I am a soldier who is currently serving here in iraq. I left my Acura Tl in car storage and has been there for the last 9 months and i wont be back till this december. I am kind of worried about the car because it hasnt been started and has been just sitting there. What kind of problems would i might run into and i would appreciate it if you guys can tell me what all i have to change to have my car perform like it did before without any problems. THANK YOU

 

Thank You for your Service!

The TL wil be fine- just recharge the battery, throw a can of seafoam in the gas tank to deal with the naturally occuring moisture thats going to be in there- seafoam will make it so it wont hurt the engine as processed through.

Drive it and enjoy

Of course an oil change after sitting is mandatory as well- before starting it would be a good idea

We hope to see you back on the roads here soon- again thanks!

 

Indeed...thank you for your service!

Other then what 01tl said, tires will probably need some air, that should be about it.

 

Thanks man!!
As far as storing the car there are a lot of things people will tell you. Regardless of what people say the best thing to do to a long term stored car is DONT START it. Some people think starting there car and letting it idle for a while helps it out. It actually is the worst thing you can do to it. What you did was perfect just let it sit then when it comes time to take it out of storage start it and drive it NORMALLY. Maybe fill up the gas tank with fresh fuel and when you get to it do an oil change. Other than the basics like checking tire pressure there is absolutely nothing you have to do.

James

 

Some people recommend cranking the engine over without letting it fire up it to get the oil to re-coat all the metal to metal surfaces.

There's usually an oil film left on the rings and cylinder walls after shutting down the engine. Supposedly, if the engine is left sitting for long periods this thin film of oil will eventually drain down, leaving the metal essentially uncoated.

They say the ideal way to get oil flowing to all surfaces is to spin the oil pump without turning over the engine, but I wouldn't know how to do this (or if it's possible) with the TL.

A more common way to do it is to pull the fuse for the fuel pump, if there is one. I don't have the service manual in front of me so can't tell if the TL has a separate fuel pump fuse.

Some people may even pull the spark plugs and squirt a bit of oil into each cylinder before cranking it over, but this seems to be a lot more work.

As stated above, changing the oil first, before starting it up, is recommended to be sure that clean fresh oil is getting to all the bearing surfaces.

Other things to be aware of:
1. Tires becoming flat spotted. You'll feel this as a "thump, thump, thump". With modern tires this usually goes away after driving on them for a while.
2. Gasoline going "stale". Gasoline stored for long periods can go stale, causing hard starting and poor performance. Stale enough gasoline could prevent starting all together.
3. Seizing of bearings in some ancillary equipment, like the alternator. This depends on the environment that the car was stored in, and the state of these parts at that time.

Point 3 is only an observation from personal experience. We had an older Integra that I was holding until my son got his license. It was parked outside over the winter, so it underwent lots of wet and cold weather cycles.

When we went to restart it in the spring the alternator bearings had seized, probably due to moisture causing rust, etc. The car started fine but we immediately got the loud sound of belt squeal and then a second or two later, bang!, as the drive belt snapped. When we pulled the alternator out we found it was seized up solid. We had no issues with it at all before parking it.

 

Don't worry about the car, just get home safely. As stated the car will only need a little attention. Also, thanks for serving.

 

It doesn't matter now but topping off the tank with fuel will make it last much longer.

Also on the doesn't matter anymore list, an ester based oil like redline will stick to cylinders better but I've torn engines down that sat for a year and they still had oil everywhere so it's really a non issue.

When you first start it, just watch the oil pressure light, make sure it goes out in a few seconds and don't touch the throttle for the first 10 seconds or so. If you want to crank it without firing it just to get oil pressure up, most cars have a clear flood mode where you hold the gas on the floor while cranking and it shuts the fuel injectors off. I've never checked to see if the TL has this feature but most cars since the 80s have it.

Good luck and get back safe! My father has been over there for the past 3 years with the State Department, he'll be back for good in November.

 

Guys he is only storing the car for a relatively short period of time. Now a car that has been stored since 1960 sure I can see doing that stuff. Not a modern fuel injected motor lol