Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice

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Thu 4 Jul 2019 00:13
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - bery_451

Hi,

I have a 2004 Volkswagen Sharan 1.9 TDI SE that I did not use left on my driveway for 2 years. Just been so busy that I didn't get to it until today.

Well obviously the battery was totally dead so I put a new battery in today and I tried to start the car but I get a red error message on dashboard saying STOP check coolant. So I checked the coolant reservoir in engine bay and its empty.

I had no problems or leaks with the car when I parked it up 2 years ago when it had mot then.

Shall I assume that just by filling the coolant reservoir the car will start afterwards? Otherwise can a diesel car standing for 2 years cause coolant to vanish?
How many litres of coolant does my car take and what type of ready mixed coolant shall I buy?

Apart from coolant what else shall I consider looking at for a diesel car standing for 2 years?

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Thu 4 Jul 2019 08:45
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - elekie&a/c doctor

Low coolant will not stop the car starting. I would just fill up the reservoir with plain water for the time being . Check the engine oil level and see if it starts. Once you get it running, I would get the oil and filter replaced and also the coolant/anti freeze.

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Thu 4 Jul 2019 10:31
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - Peter.N.

You shouldn't have any problem with the fuel, it doesn't generally degrade, vehicles have been started after many years with the original diesel.

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Thu 4 Jul 2019 11:12
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - Big John

I thought diesel does degrade in time

https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp-country/en_au/media/fuel-news/long-term-storage-diesel.pdf

Where I work we have two diesel generators supporting two data centres where the fuel has to be "cleaned" on a regular basis. We also do periodic off load and on load tests.

Put some water in the cooling system to check if it is leaking from anywhere - on previous cars where I've started to restore them if they have been stored a while I've encountered all sorts of issues when trying to work on them

  • Fuel tanks rusting badly due to condensation forming because of a temperature drop as the fuel evaporates (shouldn't be an issue here as this is usually petrol cars and it'l have a plastic tank)
  • Corrosion around the cooling system be it waterpump spindles or hose attachment points. I've also encountered rusting /weeping engine core plugs
  • Clutch and brake parts damaged by corrosion - if it's been parked for a long time I usually replace everything including pipes and hoses

Edited by Big John on 04/07/2019 at 11:21

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Thu 4 Jul 2019 12:26
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - bathtub tom

Could rodents have nibbled the hoses? I'm in agreement with the top up with water suggestion, you won't be throwing away new coolant if there's a leak.

You'll need to check the flexible brake pipes and electrics if there's evidence of them.

Tyres will have flatspots and may need replacing unless you can tolerate the thrupenny bit vibration.

Discs will be corroded, but may clean up with some heavy application of the brakes.

MOT could be 'interesting'.

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Thu 4 Jul 2019 23:15
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - edlithgow

Once you get it going, I''d probably replace all the fluids.

If the oil looks shiny I'd probably leave it, but I'd do coolant and brake fluid.

Especially the brake fluid.

This assumes your brakes are OK. If they are seizeed you'll likely be replacing fluid when you work on them.

Edited by edlithgow on 04/07/2019 at 23:23

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Fri 5 Jul 2019 01:32
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - bery_451

Ok took the advice by filling the coolant reservoir with tap water and car started. I didn't see the coolant level drop though but I check again in couple days to see whether its same level or not to rule out coolant leak.

Secondly I took the car for a around the block test drive however changing gears is difficult where I gotta wrestle with it you know what I mean. The gears work but difficult getting into them not smooth. What can cause this? Gearbox oil needs changing? Linkages? Or worst case scenario I need a new gearbox?

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Fri 5 Jul 2019 03:39
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - elekie&a/c doctor
Difficult to engage gears is a classic symptom of a seized clutch operation. Not surprising as it’s been sat for so long.
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Fri 5 Jul 2019 21:08
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - bery_451
Difficult to engage gears is a classic symptom of a seized clutch operation. Not surprising as it’s been sat for so long.

The clutch pedal feels fine though.

Ok how do I un-seized a clutch?

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Fri 5 Jul 2019 22:39
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - elekie&a/c doctor
Take the gearbox out.
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Fri 5 Jul 2019 23:48
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - bathtub tom
Take the gearbox out.

If they can engage the gears, albeit reluctantly, then doesn't that suggest the clutch is working?

I'd suggest they need some way of freeing up the clutch release mechanism (without squirting WD40 randomly in the bell housing).

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Sat 6 Jul 2019 00:07
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - Big John

Does the gearbox have an external clutch slave cylinder? - if a 5 speed 1.9pd it probably does. Under the bonnet - follow the clutch hydraulic pipe to check. Hydraulic cylinders can get a bit sticky (slave or master) with a lack of use. With an external slave cylinder - easy to fix!

Sometimes clutch plates can drag (causing difficult gear changes - especially lower gears) due to rust on flywheel and cover plate facings, which will wear off with use!

Edited by Big John on 06/07/2019 at 00:08

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Sat 6 Jul 2019 02:15
Car left on Driveway for 2 years unused advice - edlithgow
Difficult to engage gears is a classic symptom of a seized clutch operation. Not surprising as it’s been sat for so long.

The clutch pedal feels fine though.

Ok how do I un-seized a clutch?

Use it.

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