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- 2003 Mazda Protege5
Hey y'all, it's been years since I've posted, hence the title...my P5 has been sitting for about 3 years or so, and I'm working towards getting it back on the road. There were no engine issues before the car sat, so it should be fairly easy to get my P5 going again, I just want to make sure I'm going about this the correct way. I was obviously planning to change the oil and get a new battery (it's dead dead), and then I have some questions about what else should be done before trying to start?
I was thinking I should drain the radiator and fill it with distilled water at first (before mixed coolant), just to make sure everything is good before possibly wasting the coolant?
I'm pretty certain the gas is trash at this point, correct? So, that should get siphoned out beforehand (and refilled)? Is it easy enough to siphon through the tank filler neck? Or do I need to siphon by removing the fuel pump first, and going in through there?
I'm thinking the transmission fluid should be changed as well?
What about spark plugs?
Should I hand crank the engine first to make sure it's not stuck before trying to start it?
Though all of this may seem super obvious, I just want to make sure I'm on the right track and I don't mess anything up on my P5. I don't mind doing the work, as I've done these maintenance tasks on my P5 before, just wondering if these should all be done BEFORE a start up after sitting for so long...just looking forward to getting my P5 back as my daily driver! Thank y'all in advance!
I was thinking I should drain the radiator and fill it with distilled water at first (before mixed coolant), just to make sure everything is good before possibly wasting the coolant?
I'm pretty certain the gas is trash at this point, correct? So, that should get siphoned out beforehand (and refilled)? Is it easy enough to siphon through the tank filler neck? Or do I need to siphon by removing the fuel pump first, and going in through there?
I'm thinking the transmission fluid should be changed as well?
What about spark plugs?
Should I hand crank the engine first to make sure it's not stuck before trying to start it?
Though all of this may seem super obvious, I just want to make sure I'm on the right track and I don't mess anything up on my P5. I don't mind doing the work, as I've done these maintenance tasks on my P5 before, just wondering if these should all be done BEFORE a start up after sitting for so long...just looking forward to getting my P5 back as my daily driver! Thank y'all in advance!