Motor dies when put into gear

[Via Manci]

At startup RPMs at about 800 to 1000. Motor reves with no problem. Sounds great. When I move the gear shifter to engage, the motor shuts off. After a long warmup at idle, the problem seems to correct. The car has not been driven for about 5 years.

[Pawel66]

I am not a mechanic, there are a lot of Members on this forum who are much more knowledgeable than me, but I would have thought that after 5 years, in case it has not been done, some basic filters check up or cleaning of filters, liquids change, spark plugs would be worth looking at.

As for what you describe - I would have thought that two topics may be worth considering: overall tune up (ignition timing, valve clearances, linkage tour, including idle adjustment) would be one. Another one would be to check functioning of the Constant Speed Solenoid. In most of the automatic cars you have the solenoid on the intake manifold that pushes linkage a bit to increase idle to prevent engine from stalling. It is activated by one of the two hydraulic switches located on the gear box. While in the car, select a gear and ask another person to see if this solenoid works.

If your car is late US version with emission control system, this solenoid, even if it is there, may not be responsible for idle increase. Then the question of general tune up comes back and proper functioning of emission control system is essential.

There is a lot of information on the forum on this topic - fairly common questions. You can spot the post through the search function.

I would encourage you to become a Member here. With the limited associated investment you would get access to virtually all you need to know about a Pagoda. All important tune up procedures are there.

[Nicolas Aristodemou]

Make sure you have fresh petrol in the car and that your idle mixture is set properly. It could be that your mixture is lean or as Powell pointed out the 3 position solenoid  on the gearbox not functioning properly. All the info in the technical manual about setting up  these properly.

[wwheeler]

Just to begin with, five years is a long time for standard US pump gas to be stored and has probably gone south. I am assuming the fuel was left in the tank and has been sitting for 5 years?

I would flush the fuel system and start with fresh gas to start. It would be hard to diagnose much else with stale fuel. Then what Powell suggests is definitely a good idea before putting too many miles on an engine that has been dormant for years.

Might also flush the brake fluid as a safety precaution and make sure that system is functioning. It would make for a bad day if the brakes fail on the first test drive.