86 Accord been sitting for 4 years

A friend of mine has a 1986 accord with really nice interor and body that he wants me to take off his hands, Only problem is its been sitting since 2001 but he said before he parked it it ran better then his new car but he just didn't need it anymore. So i'm kinda wondering how hard it will be to get the engine to run again and if its even worth it to try.

Has he even tried to start it since he parked it? What does the motor do when you turn the key - hav you tried?

Well, battery is going to need to be replaced...tires as well, if it wasn't on jackstands, because they will have developed flat spots. The rest all depends, things may have died/gone bad/rusted away/gotten moldy...

Best bet is to check it out and try turning it on (swap a battery from another car temporarily)

Yeah, if it's been sitting u might wanna look at all of the filters to make sure they're clean, change out all ur fluids... + what igovert said... then u'd be good...

I got a new battery for it and i'm gonna try getting it running tomorrow, The thing about the tires being bad disturbs me seeing as they were only 1 week old when he parked it and i can't afford a set of tires.

The flat spots on 4 year old tires are not a major problem. Drive it around slowly for a while on a warm day and the flast spots will go away. As long as the sides are not weather checked, you should be able to get another year out of them.

Jim, in all seriousness, I wouldn't think it's gonna be hard to get this one running, keeping it running might be a problem. Radial tires don't flat spot, at least not permanently, so don't worry about that. Weathering may be an issue, tires that sit around unused, especially mounted are prone to UV and dry rot damage, so watch them closely once you start driving on them. Chances are they'll be fine, but may wear quicker due to degradation of the rubber.

The timing belt is gonna be stiff, stretched, and taken a set in the shape of the way it has been sitting around the sprockets, it will have tight and loose spots that are gonna play hell with the tensioner and lead to belt failure real quick. Same with the other belts.

There is probably going to be some electrical issues stemming from corrosion in connectors. If the car has sat with no battery in it, that would at least be better.

The oil will need changing (obviously) before the car is driven any distance. If auto tranny, dump and fill it too.

If the car was parked outside, check for critter nests, birds and rodents like to nest in airboxes of unused cars, causes some wierd problems if you aren't expecting it.

The brakes may have issues with siezing or dragging due to lack of use, or they may be fine, you'll just have to see.

In general, when I get one like that, the rule of thumb is to "break it in" as if it were a new car, using everything easy at first, and getting progressively more aggressive with it as mileage adds up. You don't want to shock anything into failure.

The top end of that motor hasn't seen oil in years. Check it first before trying to start it, if low at all, add to it first. Might wanna crank it with the coil disconnected for ten seconds or so to get oil moving. Don't want a dry fire cold start episode. Hate hearing all that metal banging into each other without oil.

Good luck!

I would also drop new spark plugs in it before you fire it. It will make it a little easier to start. You will also want to prime it a few times by turning the Key to the on position a couple times before you fire it.

If the car was parked outside, check for critter nests, birds and rodents like to nest in airboxes of unused cars, causes some wierd problems if you aren't expecting it.

And some pretty nasty smells too, especially if a critter died in there!!

A lot depends on WHERE it was parked. If it was outside (in Ohio) that's one thing. If it was in a warm dry garage, that's another.

There are a lot of stories about cars being parked for years and being brought back to life. But there are a lot MORE about the problems that surface some time AFTER reviving a moribund car. Good example by jeffcoslacker - the timing/balancer belts. They may run fine for 10/100/1000 miles, then jump a couple of notches and wreck the motor.

The car has been sitting on back top outside in Clevland Ohio and i'm really not sure if hes let it run since he parked it, That was the impression i got from him but i'll have to ask him today.

The only reason i'm getting the car is cause of the interior and the body, I owned a 87 accord with an a/t about 7 years back and i loved everything about the car except for the tranny which in the end is why i sold it. What i'm hopeing to do is find a slightly wrecked stick that i can take parts off the the 86 and put on it so even if i don't get this one running i'll have some kind of use for it.

I have an 87 Civic that I let sit around for about a year. The main problem I had was the carburetor got clogged really bad with all the gas that had turned into gunk. The fuel line was clogged to. Had to have it rebuilt. So that I think would be your biggest obsticle. That and hoses tend to start rupturing when used after a long lay off. Good Luck