Havent started her up in 4 years. To dos?

[gurpgork]

I've had my E46 M3 in storage for the last 4 or 5 years. Gas tank is 1/3 full and oil was changed before it went into storage. I want to start her up. I'll drain the old gas and replace with new, but I wanted to get some feedback on whether I should be doing anything else before just turning her over. Thanks in advance.

[Shonky]

My 2c

Look for any signs of vermin
Battery will be shot unless you had it on a tender.
Check oil level but also quality - does it have any fuel or water in it?
I'd pull the fuel pump fuse and crank it to get some oil flowing - not sure if you can get enough pressure to get the pressure light out though.
Take a look at brake fluid, but it's probably good enough to get going. It should be changed shortly though.
Check coolant level/condition.
Drain as much fuel as possible and dilute with fresh fuel as much as possible - watch for leaks from perished rubber etc. When you've got the fuel pump fuse back in and about to start, I'd let it prime a couple of times and then look for any obvious leaks.

Other than that I'd not bother with too much else after that amount of time to get it started but I'd then go and change the oil and the oil/fuel filters in particular but also other fluids like coolant.

Given it's a car worth putting money into, you may even consider doing the oil change first but if it was new oil before putting it into storage it will be fine to get it running IMO.

[Syfon]

Change the oil and filter again. Remove fuel pump fuse; crank is for a short while to build up oil pressure. Maybe remove the valve cover and visually inspect? My $0.02...

I'm sure others will chime in with their suggestions!

[Mr.wReckless]

The cylinder walls will probably be dry, I see some engine rebuilders mist the walls via the spark plug hole so you won't score the cylinders on the initial crank, it wouldn't hurt to do this whilst cranking the engine, IMO by hand initially then with the starter motor. It'll also help with oil pressure and distribution initially so you won't dry start the engine after 4 years sitting.

Regards

[gurpgork]

My 2c

Look for any signs of vermin
Battery will be shot unless you had it on a tender.
Check oil level but also quality - does it have any fuel or water in it?
I'd pull the fuel pump fuse and crank it to get some oil flowing - not sure if you can get enough pressure to get the pressure light out though.
Take a look at brake fluid, but it's probably good enough to get going. It should be changed shortly though.
Check coolant level/condition.
Drain as much fuel as possible and dilute with fresh fuel as much as possible - watch for leaks from perished rubber etc. When you've got the fuel pump fuse back in and about to start, I'd let it prime a couple of times and then look for any obvious leaks.

Other than that I'd not bother with too much else after that amount of time to get it started but I'd then go and change the oil and the oil/fuel filters in particular but also other fluids like coolant.

Given it's a car worth putting money into, you may even consider doing the oil change first but if it was new oil before putting it into storage it will be fine to get it running IMO.

For the most part the car is sound. It was converted to a race prepped car in 2012 and saw track service until 2015 (engine rebuild) when limp mode issue side lined it (I'll need to deal with that after).
All fluids were replaced back in 2017 when it was last started and stowed away in my trailer. I have no issues changing out all the fluids again. I was primarily thinking about the startup procedure for a car that handnt been started in a while.

What is the significance of trying to get the Oil light to go out?

Thanks.

[gurpgork]

Change the oil and filter again. Remove fuel pump fuse; crank is for a short while to build up oil pressure. Maybe remove the valve cover and visually inspect? My $0.02...

I'm sure others will chime in with their suggestions!

Awesome. Thanks for the tip.

[gurpgork]

The cylinder walls will probably be dry, I see some engine rebuilders mist the walls via the spark plug hole so you won't score the cylinders on the initial crank, it wouldn't hurt to do this whilst cranking the engine, IMO by hand initially then with the starter motor. It'll also help with oil pressure and distribution initially so you won't dry start the engine after 4 years sitting.

Regards

Thank you for your note. Misting the cylinders with a few ml's of oil makes sense. I've heard about hand cranking the engine. That sounds like it requires some disassembly of the front end to get long enough ratchet in there. But will that do anything to help pull any of the engine oil anywhere? I assume that misting of the cylinders plus hand cranking to provide 2 or 3 revolutions should do it?

[heinzboehmer]

Thank you for your note. Misting the cylinders with a few ml's of oil makes sense. I've heard about hand cranking the engine. That sounds like it requires some disassembly of the front end to get long enough ratchet in there. But will that do anything to help pull any of the engine oil anywhere? I assume that misting of the cylinders plus hand cranking to provide 2 or 3 revolutions should do it?

If you lift up the car, there might be enough room between the mechanical fan and harmonic balancer pylley to slip in a ratchet. Can't say for sure since I haven't had a mechanical fan on my car for years, but I do know that there's enough room with the fan off and radiator shroud still on.

+1 to lightly misting the cylinder walls and slowly hand cranking to get that oil distributed. I don't think you'll be able to rotate the oil pump fast enough by hand to pump oil through the rest of the engine.

[MTiz]

Which fuse is the fuel pump fuse? As a matter of fact, where is the fuse box located in these cars? Glove box?

Can someone explain this process more? I've recently changed my oil filter housing and had low pressure on the first crank. Immediately shut it down and haven't touched the car since.

[gurpgork]

If you lift up the car, there might be enough room between the mechanical fan and harmonic balancer pylley to slip in a ratchet. Can't say for sure since I haven't had a mechanical fan on my car for years, but I do know that there's enough room with the fan off and radiator shroud still on.

+1 to lightly misting the cylinder walls and slowly hand cranking to get that oil distributed. I don't think you'll be able to rotate the oil pump fast enough by hand to pump oil through the rest of the engine.

I had a feeling we might be going here. All good I guess. Better to noodle it out here then to have made a serious faux pas and risk futzing up the motor. Sadly this will be a little beyond my technical capabilities as I have no storage or work area for the car. I'll need to bring it in to a shop I can trust. Not many of those around. The fellow that built the car was the chief mechanic, but it appears he has taken a sabbatical from the auto industry.

Thank you for chiming in!!

[gurpgork]

Which fuse is the fuel pump fuse? As a matter of fact, where is the fuse box located in these cars? Glove box?

Can someone explain this process more? I've recently changed my oil filter housing and had low pressure on the first crank. Immediately shut it down and haven't touched the car since.

A fuse box should be on the passenger side back/under the glove compartment. I believe there may be some others, mainly in the engine bay under a plastic cover near the shock tower. There were a few others that we ran into as we rewired it.

[gabylonfive]

Which fuse is the fuel pump fuse? As a matter of fact, where is the fuse box located in these cars? Glove box?

Can someone explain this process more? I've recently changed my oil filter housing and had low pressure on the first crank. Immediately shut it down and haven't touched the car since.

fuel pump is fuse 54

[Shonky]

For the most part the car is sound. It was converted to a race prepped car in 2012 and saw track service until 2015 (engine rebuild) when limp mode issue side lined it (I'll need to deal with that after).
All fluids were replaced back in 2017 when it was last started and stowed away in my trailer. I have no issues changing out all the fluids again. I was primarily thinking about the startup procedure for a car that handnt been started in a while.

What is the significance of trying to get the Oil light to go out?

Thanks.

Oil light going out means you have full oil pressure. I'm saying you might *not* get enough pressure by just cranking it but cranking should still at least get some oil flowing and up in to the engine. I wouldn't necessarily crank on it for ever trying for the oil light. Not great for the starter. Take it in 5 or 10 second goes and give the starter a break between.

Fogging or oiling the cylinders as suggested can't hurt too but will require removing the top cover and plugs (certainly not a big job though).

You won't be able to manually crank from above but remove the front undertray and should be fairly easy particularly if you get the plugs out.

[gurpgork]

Oil light going out means you have full oil pressure. I'm saying you might *not* get enough pressure by just cranking it but cranking should still at least get some oil flowing and up in to the engine. I wouldn't necessarily crank on it for ever trying for the oil light. Not great for the starter. Take it in 5 or 10 second goes and give the starter a break between.

Fogging or oiling the cylinders as suggested can't hurt too but will require removing the top cover and plugs (certainly not a big job though).

You won't be able to manually crank from above but remove the front undertray and should be fairly easy particularly if you get the plugs out.

Thanks. Someone on E46Fanatics gave me a good idea to engage it in 6th and try turning with the tire. Worst case I think a few friends and me should be able to push it in 6th to manually crank it a few time.

[Thoglan]

Thanks. Someone on E46Fanatics gave me a good idea to engage it in 6th and try turning with the tire. Worst case I think a few friends and me should be able to push it in 6th to manually crank it a few time.

I don't think you'll be able to build enough oil pressure from the wheels, any reason you can't use the starter?

Very easy to pull the fuel pump fuse and crank it over on the starter. Pretty sure you can get the oil light to go off just from that but would be worth checking that.