'02 Tacoma Sitting For Two Years--How to Restore?

Hello everyone.

My Tacoma has not been moved or started for almost two years. I am planning to visit it soon and try to revive it.

I know for a fact that the battery is dead, and have a new battery ready to go.

I am wondering if anyone can spell out in detail, and in order, what exactly I should do to attempt to revive the vehicle.

For example, I believe I should drain fluids including oil and gas. If that's accurate, I wonder if anyone can give specific instructions about how to do this properly.

Thanks for any help that you can give!

 

welcome

look for and evict any furry squatters and any damage they might have done

 

Thanks. That is first on my list. Assuming they haven't done too much damage, is there a checklist I should follow?

 

Welcome to the forum!

All the normal things Rodents and flying stinging insects that love to build nests.

Check the fluids !

Get as much fresh gas as possible in the tank.

Get it running! Air up the tires.

Where the truck lives plays a big part in any work that needs done

2 years is not all that long I have projects past the10 year mark.

 

Pull the coil wire and let it crank for 20 to 30 seconds to get the oil moving around the engine. Then put the coil wire back in and try starting it.
Don’t forget to watch the temperature gauge in case the thermostat gets stuck.

 

Won't be a coil wire on an 02, they're all coil on plug.

 

I figured the Op would figure things out.

 

I try not to assume - never know who might find it in a search later either.

And as someone who has spent time looking for wires that don't exist, I like to save people time

 

You posted just as I was typing so I changed my post.

 

My bad.

 

I second the other comments saying you won't need much. Fresh gas will be big. It may run like crap initially, but the more fresh gas you add to the tank, the better. Once the old stuff is flushed out, it'll run a lot better. Oil change wouldn't hurt, but you can likely get away with not changing it immediately.

You'll probably need to knock off some rust from the brakes, but that'll happen as you drive it. Make sure you have a firm pedal. The odds that that is suddenly an issue are small, but still there.

Edit: after you get it running and up to temp, make sure you don't have any leaks. Cooling system comes to mind.

 

Thanks. wouldn't it be best to drain the gas first, then add fresh gas? If so, can someone explain how to drain?

 

if you want to drain the gas you will need to remove the gas tank.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. The fresh gas (depending on how much old gas was in there) should dilute the old gas. Two year old gas should still fire, it just won't be like fresh gas. We used to do this procedure for our Mustang when we would get it out of storage for the year. Granted that's only a few months compared to a couple of years, but the same principles should apply.

 

How do I do this?

 

Draining old gas can be a royal pain .

Electric pumps need rated for gasoline .

All the fittings are on the top of the tank

After trying every way it seems just diluting is the best option.

Cooling system leaks are most times easy to spot either coolant is leaking out or your seeing steam from the coolant now in the gas state.

 

Just look over the engine bay and underneath for any signs of anything wet that shouldn't be. You need to wait until it's up to operating temp though to ensure the coolant is flowing throughout the system. Wouldn't hurt to run the heat at full blast during this.

Again, I doubt that anything is wrong with it after only 2 years, but you never know. It is a 20 year old vehicles after all.

 

If this is a serious question, you need to find a friend who is somewhat mechanically savvy to help you with the whole routine.

Can you at least connect the new battery, put the key in the on position (not trying to start it) and see how much fuel registers in the tank?

 

Certainly, I can and will do those things.

 

Not a bad idea IMO. You just have to approach it a little differently on our "modern" Taco critters. Pulling the EFI fuse in the fuse box is a very simple method of de-energizing both the ignition and fuel injection systems. You can then turn the engine over for 10-15 seconds at a time to get the oil circulating. I would do it at least 2-3 times with a 30 second pause in between cycles to get the new oil filter filled with oil. That should mitigate any "dry start" issues without washing the cylinders with unburned gas. I have also pulled the EFI fuse when checking engine compression. Good luck OP, TGIF, and Cheers!