Storage and now old gas

I would probably take out as much fuel as I could then refill with new. Dropping the tank is a bit of a pain if it has much gas so I would grab a cheap fluid transfer pump form Harbor freight. I think they are about 15 bucks or so.and for all the science guys I’m not saying this has to be done it’s just what I would be comfortable with.

 

Sadly, today's gas doesn't have the shelf life it used to. And with the ethanol in has nowadays, if the tank isn't full, you could have some condensation, water in the tank. Techron, seafoam, sta-bil. Add some and then make the truck look like it's sitting through an earthquake to get it mixed in the tank.

Get in, start, drive, enjoy being behind the wheel again.

 

The battery will most likely need replacing but you could try saving it. Charge it up & test it. It might be like trying to charge a block of wood.

You could dump a little oil in a clean drain pan to see if it’s milky. I’d run it to get it to full operating temperature first. It’s difficult to see milkyness on the dip stick.

 

Maybe take a look in the duct work to make sure nothing has built a nest in it

 

Your fuel system is sealed. No way moisture to enter. Full or near empty doesn't matter.

The vapors are encapsulated in the charcoal canister until you start it in 2 years.

The truck is built to withstand ethinol fuel. There won't be any breakdown of components.

You can't syphon fuel out of a Toyota, there is a block in in the fill line.

Fuel stabilizer a work for unsealed fuel systems. You won't gain much more than piece of mind.

Disconnect the battery and hook it back up 3 years later. I bet it starts right up.

 

I will respectfully disagree with most of this.

 

This is a good plan. I’ve read they like the area around the cabin air filter, behind the glove box.

 

Thank you everyone! My next concern is that surely oil has drained out of the upper cylinder heads. Should I pull the injectors or spark plugs and squirt some fogging oil in there To lube the rings for start up after all this time? My Tacoma is in great shape ... at least was before I parked it ..... I'd do preventative maintenance if it would save me trouble down the road. Too much worry or not?

Thanks again, Tom

 

Too much worry. Something I saw one one of the old spike tv shows. A reservoir filled with pressurized oil you open before starting the engine, then close before turning it off. It sent pressurized oil up into the engine to prevent dry starts. I figured if it made any kind of a difference, I'd have heard about it again, but just the one time.

I think your issues will be old gas doesn't want to start, and battery doesn't want to crank or hold a charge. Maybe dead rodents, and milky motor oil.

 

1.5 years isn't old for gas..... just drive it like you stole it

 

Too much thinking going on. You should ask this if it doesn’t start. Then start Troubleshooting. If it runs, drive it to a gas station and top it off with fresh gas.

 

Maybe consider it this way. Taking care of the things you are concerned with definitely isn’t going to hurt anything. 18 months is long enough for an oil change so may as well. Same thing with the fuel. Just crawl under the truck disconnect the filler neck from the tank and pump the old crap out. What’s that going to take maybe 30 min and the cost you will lose in the old fuel? No big deal then you don’t even have to bother with the debate on whether or not it’s good. It might be fine as is but who cares nothing wrong with a bit of preventative maintenance.

 

To be fair, a POS mower (or any small engine) is going to care about bad gas much less than a modern fuel injected engine with cats...