Looking for suggestion on what I should do before jumping back behind the wheel of my '94 Mustang. The car has sat idle for quite some time and last time I left it, it had white smoke coming out of the tail pipe. I assume the head gasket needs replacing, but my question is more general. What should I look at replacing even if it doesn’t necessarily need to be replaced, just for the fact that the car didn’t get used like it should? It’s a '94 with about 70K miles on it. Should belts get replaced, tune up, etc?
Car has sat for awhile
- Thread starter Cjw
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Skymarshal
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Exactly how long has it been sitting?
For starters, I would drain and dispose of the gas in the tank, and fill it with fresh gas. Check for deteriorated belts, hoses, and tires. Replace the battery since it has almost certainly been killed by sitting discharged for a long time. Then start it and let it warm up, and after checking for leaks take it out for a long drive to get everything up to operating temperature and burn off moisture in the oil.
To check for a head gasket problem, look for discoloration in the coolant or an erratic temperature gauge while driving, or take it to a shop to find out for sure.
For starters, I would drain and dispose of the gas in the tank, and fill it with fresh gas. Check for deteriorated belts, hoses, and tires. Replace the battery since it has almost certainly been killed by sitting discharged for a long time. Then start it and let it warm up, and after checking for leaks take it out for a long drive to get everything up to operating temperature and burn off moisture in the oil.
To check for a head gasket problem, look for discoloration in the coolant or an erratic temperature gauge while driving, or take it to a shop to find out for sure.
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