Starting stored 308 "Precautions"?

How long over a year? How was it running before you stored it, has it been started at all in the interim & how much gas is in the tank?

 

The risks (and nobody can tell you whether it will be a problem or not):

Bad gas could cause a problem depending on what grade (and ethanol concentration) it had in it.

Cam belts/bearings could be an issue (and that would be expensive) - obviously less likely to fail if they were relatively young

You might see cam oil seal leaks after you start running it

On balance, and if the belts & bearings were not too old, I would turn the key & start it. Maybe put some oil in the cylinders first but its unlikely to kill it if you don't.

You might want to roll it backwards and forwards before you attempted to drive it to make sure the brakes/parking brake are not stuck on - and check the tyre pressures too.

But its not mine.

 

Check for puddles under the car to make sure it didn't leak out all of it's lubricants.
Look for rodent damage to wiring or in the airbox.
Turn the key on and check for fuel leaks.
After that I'd turn it to START.
Once running, give the brakes a few test applications before you hit the road for that Italian tune up!

 

I'd drain the old gas, put some new in and start the car. I once ran stale gas thru an old jag and the ensuing headache was well massive.

 

Mine was stored for a long time, and I have had it sit for 8 months. Yes the gas will be stale. If it were mine, I would top off the tank with new gas, and drive it. Run it down a 1/4 and top her off again.

I Have also had boats sit for extended period with out "Stable" in the tank. and I have just topped it off and fired it up.

 

I also lost a Jag to separated gas that filled the system with water which is collected at the bottom of the tanks where the pick-up is. Just gave that XJ6 VDP away as a tax write off to a charity for the deaf.

 

Turning the engine by hand at the crank would circulate some oil no?

 

Good advice above. How's your Karma?

 

I haven't found any good advice on how to manually prime the oil pump without a lot of trouble, but you could always pour some oil directly into the middle hole of the oil filter pipe with the filter removed, it will go right where it needs to be. If you're concerned about over-filling, just change the oil while you're at it (a good idea in case of moisture collecting) or run a thin siphon down the dipstick tube.

Wouldn't hurt to pull the gas pump fuse and crank the engine a bit to get the oil pump moving, and the parts of the engine moving at a lower speed and without the stress of combustion. You could take the plugs and out disconnect the ignition too so there's no compression, and let you put some oil directly in the cylinders, but IMO that's optional. Rule of thumb is let the starter rest equally as long as it was cranked before the next one, and definitely not longer than 30 seconds, I would say 5-10 seconds max personally.

Other major issue is fuel, I agree with others that you should drain if possible, and put fresh in it. Then if you want to be really careful, remove the safety wire going to the fuel distributor and turn the key to "on" without starting, and let the fuel system run and look around for any new leaks.

And as others have pointed out, check your brakes before getting it out on the road.

 

Lucas makes some stuff you can add to order gas to help get through your existing tank. I found it at walmart, and put about 3 times as much in as they suggested. It also has some sort of cylinder lubricant in it.

Doug