Here is my story. I parked my 1991 740 Turbo Wagon running 4 years ago. It hasn't been started in 3 1/2 years and I am attempting to sell the car. I am selling it as is, but I am getting a lot of questions from people asking if they can hook up a new battery and try and start it. My thought is that isn't a good idea because the gas is 4 years old in the tank and the rest of the fluids would probably should be changed, especially the oil. What do you think? Here is my detailed ad:

(and if anyone's interested, it's located an hour north of NYC for $500.00)

I am selling my 1991 Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon with a clean NYS title. The car has 228,937 miles on the odometer with an automatic transmission.

After graduating college in the spring of 2005, I parked the car running at my parents home when I moved out of state and got a new car. They started the car and drove it once in awhile for the next 6 months until the battery died. It has not been started or driven since. It sat under a car cover and in a garage for the next 3 years. Last year the car had been moved out of the garage, but still kept under the car cover. My original intention was to keep the car and do a Ford 5.0 V8 conversion, but realize now that may never happen. I want to sell the car so someone can get it running again or use it for parts.

I only have records for the last 20k miles or so. My family bought this car in 1994/1995 and it was always maintained well with oil changes every 3k miles. The turbocharger was replaced around 160k miles. When the car was parked, everything worked including power windows, power door locks, sunroof/tilt, heated seats, lights, gauges, front and rear wipers. The A/C was not working when parked due to a bad compressor (the belt was taken off).

Some obvious problems is a dented front driver's side fender from where I hit a deer. Nothing else was affected and hood opens and closes with no problem. I replaced the turn signal housing that was broken. The front driver's door has been rusting on the bottom (about 6" round), but it has not rusted through and feels solid. The only other rust I see, is from a parking lot ding by the rear driver's wheel.

The wagon will come with a bicycle roof rack, third seat and also has rare dealer installed Volvo fog lights! Overall the car is in decent shape for years and miles. Interior looks pretty good and is clean. I am pretty firm on the price as I know that parts alone are worth more than the asking price. I can supply more pictures upon request. Here are some of the latest records I could find for the car:

8/27/2002 – 210,591 miles
Lube/Oil Change
Replaced broken timing belt and 2 bent valves (1 intake, 1 exhaust valve)
New head gasket
NYS Inspection

11/25/2002 – 211,613 miles
Replaced Power Steering bracket bolt and belt

12/18/2002 – 212,365 miles
New Battery

1/31/2003 – 213,809 miles
Lube/Oil Change
Rotate tires

02/11/2003 – 213,822
Replaced rear calipers rotors and brakes
Replaced engine splash guard

04/15/2003 – 214,331
Flushed Cooling System
Cleaned throttle housing

06/27/2003 –
Replaced alternator belt

07/18/2003 –
Lube/Oil Change
New front and rear wipers

10/21/2003 – 220, 823
Lube/Oil Change
Replaced Water Pump
Replaced heater hose

03/26/2004 – 223,765
Lube/Oil Change

04/30/2004 – 223,970
Repaired broken vacuum line

06/02/2004 – 224,280
Replaced leaking distributor seals, distributor cap and rotor
Replaced fuel pump
Cleaned throttle body
Replaced exhaust stud at outlet of turbocharger

08/20/2004 – 227,168
Replaced fuel pump and filter
Replaced fuel pressure regulator
Mounted two new tires
Replaced brake hose and bled system
NYS Inspection

 

I would go ahead and crank the engine over with the coil disconnected to build oil prssure (ground coil lead to body). Once you can see freshly pumped oil in teh rocker area attempt to start the car.
The old fuel will not be an issue at low speeds/idling, but do not hammer the car till you have fresh fuel.
After you get it running, let it heat up then change oil and filter.
Also take it easy as teh brakes are likely to be fairly ineffective for a few miles due rust.

Regards, Andrew.

 

Before cranking, take out the spark plugs and squirt some oil into the holes. Othewise the walls may get scarred when the pistons start moving up and down.

 

thanks for the tips!

 

You will definitely want to pre-oil/presurize the oil sytem to provide lube to the turbo. Also it wouldnt hurt to lubricate the wastegate valve/turbo controls with a product called Mouse Milk http://www.mousemilk.com/