Bronco sat for a while--what is needed before start?

[arizonabronco]

Hi Everyone,

I have an 1989 Ford Bronco XLT 5.8 with unknown miles that has been sitting in my carport since October 2010(person I bought it from in 2008 said the engine had been rebuilt and about 40,000 miles were on the rebuilt when I bought it). Odometer currently reads about 90,000 (it read 79,000 when I bought it). Right before it "died" it had a new starter, battery and alternator put into it. About 1 month before it finally died it was having intermittent ignition problems. My husband had been planning on working on it, but as life happens, it sat longer than we wanted. We got a little drive around town car to run errands and the poor Bronco has sat since October 2010. Assuming he gets the ignition issue worked out (and that was the actual problem), what do we need to think about before trying to fire the truck back up?

Other issues it had during the time we drove it (from November 2008-October 2010):

Steady oil leak

Some fuel injection problems (intermittent stalling at idle)

Some electrical (windows not rolling up or down)

Any words of advice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rons beast]

Judging from your handle, you're in a dry location. It has only been 10 months, so I would put some Seafoam in the tank, check the oil, and crank her up. Watch for the oil preasure to come up, and let her idle for a few min. Then shut down and check the oil again. I think I would be concerened with oil contamination, and change the oil and filter at that point. Check all the fluids, and get a fresh tank of fuel.

Then it's time to look after those other prolems.

Good Luck

 

[Bronc76]

Drain and replace the gas, more than likely its probably gone bad anyway,and replace any fuel filters.Change oil and filter, and change the coolant. Not actually sure if coolant can go bad, but its not that hard to do. More than likely the battery is dead, so that may have to be addressed along with cleaning the terminals. You may also want to look at the plugs and wires. If the wires are hard to bend or stiff, they may be dried up or corroded. Check the cap and make sure it isn't cracked.

 

[Krafty]

I can help with one of your less serious issues, for the windows if and when they stop working again take the interior door panel off, pull the connector apart and check for power at the plug when the switch is pressed, (less likely) if you dont have power then you have a short somewhere, consult a wiring diagram and check connections further back in the circuit to locate where the short is.

Most likley you have power at the switch and a window motor that is getting old and tired, it happens.

if you have been having ignition issues before you parked it I would recommend getting new Plugs, wires , cap and rotor along with the fuel and air filters.Oil change or at least top up untill you find the source of your oil leak.

Good luck

 

[nelbur]

After 9 or 10 months the fuel will have lost it's volatile components that will make it a bit harder to start, but it should not have seriously degraded. I would add 10 gallons of fresh regular and a couple bottles of a good fuel system cleaner, and start it up. Once you have burned the old gas I would change the oil.

The mileage is likely 190,000. I don't think it could be 290,000 because he would have had to put about 240,000 on the old engine. Mine only lasted 145,000, so I'm guessing he got more like 140,000 on his original engine. Ford apparently didn't expect the truck to go more than 100M or they would have put an extra digit on the odometer. Mine now has 225M, but many parts have been changed. It is sort of like the old hammer with three new handles and one new head.