Starting an XJ after sitting a year... any suggestions

So I am in the process of prepping a 96 XJ to be started after sitting for about a year and was wondering if anyone had any experience in this and/or have any suggestions or tips for what I should be doing in preparation.

So far here is what I plan to do in preparation to starting it:
Drain the tank as much as I can, put Seafoam in it, fill it up at least to ½ tank, and replace the inline fuel filter.

Drain as much oil as I can cold, and then fill it back up with some cheap generic oil with a cheap new oil filter also adding a can of Marvel Mystery Oil.

Go see if I can get the Optima Battery recharged, if not I will put the battery from my wrecked XJ in it.



I have also read and was told by my dad to take out the spark plugs the night before and add a little Marvel Mystery Oil to each cylinder and let it sit overnight, to hopefully lube up the cylinders prior to starting it.

That’s the Prep…… After or if it starts, I plan on:

Changing the oil again with fresh good quality oil and another new filter (ASAP).

Change out the Plugs, Wires, Cap and Rotor (All that was only 5 months old on my old XJ so I will just take those)

Clean and re-oil the K&N filter it has

Take it to the gas station and fill it up.

Pay to have Grease Monkey or who ever to flush the radiator.


So any helpful suggestions would be appreciated, just in case I am forgetting something here.

Thanks,
Jimmy

Heres a pic:

I would do all the steps you though of as well as pull the coil to distributor wire and crank the engine for 20-30 seconds pause 15 seconds and crank some more. You will build oil pressure and lube the engine at a very low rpm. Cranking and pausing will prevent damage to the starter.

The gas should fine, I would just use it up. My 98 sat in the woods for 2 years and it fired right up, so I just filled the gas tank and drove it.

I like the suggestion of letting oil pressure build up by cranking without ignition. What do others think of removing the fuel pump fuse/relay? That way the walls of the cylinders wouldn't get washed down with raw gas.

I'd pull all the plugs, squirt some oil in the cylinders and crank it over a few cycles. No doubt the cylinders are dry as dust, this should al least get them lubed up before you try to run the engine.

i wouldnt worry about the fuel tank. just add a few gallons of new gas to whatever is in there and it should be fine. if it runs weird just deal with it untill its gone and fill it with new.

my biggest thing would be the oil. change the oil and filter.

I always try to purge the fuel lines, the fuel between the filter and the injectors. Hook up a hose to the fuel rail valve and turn the key to run (not start), let it run in a large jar. Repeat turning the key from off to run a dozen times or until you get a good amount of fuel in the jar. You can also jump the fuel pump relay if you have the FSM and run it continuously for a couple of quarts worth.
Look at what comes out, if the fuel has started to turn bad, you can often see clumps and flakes in it, not a good thing for your injectors. I've actually had clumps of varnish come out on vehicles that have sit for 2-3 years.

It started! It’s running good and sounds great.

One thing though... The reason I got this XJ cheap because the previous owner said the transmission is bad and it needs a new water pump. He had a new water pump that he gave me when I picked it up.......

That being said... One thing I did not check was the coolant before I started the truck. When we first started it, it had a loud random clucking noise. We thought it must have something to do with the tranny since it was supposedly bad..... Not too long after starting it (5 mins or so) the engine started to heat up and I shut it down. Because it heated up, we checked for coolant and it was bone dry. After that we thought the sound may have been the bad dry water pump. So we filled it up with 50/50 and After we started it up again, it was completely quiet.... Starts fast, runs smooth, sounds great with the exhaust it has….

I then took it out for a spin to see what the problem with the tranny was, and didn’t notice anything odd going on....It shifted into every gear just fine, even when I got on it. We did see that the water pump is leaking a bit so it will need to be replaced, but nothing else seems to be wrong with the engine or tranny.
What we are thinking happened was this guy ran it out of coolant and either himself or someone else came to the conclusion that the loud noise it was making was coming from the transmission…. I don’t know but there doesn’t appear to be a problem… I think I am going to take it to a transmission shop to have it looked at to see if there is some issue I am not noticing.
What are your thoughts?

If the trans fluid is red and does not smell burnt, call it good.

I like how you started it with a little MMO in the cylinders, and cranking without fuel and/or ignition until it shows oil pressure. Good work!
-Matt
p.s. you can flush the radiator yourself, it's not that hard. While replacing the water pump on my XJ earlier this summer, I sprayed a lot of water into the block and it's amazing how much goopy crap comes out!

Don't look for trouble at the tranny shop unless you notice problems yourself. Of course check fluid level and flush sometime soon. Don't forget -- DEXIII only.