Hello everyone, I used to read this board on a daily basis but I stopped driving my Boxster. It has basically sat for 9 years and I want to start it up again. I was bad and I did not remove the gas or get my car on blocks. So the tires are flat spotted. What do I need to do to get the girl up and running again? Thanks in advanced.

and does anyone know of a good mechanic in the Burbank, CA area?

With some luuck and work she should go. My guess is that you don't want to attempt to start until the old, bad gas is drained out. I'd change the oil too before just in case.

These are just my gut feelings and free advice is worth what you pay for it. Getting that good mechanic in Burbank is probably a much better way to go.
Good luck.

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Michael SYS Driver
Hello everyone, I used to read this board on a daily basis but I stopped driving my Boxster. It has basically sat for 9 years and I want to start it up again. I was bad and I did not remove the gas or get my car on blocks. So the tires are flat spotted. What do I need to do to get the girl up and running again? Thanks in advanced.

After 9 years the gasoline is almost certainly bad. At the local Porsche dealer I came upon a modern 911 that had sat for 3 years and the fuel had congealed in the lines/injectors. The tech told me he had to replace the fuel system from the injectors on back to the tank. I believe the tank was salvageable -- albeit with a cleaning -- but the fuel pump had to be replaced.

I am reluctant to mention what follows because messing with the fuel system is risky. I would let a professional tech sort this out.

But one approach would be to siphon out as much old fuel as possible. The best way would be to remove the fuel pump and the fuel removed via the opening and the fuel siphoned out then bailed out then sopped up with a rag or some absorbent paper towels. If the fuel is liquid that's (maybe) a good sign. If it something less than liquid then you are probably facing fuel system replacement.

But assuming the fuel is liquid put the fuel pump back and and button up the tank, add 5 gallons of fuel. I'd like to start the fuel pump with the fuel line open as far downstream as possible -- ideally at each injector -- to let the pump pump fresh fuel and flush out the old fuel. If you notice any lines not flowing fuel they are blocked and this blockage needs to be addressed.

The open lines should be routed to clear or translucent plastic bottles to catch what comes out and give you a chance to observe the flow.

But oh the fire risk...

The other way would be to budget for like in the case of the 996 that sat some years replacing the fuel system.

The engine? Drain the oil and replace it with fresh. Replace the oil filter. Fill the canister up with fresh oil though.

Remove the plugs. Squirt some fresh engine oil into each cylinder. Rotate the engine over by hand in the proper direction of rotation a few times.

With the fuel pump fuse removed, or the fuel pump motor disconnected from the car's electrical system, then use the starter to crank the engine some. Don't crank the starter too long or you'll overheat it.

Put the plugs back in. I'd use new plugs.

Put the fuse back in or reconnect the fuel pump to the car's electrical system.

Replace the engine air filter. Be sure the intake air box and tube from that to the TB is free of any signs of rodents.

If you believe you have at this time a functioning fuel delivery system then see if the engine will start/run. 'course, you will have replaced the old battery with a new and fully charged battery.

At some point I'd drain and refill the cooling system with fresh mix of antifreeze/distilled water.

As soon as you can do a brake fluid flush/bleed. If the car equipped with a manual transmission be sure to flush/bleed the clutch hydraulic system too.

Before you drive the car get new tires mounted.

Once you get the car running and it appears to be running right have the A/C system checked. Over time it might have lost refrigerant. You'll want to check for this *before* you run the A/C because if it has this can damage the compressor running it with low refrigerant.

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Try these resources:

*Rusnak Porsche Pasadena 626.449.0770.
*Callas Rennsport (Torrance) 310.370.7038. Tony Callas. I know he is distant from you, but perhaps he knows someone close to you? He is reportedly one of the top independents in our area/worked for Porsche support in the past at LeMans. Technical writer for the LA Region newsletter.
*PCA Los Angeles Region for any referrals? www.pca.org

Here are some recommendations from a friend of mine/fellow Porsche owner:

*TRE Motorsports in Van Nuys. 818.909.9220.
*Scientific Automotive in Pasadena. 626.795.7018.

Good luck.

Thanks for the ideas. It sounds like I need to find a good mechanic. Actually, I did start it and drove it for about 10 minutes 2-3 years ago and it seemed fine but...

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Michael SYS Driver
Thanks for the ideas. It sounds like I need to find a good mechanic. Actually, I did start it and drove it for about 10 minutes 2-3 years ago and it seemed fine but...

Frankly that's amazing if the thing sat for 6 to 7 years without being run any.

My SOP is to err on the side of caution. The last thing I would want if I were in your shoes would be to just get in and attempt to fire up the engine. Even if it did fire up I'd be afraid of damaging the cylinders/rings/pistons and other critical interfaces due to a suspected lack of sufficient residual oil.

I would be afraid of fuel system deposits being carried to the injectors and plugging these up. The injectors all have (should have) a fine mesh screen to catch the bigger stuff to avoid it blocking the injector tip holes but there is a limit to how much "stuff" the screen can trap before flow through the injector is impeded. The risk is if one injector gets plugged the engine controller will add fuel to that bank by injecting more fuel. The cylinders with correctly operating injectors then run exceptionally rich which can wash oil from the cylinder walls and damage the cylinders/rings/pistons of those cylinders. Thus you have one cylinder which can be resurrected by a new injector. The other 2 may need new rings, pistons, even a cylinder rebore...

I would be afraid of bad gas causing the engine to run so bad to possibly cause damage to the engine or O2 sensors or converters.

I'd rather approach this in a way that takes steps to minimize/eliminate the risk of collateral damage to the engine or other systems in the car upon getting the engine running again and the car road worthy.

But it is your car. If you chose to just get in and turn on the key that's entirely up to you.

But I'd still recommend an oil change, new filter, with the filter housing with the new filter installed in the housing filled with fresh oil. I'd still recommend pulling the plugs and putting some oil in each cylinder then turning the engine over by hand a few times, then using the starter to crank the engine but with the fuel pump disconnected or its fuse pulled so while the engine is cranking no fuel is injected.

I'd still recommend you confirm the intake air system is ok and clear from the filter to the MAF to the throttle body. Last thing you want is to suck a petrified mouse carcass into the engine.

And I'd recommend the old gas be removed and fresh gasoline added to the tank before any attempt is made to start the engine.

I stored a 1982 Datsun 280ZXyqlmnopq in a cement mine in Wampum PA for 7 years. Drove it in, shut it off, pulled the battery. Bye Bye. No fuel stabilizer... nothing. Seven years later, put a battery in, turned over maybe 3 times and started right up. No chit. Pumped up the tires and drove the square tires on backroads home to a service station where I had the car serviced, injectors blown out... a bunch of other stuff... new tires... new exhaust. Unbelievable, drove well for 30 days then crap started to fail... some sort of emissions thing.... just one thing after another. Awful.

Peace
Bruce in Philly



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2019 08:45PM by Bruce In Philly (2000 S Boxster, now '09 C2S). (view changes)

Storage in a temperature stable environment helps. The car I ran across the one that had sat several (3 years I think) had sat outside somewhere in the tri-valley area where summer time daytime temps can get over 100F and then fall 40F at night. The fuel in the tank won't get that hot but the smaller fuel lines will and that just cooks the gasoline in them over time.

That the car started manifesting problems after it was put back into service doesn't surprise me. Cars just don't like to sit unused. The entire focus of the automaker is to make cars that deliver long and trouble free service life when used regularly. Far and away that is what most people want. It is the outlier who buys a car then at some point puts it away for months or years. There are steps one can take to minimize the negative side effects to doing this but not all can be minimized.

For example, while one can put the car away with fresh engine oil he can't circulate the oil to keep the seals wet which means they dry/shrink from lack of use the exposure to fresh oil which has additives to address the tendency of the seals to dry out/shrink.