Hey guys I got a quick question.I bought a new daily driver which is a 89 grand prix se.It has sat for over a year parked.It had a little bit of gas in it when I start it up it smokes for a bit and sputters all over the place.After she warms up the smokeing stops but it still sputters.Now all of the fluid levels are perfect.Coolent is nice and green and at a good level.Oil is clean and is free of anything like antifreeze.Now there is not much gas in the tank and i had about a jug full of gas kicking around the garage so I poured it in.This stopped the sputtering and she ran great.Now after starting her up the past few weeks the gas has ran low again and its running like crap.Im guessing it needs a full tank of new gas.Does this sound normal for a car thats been parked for over a year without being started? the gas could be almost 2 years old i think it sat in the guys garage for about a year also.

again fluids are all good and nothing is missing.The engine also sounds very healthy upon accelration.No ticks etc.

A year with just a little gasoline in the tank will likely be a gooey varnish type stuff. The volatiles have evaporated out, leaving just the non volatiles. The gooey stuff can easily clog the inlet screen of the fuel pickup, as well as the fuel filter. Fill it with good gas and maybe some quality additive like injector cleaner. That should permanently cure the miss and stumble, if you have a fuel varnish problem. I would suggest a fuel pressure test, and a new fuel filter.

The white/blue smoke is probably from dried and brittle valve stem seals and rings that have sat in one place too long, but the crappy fuel will also burn that color, as it is now more of a diesel or kerosene consistency than gasoline. As the engine is run more, the rings may seat back in, but you may be looking at a valve stem seal replacement.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-18-2005).]