Expert: Rob Painter - 9/6/2010

Question
My father gave me his 89 cadillac sedan deville that he bought off the carlot. It's been sitting up for 5 years outside on a inclined hill. The tires are flat and the bolts to the hub caps are rusted to where i can't get them off with the key. I asked a mechanic i know and he said I should start by dropping the gas tank. My question is where should i start on restoring this once before beauty back to complete standards. Any suggestions will be highly appreciated. Thanx BIG ROB!!!!!!!

Answer
Hello,

You could be looking at a lot of work. Gas tank has to come out and be boiled out possibly at a radiator shop. Probaly would not hurt to put a new fuel pump in at the same time. Change the fuel filter. Under the hood purchase a new plastic fuel line at the manifold. It connects the steel line from the tank to the injector manifold. The plastic is notorious for getting brittle over age and fracturing.

Before connecting filter under car near tank, from under the hood, blow air through the line. Hopefully fuel injectors are not varnished up.

If gasloine sits for months muchless years, if stable is not added to the gas it breaks down coating everything and will not burn properly. EPA has made it so gasoline breaks down much quicker than it used to.


Next, you should check each wheel with jacking up one at a time that they rotate freely. The brake fluid should be flushed. The oil should be changed and the radiator must be flushed.

You may want to change the differential fluid.

The transmission should be flushed. If there is no dipstick transmission is closed system and has to be done at any GM dealer.

Change battery.

Also make sure that a squirrel or mouse did not move into engine compartment.

It will cost some money to do this, but once done, you should have a car you can drive trouble free for a long time.

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