My 96 964 has been garaged for 8 months while I traveled. My trip began before I could do any real maintenance for the long hiatus. So, it has over 6500 miles on the current questionable oil in it's crank case and about 1/3 tank of gas. I have yet to start it because I do not want to damage the engine

My question is, what steps should I take to help reduce the system shock of restart? After restart what method / steps should I take for break-in?

Current condition: 159,000 miles, timing belt change on interval, coolant fluid is good, transmission on synthetic fluid and on interval.

Thanks for any help. I cant wait to drive her again!

Hi NWHSD,

I'd suggest using a portable gas tank to get gas and top off the 960's tank with fresh premium. This will insure most of the gas is fresh. Are you running the engine on synthetic oil? I'd say unplug the coil packs and crank the engine over a bit to build oil pressure. Then plug the packs in right away and start the car. If the engine is a little low on oil, top it up before you do this. If this is the case, estimate how much oil it needs and then poor it in as quick as possible. I say this because if it needs say 1/2 liter it will flood the valvetrain a bit before draining into the oil pan. This will coat some of the cams in fresh oil as the oil that was there has drained off. You may find it difficult to start the engine after you plug the coil packs back in. The "white blocks" are known for having the hydraulic lifters bleed off and end up not wanting to start after the car has been sitting. Hopefully your 960 won't have this problem. Has it ever been dificult to start? If you do have a hard time starting, make sure you can hear the fuel pump running (when the key is turned to ON) and if you hear the fuel pump then keep cranking the engine until it starts. I'm not sure how long is too long to crank at once, but I'd guess no more then 15-30 seconds with maybe a 10 second break between cranks to allow the starter to cool a bit. Hopefully it won't be too hard to start. It may just start right up :) After you get it running and it runs smoothly for a few minutes I'd change the oil and filter. That way the old oil will be warm and should drain nicely. I hope my suggestions help and let us know how it goes!
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Chris. Halifax N.S. '91 745Ti, 291K km and '91 745 NA, 392K km.

Thanks for the reply and your suggestions Chris.
The car has never been difficult to start, it is NOT currently on synthetic oil. Just so my skill level is known, where will I find the coil packs? :) I assume they are related to ignition so I wont get any fire from the plugs while I build oil pressure from the cranking. I understand the sequence, just need to know the correct place to unplug the coils. Do you have sugestions on a synthetic oil?

Thanks!

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'96 960 159K miles

Well that all sounds good but I wouldn't pull the coil packs. This might create some faults to deal with later. I'd find the fuel pump relays and pull them out. Get out your trickle charger and give the battery a full night's charge before you try it, so you don't try to do all this on a partially dead battery. Of course, tire pressures would also be on the list as well as check your brake pads are not stuck to your rotors (can you move the car by hand right now? in Neutral/parking brake off). If they are the wheels will have to be freed up either by removing the wheels and prying off the pads or by giving the car a push (keep someone in the car to stop it with the brakes when they suddenly release). Spinning up the motor to give it some oil pressure before it fires with the fuel pump running will only flood it with fuel and that's probably worse than just 'startin 'er up'. I think the idea to pour in a 1/2 liter of oil first to give the top end something is a good idea as well as filling up the tank with fresh fuel. The extra oil shouldn't hurt anything for a short drive. Since I would believe the fuel in the system is pretty much beat, I would be running some fuel system cleaner/injector cleaner through it once it get's going (next tank). Once that is done you can worry about the water you will have in your tank (condensation). That's the time to run some gasline antifreeze through it (2nd-3rd tank). I wouldn't be so quick to change the oil though. Take it for a drive (nothing special) for 15-20 minutes then do an oil/filter change while it's still warm. This will stir up all the crap in the oil pan and also nicely heat up the motor again to rid the system of condensation.
Do yourself a favour next time you take a long trip (or a short one...1 month). Run some fuel stabilizer through the system on your last day or two before you park it. If you do nothing else, run the stabilizer through it/top the tank. Not the best way but better than nothing.
Just my thoughts.

Excellent suggestions/additions! I thought later after I wrote that about removing the fuel pump relay or fuse instead of unplugging the coil packs. Better idea. As for the 15-20 min drive before changing the oil, and charging the battery, great ideas as well. Synthetic oil; if your 960 is free of oil leaks then switching to syn is a great idea. I use Amsoil 10W40 in my 745 turbo because it's good for the turbo (and the rest of the engine) and I can extend my oil change intervals to make up for the cost difference. I am hopeing to get my hands on my own 960/S90 soon and it will get Amsoil for sure. I hope all goes well!
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Chris. Halifax N.S. '91 745Ti, 291K km and '91 745 NA, 392K km.