2004 996 turbo not used since 2021

Hello, my name is Jason and I have the above car with the current situation, It has been stored correctly in a permabag ( Google JF Stanley) to read about these) but I haven't started it at all, except once in 2023 when it had to be moved out of the garage. My question is I've opened the permabag today, all looks OK with the car, it's been on a trickle charger, and the battery is fully charged, tyres OK etc, it has a quarter of a tank of fuel, the receipt in the car tells me that fuel was put in... In may 2021, so I am looking at getting the car on the road this year, on 21st February 2022 it was treated to a minor service, so I presume now it will need a major to include spark plugs which were last changed in 2019 when I bought the car @ 42,400 miles approx, the car now has 44,614 on it today, the service mileage was 44,612, so it's only done 2 Mile since the minor service. I wanted to ask advice on what to do, can I go and fetch 30 litres of premium fuel and start her up? ( after removing fuse 19 the fuel pump fuse first) to get the oil pressure round the engine first then attempt a start up? Or would it be advisable and possible to drain the fuel tank via the fuel Filler? And top up with all fresh fuel. I'm no mechanic and have very little mechanical knowledge. As it's tiptronic I obviously cannot push it out of the garage to maybe get it on a recovery truck to send it to a specialist near me, the LAST THING I want to do is cause any issues /damage by just going for a start up without asking advice first, I didn't want to contact a porsche garage as they will probably tell me she needs THOUSANDS spent on her! And because of my lack of mechanical knowledge not know what to believe. The service history with the car is massive, so I would like to do the right thing by her and not risk any problems, I've always had good advice from members on here before, I haven't been on here much due to my health over the last 3 years, but I'm hoping to become more active in the porsche community moving forward, any help would be greatly appreciated, sorry it's a long one, but I just wanted to make sure I gave you guys all the information that I think you needed if you could help me, hope you all have a great weekend, kind regards Jason.

You could always call out the people that drain tanks when people put the wrong fuel in at the servo. Sounds like it’ll be great once it’s had a refresh. Hopefully you’ll post some photos once done

Yes , pull fuse 19 but that's all I'd do. I'd put a couple of gallons of fresh fuel in it (high Octane) , make sure it's got plenty of oil in it and fire it up. Let it idle for like 20 seconds and then add some throttle but keep your eye on oil pressure , it should be high with say 3000 rpm. Plugs should be fine. If you do want to drain the fuel i'd do it via the filter like you said It's been stored really well, nothing will have happened to it at all , I bet it just fires right up and runs perfect.

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With a username like " uncle monty" ill take that as good advice can you just remind me how to check the oil, as from memory there isn't a dipstick is there?

It’s on the dash but it has to be warm so you can’t do that If it was serviced before you put it into storage and there’s not a puddle under it then it’s still in the engine. I think once you get it running for a while I’d do an oil change anyway It’ll be fine , nothing can go wrong as long as it’s got oil

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What about getting it serviced? I presume it will need the brake fluid changing, but what about the spark plugs? Do you recommend a major or minor service?

I would address the mission-critical fluids, such as (like you said) brake fluid, anti-freeze, and engine oil. Maybe the transmission fluid too. Spark plugs are probably fine to be left alone, but I’d be concerned about the tires. I would check the date codes to ensure that they haven’t aged out, and would drive on them gingerly to understand their current grip level.

Yes , check dates on tyres Brake/clutch fluids will need doing for sure but not super important to get it going and MOT'd Get the oil/filters done soon but just get it moving once it's MOT'd

Read "Slutters" thread on his Turbo that's been in storage for 10yrs. Post in thread '996 Turbo Project! *** 10 years later update! *Update 3rd May*' 13 Apr 2025 You've saved several £million on those brake pipes alone...thanks for taking the time to record it all..it's so useful. Storage seems to have taken its toll on a few parts , was it insulated? Great work and brilliant job on the house Uncle Monty

Based on my 10 year old fuel and not being stored in a 'bag for life' i would say you will be 100% fine! I drained all of my fuel but it went straight into another car and ran fine! I would have disconnected the battery personally rather than leaving it plugged in but thats just a preference thing. Pulling the fuse and building oil pressure is what i did too. Check the normal brake fluid/coolant and if it all looks in order start her up!

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I do have a brake fluid testing monitor I have bought, thank you all for your replies it is more appreciated than you know I really mean that

So what happened? I come across these threads and always end up wondering how it went? Is the car ok? Are you using it regularly? A 996 Turbo is a beautiful thing and hearing about another one back on the road and being enjoyed would be nice.

Hope you checked for dead mice in the filter box! Once it's running check for boost leaks. I prefer a smoke tester myself. Took mine round the block for the first time in 11 years last week.