What to expect during 1st startup after 7 months of storage?

[Mr. Burns]

Stored my car in sheltered barn last early october. (1990 325ic)
put full tank of gas, fuel stabilizer in tank, moth balls+dryer sheets in interior, steel wool in exhaust, pulled battery, over inflated tires and put cover on.

headed to storage facility tomorrow with a fresh charge in battery.

Have any of you experienced issues when you 1st turn the key?
I'll turn it to accessory 1st, let fuel pump do its thing, and go for it.

anyone run on a few less cylinders for awhile before all 6 finally catch on?

I have a 20mile drive home afterwards...am I to expect little to no brakes?

I'm likely overthinking thins...

[lolcantturn]

You are very much overthinking things. You've prepared enough, go for it.

[coldweatherblue]

hey I stored my '88 325i for a year while I lived in Prague during undergrad.. kept it w/ full tank of gas and the stuff like you said. Got back, charged the battery, cranked it for ~15 seconds and she started right up.. No issues whatsoever. I changed fluids etc afterwards but overall I couldn't tell the car had been in storage..

[redsubdivisions]

You definitely prepared it for storage properly. There are people out there that just throw a tarp over a car and let it sit for 2 years and it manages to start up with little problems. You will be alright.

[M-technik-3]

Could pull plugs squirt some marvel in each bore. Pull fuel pump relay and crank over afew times to stir things up.

Close up put plugs back in fire up and head down the road.

Suggest a fuel filter, Stabil from what I hear is not up to par for the ethanol crude we now call gas.

[blocke]

I did nearly the same thing with my car. Sat for 6 months at my in-laws when I bought a new house. I brought a new battery with me, installed and it fired up after a second of cranking. Let it warm up, and then drove it 60 miles to my new house. No issues whatsoever.

I think you will be fine.

[Mr. Burns]

thanks for the feedback guys...

ONE MORE SLEEP!!!!

[jlevie]

The only thing that I'd do would be to get oil circulating under little or no load before firing the engine. The easy way to do that is to pull the fuel pump relay or fuse, remove the spark plugs and spin the engine over for until the oil light goes out, but not more than a minute. The better way is to remove the cover on what would be the distributor mount, fish out the gear and use a 6mm socket, long extension, and electric drill to spin the oil pump until you feel the drill load up.

The fuel pump is only going to run when the DME sees timing data from a rotating engine. But you can force the pump to run by jumpering the fuel pump relay socket.

[stamar]

when my car sat for a few weeks recently and i started it up, it misfired for at least a few minutes.

i dont think thats standard to all m20s but its not uncommon for an old car to have a drip that fouls the plugs.

It burned off and then with regular starting hasnt returned.

Also it ran rich for days and I was really worried, however the computer did actually learn.

[TurboJake]

You've done everything necessary. She'll be fine.

[F34R]

You're dandy, I store my e30s over winter with just a shed and unhooking the battery. Never fails to start, I just change the fluid and go on my way.

[Joe G]

Just flew to Washington, put the battery back in my car after it sat in a garage since October, started her up and drove 1,500miles at 85-100mph back to Kansas. I love this car.

[kway]

Pfft. My 318 had been sitting for 5 YEARS, outside, with less preparation than you have done. Threw a battery in it and it fired right up.

Only had one flat tire, others just needed a top up. Ground the rust off the brakes the best I could driving around the storage facility. Gave it a quick once over to make sure no leaks, anything falling off, etc. then drove it 200 miles up here to NH.

So yeah, you're overthinking it.

[Mr. Burns]

Little update.

Got to storage facility

Checked tire pressure on all 4's.
Installed and reconnected battery.
Put turned key to accessory for 5 seconds.

Turned key and......










3 turns from the starter and fired up like a rumbly pissed off German boss.

Flawless, and drove it home biggest smile onmy face :-D

[CHIF8008]

Haha :) awesome. Love old cars