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My son's car has been mostly sitting in front of our house since August. He wants to bring it back to school at the end of the month. What needs to be checked?
 
My son's car has been mostly sitting in front of our house since August. He wants to bring it back to school at the end of the month. What needs to be checked?

will it even start? battery is probably dead after sitting that long.

if it were me id check all fluids and rubber for cracking, if fluids look good start it up and let it build oil pressure and warm up, see if anything leaks.

I store my car over the winter in the garage and the only thing i really do is stabilize the fuel and plug in the battery tender. Check fluids and air pressure in the spring.
 
will it even start? battery is probably dead after sitting that long.

if it were me id check all fluids and rubber for cracking, if fluids look good start it up and let it build oil pressure and warm up, see if anything leaks.

I store my car over the winter in the garage and the only thing i really do is stabilize the fuel and plug in the battery tender. Check fluids and air pressure in the spring.
Brake rotors probably rotted too
It's been mostly sitting. My wife starts it and warms it up and sometimes even drives it for a few miles a couple of times a month.

I drove it to HD last week and the brakes sound like shit, but it's a Land Rover and they always sounded like shit.
 
It's been mostly sitting. My wife starts it and warms it up and sometimes even drives it for a few miles a couple of times a month.

I drove it to HD last week and the brakes sound like shit, but it's a Land Rover and they always sounded like shit.


if its been driven a couple times a month i wouldnt be any more worried than normal (i mean its a land rover so i cant say i wouldnt be worried), get some fresh gas in the tank and make sure the fluids are still where they should be and drive it.

if the brakes sound like shit that needs to be checked, but as a separate issue
 
It's been mostly sitting. My wife starts it and warms it up and sometimes even drives it for a few miles a couple of times a month.

I drove it to HD last week and the brakes sound like shit, but it's a Land Rover and they always sounded like shit.
What LR is it? Disco, RRC, and Defender brakes are good and actually easy to work on (well for a full floater anyway). Maybe some debri got into the splash guards (I've taken mine off on my last 3 builds).
 
What LR is it? Disco, RRC, and Defender brakes are good and actually easy to work on (well for a full floater anyway). Maybe some debri got into the splash guards (I've taken mine off on my last 3 builds).
Just an LR2. I'm not working on this thing at all. No time. Whatever we decide will be my neighbor's problem. He does this for a living.
 
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Just an LR2. I'm not working on this thing at all. No time. Whatever we decide will be my neighbor's problem. He does this for a living.
One thing I've learned in 44 yrs of turning wrenches... It's never my problem, it's the owner's problem(s) or in this case the parents :rolleyes:
 
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One thing I've learned in 44 yrs of turning wrenches... It's never my problem, it's the owner's problem(s) or in this case the parents :rolleyes:
When the Trans went in my last Suburban my neighbor rebuilt it for me. He refused to accept a payment. But payback is a bitch. He shows up at my shop one day with some rusted out Schwinn Tandem he wanted to restore and give to his wife. I would have rather have paid for my transmission for the amount of work that took.
 
My son calls me to come check a Friend's car with the CE light on. Drive to them and fire up the VW with 43k miles and can hear the misfire. Plug in the obd reader. Misfire on 3. Car is not limping but the misfire is bad. Send him home with knowledge. He can't wrench. Wonder what they sell him?
 
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My son calls me to come check a Friend's car with the CE light on. Drive to them and fire up the VW with 43k miles and can hear the misfire. Plug in the obd reader. Misfire on 3. Car is not limping but the misfire is bad. Send him home with knowledge. He can't wrench. Wonder what they sell him?
Well, if he drives it mis-firing, he can kiss the cat converter byebye. It does not take much to toast them.
 
My son calls me to come check a Friend's car with the CE light on. Drive to them and fire up the VW with 43k miles and can hear the misfire. Plug in the obd reader. Misfire on 3. Car is not limping but the misfire is bad. Send him home with knowledge. He can't wrench. Wonder what they sell him?
95% it's a coil.
 
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