How To Get It Running After 2 Year Standing Still?

[M.T.Pilot]

Hi folks,

Short story: how to get a toyota starlet running again after about 2 years of standing still?

Long story:
I have a toyota starlet that has not been used for about 2 years (clutch
wasn't working anymore, needed a new slave clutch but I was not in a
hurry as I had a replacement car). About a year ago, I tried to start
it, and almost succeeded (while the Battery had not been charged for
about a year!).

I replaced the piston in the slave clutch system
and today worked on bleeding the hydraulic system. Tried to jump-start
it (the Battery of the starlet is completely dead by now), it showed the
normal dashboard lights which clearly diminished every time I tried to
start it (as did the engine of the donor car). The sound was a low
volume "rumbling" kind of sound, but it would not start.

How to normally proceed with trying to get a car running after it has been standing still for about two years?

[Cyker]

Did you try changing the Battery?

If you try and jumpstart a car with a really dead Battery the Battery will actually sap power which may be why it won't start. The other thing is the fuel system may need priming, although I'm not sure how you'd do this with petrol.

Does the engine shake a lot when you're running the starter, like if you try and start a car with the immobilizer still active?

[crofter]

After standing for that amount of time and maybe two summers it is possible that the fuel in the system has gone stale causing it to thicken and harden blocking jets etc

If you have not put fresh fuel in, sniff the filler tube and if there is a tang of varnish then that has happened.

Carburettor cleaner will cure this but may involve some stripping of the system if that has occurred as there are some very,very small jets that can be affected as it does not take much to block them.

I have seen some carb bowls that look as if varnish has been poured into them, you cant miss it it gives off a right old pong

An easy way to check this is to remove the spark plugs and feed about a teaspoonfull of fresh fuel into each cylinder,replace the plugs and see if it runs for a few seconds.

Del