I'm hopefully going to be starting my s14a for the first time in 7 years after a perlonged rebuild. After looking up online the following is the most complete advice I could find but was wondering if it's accurate?
Make sure there's fresh oil in the engine before you start it. You don't want 4 years of sludge buildup being sucked in by your oil pump, since there's a 90% chance the oil is so thick and cold, the filter will be bypassed and all the crap ends up in your narrow oil galleries, possibly blocking them and/or damaging main and big end bearings and such.
Check coolant level and inspect hoses for possible dried out weak spots.
If at all possible, get the cam/rocker cover off and lube a bit extra there. A dab of moly grease on the cams and/or rockers helps.
Inspect the belt and tensioners, if the engine has a belt drive distribution. Tensioners have a habit of getting stuck on one position so try and wiggle/wobble them a bit if possible. If the belt looks dried out or otherwise questionable, replace it before starting the engine.
Take the spark plugs out after you've cleaned the area around them, you don't want debris falling in. Check them and replace if not "as new", but don't put them in yet.
Rotate the engine the proper direction by hand, to feel for snags and blocking.
If all seems okay, disable high voltage ignition. Either pull the 12V from your coil(s) or unplug the crank sensor if it's an electronical system.
Disable fuel injection by unplugging the crank sensor or pull all plugs on the injectors (make sure you know which one goes where)
Crank the engine for up to 20 seconds, check for oil pressure. If you only have a warning light and no dial, you may want to keep the cam/rocker cover on loosely. After those 20 seconds, check for fresh oil on the cams. Repeat a few times if required. If repeating doesn't get you any oil pressure, either your indicator is broken, or you have a serious problem with your oil system. Check and repair where required.
If you have a freely running engine with oil pressure and fresh oil everywhere, you can put it back together again.*
If at all possible, get fresh fuel, 4 year old fuel isn't going to be the same. Gasoline is a rather active mixture of hundreds of chemical components. Some vaporize, some react with each other, so after 4 years, it won't be the best anymore. You may be able to run an engine on it, but I'd toss it in a shopping vehicle that's running well, not in a car that could use all the help it needs to get going again.
Make sure the clutch engages and disengages and you are in neutral before you attempt to start the car. You wouldn't be the first to depress the clutch and still have the wheels connected to the engine. Plates stick sometimes.
Start her up! Let her warm up, check for defects, damages, strange noises and such. Let her run until the fans kick in and let her cool off.*
Then replace coolant if you haven't already. Yes, that stuff is a chemical mix as well and needs replacement after a few years, even when the engine hasn't been running. It reacts with air and it has corrosion inhibitors that have to work inside your engine, whether you run it or not.
Once you have that sorted out, make sure you have tires, brakes and other safety features checked and fixed before you drive the car. Brake fluid also needs to be changed, same story about chemicals, reactions and in this case, water taken in. The stuff attracts water and you don't want your brake pipes to rust, clog up or boiling brake fluid
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but with some load so new piston rings on honed bores wear together
Originally Posted by johnnyhillen
