The company I work for recently gave me a company vehicle to use for a while. This means my 4.6 L truck sits for a week before I run it. I usually swap vehicles on the weekend to run the truck, but I don't use it on a highway, only local driving. Can any damage occur if I only start and run the truck once a week? I'm thinking that lubrication at startup but the oil pressure comes up real quick after starting. Any comments?

 

nah usually not weeks at a time will see any problems. but one thing that will prevent any such hassle is to turn the key forward. and let the fuel and oil pump purge fuel before u start it. u will hear a buzzin noise i guess u could call it. do that a couple times like turn it forward then turn it back then turn forward again. its what my dad told me to do with a couple older cars me and him got runnin that had set for about 4 months.

 

You don't need to worry about anything. Just let it run for 20 - 30 seconds before driving and take it easy while it warms up. Turning the key to the on position will pressurize the fuel system, but not the oil pump. The oil pump is driven off the engine itself, so without the engine running, the oil pump will not do anything.

 

Purge the oil pump with key turning? Not true.
Turning the key a couple of times? No difference than left on once.

srfd44: Try to get it up to operating temperatures for a while at least once or twice a week and it will be fine. You need to heat the condensation out of the engine and exhaust. Let the tires revolve to prevent flat spots, don't let your gasoline age beyond 60 days, and monitor battery condition.

 

Agree with the above, it's no problem if you let the fuel pump run a second before starting (should reduce cold cranking time) and let the engine warm up for a minute before you take off (get some oil off the pan and up into the heads).

I'd also add that you should take it up on the highway occaisionally too. Give the motor a good 20 - 30 minute run so it's up to full operating temps.

-Brad

 

One thing you don't want to do is start it let it run for a minute then shut it off for a week. All you will have done is drain the battery and put a ton of water in the exhaust and on top of the pistons. (yes water)

Letting it sit for a week at a time is no problem with these more modern engines. However you really need to heat it up at least once every 8-10 days. As mentioned above drive it for no less than 20 minutes on the highway. It takes approx: 20-40 minutes of highway driving to charge the battery back to the point where it was when you started the truck. It can take even longer if you are running a bunch of accesories.

It also takes about 20-30 minutes to heat the oil up enough that it will burn off carbon and water deposits from the cold start.

other than that I wouldn't worry about it at all.

 

srfd44
I have a 1994 Camaro Z-28 Convertable. It has 18,500 miles on it. I only drive it in the summer. It sits all winter, 6-8 months at a time. The only thing I have done is to put a battery charger on it while it sits. Never any touble with flat spots on tires or other strange storage problems. I heard you can "drive off" flat spots in the tires with 50-100 miles of highway driving.