Hi All, I’m Looking for advice on how to salvage my Jeep that hasn’t been started in over 3 years. It has been sitting outside in Upstate NY and never had the fluids dropped before it was parked. Any good advice or special areas to take note before I try to turn that key again?
I think the biggest headache will be the fuel system because the gas will likely be pure garbage. Draining as much fuel out and replacing with fresh along with an additive such as Chemtool or SeaFoam would help. Changing the fuel filter is recommended because moisture often settles into the lowest points of the fuel system and rust can accumulate inside the filter.
It’s also common for a fuel pump to fail after being idle for an extended spell or it may fail soon after the vehicle is up and running again.
You might remove the gas cap and smell the fuel tank opening. If it smells like varnish or house paint the gas needs to come out for sure. The pump is debateable.
Other than that, here’s what I would do.
Change the oil and filter.
Remove the spark plugs and squirt a small amount of oil into each cylinder followed by reinstalling the plugs.
Disable the ignition so it won’t start.
Crank the engine over until the oil light goes out.
Enable the ignition and see what happens. (and you can expect it will run ragged for a bit)
The battery will be toast of course and there will also be other things to service but the fuel system and engine oil is a good starting point.
Hope that helps.