[DeTomaso] Why is it hard to start cars that have been sitting for months?

JDeRyke at aol.com JDeRyke at aol.com
Wed Jan 12 15:42:27 EST 2011


Part of the problem comes from gas that evaporated; 100% does not go away. 
There's always a residue that slowly turns to varnish and plugs up small 
passages in the carb. If you get lucky, the thermal expansion cracks the 
varnish and little pieces make their way thru to be burned- or fall to the bottom 
of the float bowls, out of the way. Second, the hydraulic lifters also drain 
not quite dry but are short of oil which produces large clearances in your 
valvetrain, making for crummy running. Lack of oil in other parts of the 
engine means things stick- like valve stems and even lifters- until fresh hot 
lube reaches them. Dry starts after long quiet storage are bad news; you got 
lucky. Cheers- J Deryke



More information about the DeTomaso mailing list