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Rough engine after wash

679 views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  Stefano 
#1 ·
I just washed my engine bay and when i started it up it ran but was very rough and caused hard vibrations. also i could tell it was burnining rich seeing how the sputtering from the exhaust smelled like raw gas. I would like to know if the problem could be from water entering the distributor cap ('89 9000 cd turbo)? Could it be from something else?

p.s. ( i did run the car up to temperature but it almosted stalled plenty of times. I also dried any water that was near the spark plugs.)

Thank you.
 
#2 ·
1st question: what did you use to wash the engine bay? pressure washer (BIG NO NO) or low pressure hose?


The raw gas you were smelling and rough running could be explained by water impeding the distributor from sparking all the cylinders. If one of the contacts was not firing the plug, that sylinder wouldn't burn fuel and thus spew unburned fuel out the exhaust and make the motr rough.

I don't think water near the injectors would be a problem, unless the harness is cracked to let the water in. Next time you do this I would put a plastic pag of electrical connections and use a low pressure hose.
 
#3 ·
Yes, most likely, the water entered the distributor, and the problem gets worse when the engine is run to operating temp., then the moisture in there evaporates and the water dropplets cause major misfiring. Sray some WD-40 and blow dry it.
 
#4 ·
I did not use a pressure washer; i just used autoglyms and a normal hose. I did try to cover the cap as best i could with plastic but it was hard keeping it on with the water spraying.

Should i disconnect the cap to spray WD-40 or should i just spray into the ports? Also, would it be advisable to get a new distributor and plug wires (liek magnecor?)
 
#5 ·
I think it would be better to remove the dizzy cap and spray everything throughly, before moisture makes something rust.

Next time you wash your engine, you also might want to cover your coil, too (top of radiator, right side facing the engine).

Isn't there a gasket to protect the distributor? it might be worth to change it, if it got wet even trying to dodge it, with a low pressure hose too. It's 15 years old.... you don't wanto this to happen again in a pouring rain.
Just a thought.
 
#6 ·
I did just that. Took off the cap and found a perfect little puddle of water on the connector for cylender #4 (or some other cylender.) Wiped it out sprayed WD-40 and wiped all the grease that was on the inside and outside. clean the ports aswell. Put all the ignition wires back and it once again ran smooth and not too sure it may have even ran smoother than before because of all the removed grease. Thank you for all your help! :)
 
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