JoshG

Hello, Y'all I need to get my maxi back up and running. Back in October I had a fuel injection issue and replaced it all with brand new ones, one of the new ones got stuck open and replaced that. The problem still was there with fuel smell and smoke coming out from the exhaust after replacing the stuck open injector. Ever since then I left it in the garage "abandoned" since the holidays were coming up and whatnot.

Now that has passed. Is it safe to just jump start the car or should I drain all the old fuel, oil and whatnot since it's been sitting for a little over 2 months now? I know that cars sitting without movement or lubrication is not good for the car so I would want to make sure If there's anything I should do just to be safe than sorry.

JvG

People store cars a few months, then start them normally.

You should charge your battery first rather than jump start it. The alternator will not be under as much stress.

Drive gently. You might hear some grinding noise from the (possibly ) slightly rusty brake disks.

JoshG

How long would it take to recharge the battery using some jumper cables hooked up to my other cars battery? Then once that is done, its safe to start the car without doing any damage as far as oil/gas/coolant sitting for a while?

This is the first time I've ever had a car sit this long. So this is a new experience for me.

MichMaxFan

too long. Hours. Charge it overnight in a charger.

The jumper cables thing will still wear on the alternator of the running car. Current comes from somewhere to charge a battery and you don't want to use an alternator for a heavily discharged battery.

tundrawolf89

Honestly to play it safe you should absolutely change the oil especially if it's near due anyway. Good to get that oil preflow lubricating the valve seals and everywhere else that hasn't seen oil in a few months. It won't hurt.
If you pop the oil filter off prime that with oil.. Did you remove your fuel rail? If your fuel looked dirty with specs of crap in it then you know what you should do. Look into priming fuel pump too as well as replacing fuel filter. Going off what i remember from the FSM and Hanes.

Double check no wiring shortage for the sub harness or sketchy looking fraying spots. Use the Force on this one because it's easy to overlook something thinking, oh that's nothing, only to find something later l . And ohm out the winding on the injectors if u didn't before. You can bench test them with the power disconnected, use a multi meter and check for continuity measured.

I had bad injectors that read fine on multi meter but then using battery to energize the winding coil in the injector, turned out be very weak. Audibly large difference between the two noises of a healthy solenoid vs not. What type of injectors you get..? You could've cleaned them too.
​​​​​​Edit* saw your battery post, and if you know how to do a load test and check voltage on your battery do that report back or bring it somewhere to have test. It might have. Look it up but when fully charging an acid type battery it's best to give it a good 8-12 hours on a protected power supply like a battery tender. Or better yet pop the top covers and make sure it's got enough juice in her. Without a battery tender/protection circuit you risk hurting both batteries. If you jump your car often , that could've damaged the battery previously especially using portable lithium ion because the amp draw... Or found batteries died quickly after replacing I'd be doing troubleshooting. Gl

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

Just start it a run it.

It's all fine ... and if it's not, it's all easily remedied.

2 month old fuel is not going to cause any problems or damage or catastrophes.

If the battery is low, charge it and keep any eye on it's condition and operation, but that should be fine as well.

If the care runs rough, put some fresh fuel in it.

If the battery fails to keep a charge, replace it.

Easy peasy ... quit obsessing.

Believe me. I've got a 25 year old truck that sits for months and months at a time. Old fuel, sulfated batteries ... not that big a deal.

Start the car. Run the car.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

i have had my 95 out only a few times in 7 months and had the battery charged overnight at a local parts store. but then again it's an optima yellow top. you want to drive it so it cycles all your fluids and does a good deep charge on the battery. worst thing you can do is let it sit too long, especially considering the age of the car.

JvG

A charger will do the deep charge without taxing the alt.

People park their cars during the winter in the snow belt. Also some park all summer long.

No big deal.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

You worry way too much, Josh. Try and start it. The only possible issue I can see you having is a weak or dead battery.

dbaray

ChrisMan287

iTrader: (34)

I'd only be worried about starting a car that's been sitting a year or more.

Shrout1

I've left my '99 sitting for 2 months while away on business. I used a solar panel trickle charger from Amazon on the dashboard to keep the battery from draining down. The car fired right up, no problems. Gas keeps for something like a year (give or take) without stable. I try to make sure that gas doesn't stay in a tank for longer than 6 months.

Jack Sh!t

My Maxima sat for 6 months with disconnected battery. Started up fine without jump starting it after I fixed it. Ran it a little then did an oil change. That was 3 years ago. Now, it's still running strong at 241k miles. Some old cars just need to sleep longer.

JoshG

Update Y'all, the car is back up and running! Ended up being the injectors, the replacement ones on the other cylinders were still stuck open causing it to run rich resulting in black spark plugs. Flow testing and making sure they're spraying correctly is key to avoid flooding the cylinders and making sure it runs smoothly. Hopes this helps out fellow members out there with this fuel problem! Just know even if you replaced your injectors, they could still be defective! Don't go out replacing other parts when in reality it could be just bad injectors.

Items replaced:
-All 6 Injectors
-All 6 spark plugs
-New oil, Flushed out coolant and put in new coolant, flushed brake fluid, put in new fluid. Brakes work much better now with new fluid! old was dirty and haven't touched in a couple yrs.
-Intake manifold gasket
-Intake boot (old one was hard as a rock)
-New air filter
-New Fuel filter
-New Coolant Hoses
-Draining out gas from cylinders due to stuck open injectors.
-Refilling the tank with new gas

Took it for a drive for 3 hours, even sat overnight, couple days etc and starts up the way it should. It runs beautifully! No overheating or anything. Being that it sat for 3 1/2 months of not moving/starting.

JvG

Congratulations! !!!

Yup, fuel injectors.

Which brand did you buy this time.

What brand were the defective new ones?


Seems that your car got the attention it wanted.

Enjoy you summer and your car Josh.