On starting up my S4 after 18 months (!) of storage
03-28-2007, 07:41 AM
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On starting up my S4 after 18 months (!) of storage
OH, HOW I LOVE MY CAR.
As some of you may know, I moved to Manhattan during the fall of 2005. I couldn't take the car with me, so it remained in storage (er, hibernation) at my mother's house in suburban New Jersey. I figured rather than sell the car, I'd keep it for the occasional road trip or whatever. Well, as it turns out, I never quite took any road trips, and very rarely even visited the car while living in the city.
Fast forward to November 2006. I moved back in with my family in NJ, but continued to work in Manhattan, commuting via mass transit. My girlfriend and I were planning a road trip to Vermont in December, so I decided to do a tune-up / oil change / coolant flush, as the car had been sitting for a while and I knew it'd appreciate the attention. Upon finishing up under the hood, I installed a new battery and crossed my fingers, hoping everything would be just fine as I turned the key.... *PriceIsRightSadTrombone.Wav* No such luck. The starter would engage and try to turn the motor over, but the engine just wouldn't catch, nor even stumble a bit. I figured it was a bad CPS or something, maybe even a fuel issue. I was bummed, and felt too defeated to pursue the issue any further. The car would sit for the next 4 months while I stuck my head in the sand and ignored the issue.
So yesterday was this amazing warm spring day, and all I could think about was driving around with my windows down and sunroof open, enjoying the breeze floating through my windows and sunlight beaming down on me from above. Inspired and motivated by what could only be described as acute spring fever, I decided to pull out the tool box and get back to work on the car. Only, I really didn't do much, other than reconnect the battery and check to make sure some of the main fuses and electrical connections were OK... And somehow, almost magically, the car cranked over and the engine slowly stumbled itself back to life. It took a few minutes for the idle speed to stabilize, and there was a bit of ticking under the hood... But I could just sense that with some warming up, everything would be just fine.
The tank was low on fuel, so while the car was still trying to idle itself straight, I took my brother's car down to the corner and filled up a 5-gallon container with super unleaded. By the time I got back, the idle was nice and even and the car sounded great, aside from the ticking. I dumped the 5 gallons into the fuel tank, and also poured in some octane booster and fuel injector cleaner... I'm not even sure if they'd necessarily help any, but I figured they probably wouldn't hurt and went ahead with it. I let the car idle for a couple minutes, then turned on my lights and checked to see if all of my turn signals were in working order... Check. After a preliminary safety check, I decided it was time to head out on the road and let the car stretch a bit.
I expected the ride to be rough... The flat spots on the tires would cause the car to lump around a bit, but with some warming up I knew they'd round themselves out, and I was right. After a few minutes, the motor warmed up, and the ticking under the hood disappeared. The brake pads and rotors had just been replaced and were basically brand spankin' new when the car was parked for storage. While in storage, the rotors had accumulated some dust/rust, so I ran through a few 60-to-0 MPH braking cycles, and once again the brakes were cleaned off and quiet and effortlessly stopping the car as they always have.
I meant to take the car for a brief exercise run, but each time I began to head back to my house I repeatedly came with a new excuse for why I needed to turn back onto the highway and continue driving the car for a little while longer. What was supposed to be a 5-minute run turned out to be an hour-long cruise.
I haven't been so excited about the car in years... It feels so good to be back in the driver's seat and pushing around such an awesome piece of machinery.
As some of you may know, I moved to Manhattan during the fall of 2005. I couldn't take the car with me, so it remained in storage (er, hibernation) at my mother's house in suburban New Jersey. I figured rather than sell the car, I'd keep it for the occasional road trip or whatever. Well, as it turns out, I never quite took any road trips, and very rarely even visited the car while living in the city.
Fast forward to November 2006. I moved back in with my family in NJ, but continued to work in Manhattan, commuting via mass transit. My girlfriend and I were planning a road trip to Vermont in December, so I decided to do a tune-up / oil change / coolant flush, as the car had been sitting for a while and I knew it'd appreciate the attention. Upon finishing up under the hood, I installed a new battery and crossed my fingers, hoping everything would be just fine as I turned the key.... *PriceIsRightSadTrombone.Wav* No such luck. The starter would engage and try to turn the motor over, but the engine just wouldn't catch, nor even stumble a bit. I figured it was a bad CPS or something, maybe even a fuel issue. I was bummed, and felt too defeated to pursue the issue any further. The car would sit for the next 4 months while I stuck my head in the sand and ignored the issue.
So yesterday was this amazing warm spring day, and all I could think about was driving around with my windows down and sunroof open, enjoying the breeze floating through my windows and sunlight beaming down on me from above. Inspired and motivated by what could only be described as acute spring fever, I decided to pull out the tool box and get back to work on the car. Only, I really didn't do much, other than reconnect the battery and check to make sure some of the main fuses and electrical connections were OK... And somehow, almost magically, the car cranked over and the engine slowly stumbled itself back to life. It took a few minutes for the idle speed to stabilize, and there was a bit of ticking under the hood... But I could just sense that with some warming up, everything would be just fine.
The tank was low on fuel, so while the car was still trying to idle itself straight, I took my brother's car down to the corner and filled up a 5-gallon container with super unleaded. By the time I got back, the idle was nice and even and the car sounded great, aside from the ticking. I dumped the 5 gallons into the fuel tank, and also poured in some octane booster and fuel injector cleaner... I'm not even sure if they'd necessarily help any, but I figured they probably wouldn't hurt and went ahead with it. I let the car idle for a couple minutes, then turned on my lights and checked to see if all of my turn signals were in working order... Check. After a preliminary safety check, I decided it was time to head out on the road and let the car stretch a bit.
I expected the ride to be rough... The flat spots on the tires would cause the car to lump around a bit, but with some warming up I knew they'd round themselves out, and I was right. After a few minutes, the motor warmed up, and the ticking under the hood disappeared. The brake pads and rotors had just been replaced and were basically brand spankin' new when the car was parked for storage. While in storage, the rotors had accumulated some dust/rust, so I ran through a few 60-to-0 MPH braking cycles, and once again the brakes were cleaned off and quiet and effortlessly stopping the car as they always have.
I meant to take the car for a brief exercise run, but each time I began to head back to my house I repeatedly came with a new excuse for why I needed to turn back onto the highway and continue driving the car for a little while longer. What was supposed to be a 5-minute run turned out to be an hour-long cruise.
I haven't been so excited about the car in years... It feels so good to be back in the driver's seat and pushing around such an awesome piece of machinery.
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