resurrecting my 98zj

[jwebb1998]

So heres the low down.  My jeeps been sitting for about 6 years and hasnt been started in 2.  For the first 5 years it sat on pavement but was then pushed onto grass.  All im trying to accomplish is getting it back on the road as a daily driver/occasional weekend warrior.  Im just,not to sure what all i should do before trying to start it.  It has been sitting with less then an 8th of a tank of gas.  Heres my punch list so far.
Oil change
Coolant partial coolant change, i dont want to do a full flush so i can only drain whats in the radiator.
New battery
Tranny fluid change
Plugs and wires
Top of the gas tank to hopefully dilute down any water/condensation that may have built up in the tank

Is there anything else that you guys recommend doing before firing it up, its very important i dont do any more damage then it may all ready have, i dont have alot of money to put into it.  Once its up and running i plan on going over all the nuts and bolts for the suspension and greasing all the fitings,  i also still have the problem that caused me to park it 6 years ago, i i sparked some wires from the stock under seat amp and now my whole dashboard wont turn on, and evrrythings electronic.

Thanks in advance for any input.

J. Webb

[Posimoto]

If a vehicle has been sitting for awhile I remove the spark plugs and squirt some oil in to help lube the cylinders then crank by hand. Depending on how long it's been sitting I sometimes use a torque wrench and set it at 35 ft lbs, if it doesn't move before the click it's time to pull the head. However, your Jeep has only been sitting for 2 years since last start so I would skip the torque wrench. 

[jwebb1998]

Never heard of llube in the plugs for the cylinders, couple drops of regular old  motor oil from say an old school oil can right into the spark plug holes?

[jwebb1998]

Never heard of llube in the plugs for the cylinders, couple drops of regular old  motor oil from say an old school oil can right into the spark plug holes?

[Posimoto]

Lube in the plugs for the cylinders??

Removed the spark plugs and lubricate the cylinders = motor oil, MM...yes, in the spark plug hole. Give it time to penetrate before turning by hand.  

Edit: you don't need more then a squirt or two in each cylinder.

When an engine sits unprotected for a length of time it can get condensation in the cylinders this may cause the piston rings to stick to the cylinder walls.

[jwebb1998]

Thanks for the advice man, ill keep that in mind.

[SPYDER]

for the dash issue...I know its the obvious thing but check for blown fuses....you should have a couple....then trace the blown fuse to the source...that way you can atleast get an idea of what happened.

[jwebb1998]

Yeah i figure some blown fuses are the culprit, i just dont understand why the remote amp under the back seat would blow fuses for the dash, but we shall see.  I also need to replace the fuseable link on the fuse box under the hood, i bought a universal one and it fits very badly, do you think i could get away with making my own using a twist open style fuse holder like you use when running aftermarket amps?

[SPYDER]

you could but if you want I can try and see if I can acquire one for ya from the dealer,  we have a whole bunch of random wiring harnesses laying around in one of the back rooms.  when I had my sti and did the remote battery in the trunk, I removed my fuseable link without any ill affect for the few months I had the car still like that....sold it shortly thereafter.

[jwebb1998]

Off topic but, why did you put the battery in the trunk?

Just curious cuz my bros got an impreza that likes the dirt, didn't know if there was something he could benefit from.

[SPYDER]

Needed a place for the coolant overflow bottle after I did a front mount swap.