Hey guys! it's been a long time, alot of you are probably new. I just finished a 2 year mission for my church and i came home to my 78 supercab in pretty poor shape. My parents just kinda let it sit..... and its not smogged .... and...... and........
It runs... kind of. My dad decided that old gas+new gas was good enough. So I've got some work ahead of me while i drive the tiny jeep cherokee around. Crikey.
THe mission was great, wouldn't trade it for anything. my truck will live again some day haha.
Anyways, I'm wondering if you guys have any revival tips. I know that the gas mixture has gotta go and i should check/ replace most of the fluids. Are there any other things i should look out for?
And another Question. I lifted it 6 inches Before i left and took it for a final hill climb and my drive shaft was whacking into the crossmember at full droop and sheared the 4 bolts that hold the driveshaft to the yoke. I'm probably just gonna fabricate a notch in the crossmember so i have clearance. has anyone else had this problem with a 6 inch on a lowboy? Are there any pictures/ideas of a clean fix for this?

 

Congrats on the mission!

If it were me, I'd change the engine oil and check the rest of the fluids. If you topped the tanks off with fresh gas, I'd just drive it. As you know these trucks don't get the best mileage so it won't take long to burn the old gas out. It might run rough till you get the frist tank gone. I have pruchased several trucks and cars that have set longer than two years and that is all I did with them.

 

You can also run some Sta-Bil in your gas for the first few tanks. That will help get out some of the gunk that is undoubtedly in your fuel system. Then change your fuel filter.

Good luck, and welcome back!

 

Ive got to say welcome back on congrats on your mission. Where did you spend it?

Anyway, 2 years is not that long as you know it whizzed by, and stale old gas is not great for combustion but will ignite and will still burn off. I agree with the above post and must admit that I too have made this a practice with some of the old rides that I have drug home.
The problem arise when there was just not enough fuel in the tank and the tank starts to rust badly. Ill take a full tank with awful gas, over a drained tank any day.
Get her running and you will consume that old gas fairly quickly. Besides, getting rid of old fuel is a real pain here in California.
We dont experience climate changes where the oil has been through anything severe, so if the oil was in good shape when you left, I would just make sure that it was at a proper level. Its likely that all of the carbon and old gas is gonna get to the oil anyway, so I would save the oil change for when it needs it rather than a precautionary thing right now. If you feel like changing it, then by all means, change it, but for now, I would run it through some heat cycles, get it up to temp to make sure that this engine and trans will stay sealed up. Keeping good seals is probably gonna plague you with more troubles than anything else.
The poor running condition is probably more of a carb issue than poor gas quality. Bad or hardened accelerator pump, clogged ports, and such are more than likely more to blame than anything else.

 

I have several of these trucks so there is always one thats been sitting too long without being driven. I`ve had good results from dumping a bottle of fuel injector cleaner in with the first tank of fresh gas ( after you burn off the old stuff.) Kind of de-gunks the carb and stuff.

 

WHEW! it's good to be back. I started my mission in Ft. Lauderdale Florida and moved about half way through to San Jose, CA. I spent most of the time with Deaf people and was able to learn American Sign Language. It was an amazing experience and i wouldnt give it up for anything!

Thanks for the help! I've been firing up the truck and taking it on short drives. Unfortunately its not smogged so I've got even more work on my hands! School just started and with that came football so I'm gonna have to revive it slowly unfortunately.
Has anyone else had driveshaft clearance problems like i had?