Well I got my car home today it smoked big time for about 20 minutes and wouldn't idle on its own for like another 20 but eventually it idled I figured it was just burning some of that 3 year old gas .. I am currently looking for a new gauge cluster . It has no power right now but I was thinking it may be because it has been sitting up for so long I need to replace the hoses and then oil change, tune up , radiator flush and fill and whatever else I can figure out .. Just thought I would keep everyone posted and see if anyone can gimmie some more ideas ..

 

I woudl say check your OMP too... defn dont want that to be dead.

 

dang...if it sat for 3 years and you drove it on 3 year old gas it wasn't gas by then...its varnish......dunno if that damages lines but i'd clean that crap out quick...my car sat for 5 years and i drained the fuel first...filled it with a fresh tankful THEN started it up

initial things i did:
1. did the atf trick using MMO
2. change fuel filter
3. oil filter and oil change
4. change tranny fluid
5. change differential fluid
6. new spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor
7. rad flush (i didn't do this yet )
8. change belts
9. change brake fluid and pads

once done then i'd start diagnosing the problems...checking for leaks (oil and antifreeze)...so on and so forth...

good luck

 

I doubt you need a new gauge cluster... What do you mean by ''no power''. No lights, but all instruments working? No instruments and no lights? Only backlights work, but no warning lights? Could be a fuse problem, or dirty contacts, but I doubt you need a new cluster.

 

I mean that the back lights don't work and the gauges don't work too well.. . The only ones that work is the speedometer and temp gauge .. and that's it ..

 

ok so check the connection to the oil pressure sender, it connects to the mushroom lookin thing under your air to water oil cooler under the oil filter. if that makes the gauge work go ahead and track down the rest of the senders. its a place to start anyways

 

The tach not working is usually a sign that the trailing ignitor on the distributor has gone bad.

 

I keep driving it trying to burn out some of the carbon in the engine and maybe burn some of that old gas but when I go to drive it I have to hold down the accelerator to like 3500 rpms and it won't idle on it's own until the temp. gauge gets half way adn then it will idle on it's own .. Any Idea's ?

 

The temp gauge should NEVER get 1/2 way up. Drain out all that old gas, fill it with new gas. Flush the cooling system and get new coolant in it, put in a new thermostat. Check for spark on all 4 plugs, I doubt you have it. Get a HAYNES manual and test the ignitors. It's a very simple test using the cars battery, a few wires, and a 12v light bulb.

 

Im wiht coldy on the spark issue, and another common thing is the fuel filter.. I woudlent be surprised if there was some rust in your tank after sitting for 3 years unless the gas tank was topped off. :[