors and I doubt any of them lasted very long after that before majorly irritating jobs like injector replacement on a vg needed to occur. Unless of course we are talking big block v8s and the like they are unbreakable.

Another thing you might want to do is check the injectors with an ohmmeter before you start the car, make sure none of your injectors are already fried. My car had two despite sitting for 2.5 years prior to which all 6 were fine.

 

While i have the fuel pump pulled i am wanting to replace the "filter/sock" on the bottom of it since it looks like theres some sort of residue on it.
Since i have never messed with one of these can some one give me a little insight on how to take it off and put on the new one
i have a Haynes but as you know they dont always show everything you need to know
i might be able to guess after looking at it closer, but if any one knows please let me know

 

Several were/are EFI cars. I didn't say I started them up just like that and then DROVE them around permanently with no fluid changes etc. I was merely speaking in terms of starting them up to see if they run. I specifically said above that he would want to change all fluids before actually driving around for good. But just to see if the engine runs? It's kind of overkill to put this much effort into it IMO (and I didn't/don't mean to sound like an @$$ about that though I think I may have). Then again replacing all those things can't hurt so have at it

Nonetheless, the fuel filter SHOULD clog before sending all that crap through the injectors though (i.e., theoretically it should "save" the injectors), but you never know.

MIC.. It's hard to tell you how to attach the sock without seeing it. Aftermarket pumps have a variety of different sock attachments and they're not all interchangeable. Some snap on, some have a little rubber band type deal, etc. Again, they don't normally like to "intermingle" so if you're trying to put one style sock on an "unmatching" pump you could be SOL

If you could post a picture of the sock and pump we could be of more help

 

http://s1112.photobucket.com/albums/k485/Sp52Mic/

here are some pictures of this sock i am wanting to replace, as far as i know this is the original Nissan fuel pump

 

I would pull some of the fuel lines/filter and remove the regulator off the fuel rail and blow some compressed air thru it and replace the fuel pump, lines and filter and check your fluids and see if the car will start and run without doing a whole lot of maintenance....Once you get it started then start replacing belts and all that other stuff!

 

i didnt even think of the regulator! i will do that too i am planning on doing some checks like this above and then starting it for the 1st time end of this week. i have been worried about the injectors and when i pulled the fuel filter off i poured some of this "sea foam" into the line and have propped it up so it can hold it in there.
i think i wanna try it with the current fuel pump since i have it off and the tank drained, the tank looks good inside also
still wondering if i have the rigth "sock" filter for it, i will post a link or pic of it later.
i dont think its the right one, i may try the local Nissan Dealer for that.