I sprayed my valvecover with some Simple Green then scrubbed it with a small plastic brush then I hosed it down. I couldn't get it to start afterward. I noticed there was a lot of water down insde the spark plug holes, so I tried stuffing a rag down in there to get some of the water out. I got the car to run, but just barely. It would idle ok, but when I gave it any gas in gear it would sputter and shake badly. I removed the distributor cap and wiped out any moisture I saw then sprayed a bit of wd40 in there, I then took the wires off the cap and sprayed them with wd40 then put them back on and it hasn't seemed to make a difference. ARGHH!! What should I check now?
Washed my engine now it runs like crap
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Pull the plug wires off the plugs, wipe them dry, blow out the plug wells with air and let the car sit overnight with the plug wires unhooked. It should dry out and run normally.
I did the same thing, I ran it till the water burned or evaporated off. Took about 15 miuntues of crappy running but it worked.
Sad thing is ill probaly do it again.
Sad thing is ill probaly do it again.
Patman
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More than likely one of the electrical sensors got wet, and it will run better when it fully dries out. Same thing happened to me once when I washed the engine in my old 87 Mustang GT. It cleared up within a day.
I've never washed my engine, and I never will. I don't see how that will make it run better. I do thoroughly clean any parts and areas that I'm working on though.
I had the same thing happen on my '88 Mustang GT (funny Patman metnioned his 87). Let it dry in the sun for an hour and all was fine.
I 2nd that! They say a cleaner engine is a more efficient engine and this holds true. Cleaner engines are able to dissipate heat better because there's no grease or grime to insulate the heat thus making the engine run hotter than normal. Is it a significant difference in temp. probably not. If for some reason you take your car into a shop and the mechanic sees a clean engine, he will appreciate it and yourself, what ken said above,,,,,AR
dang, I've been washing my engines at the quarter car wash for eons, and have never had this happen. And yes, I mean the high pressure jobs. Lots of steam, yes, but never a start or run problem in the least.
ditto on the advice given previously, something just got wet. And if you do figure it out, it might be a good idea to seal it somehow.
Might want to keep that car out of the rain until you fix whatever leaked, no car should do this.
ditto on the advice given previously, something just got wet. And if you do figure it out, it might be a good idea to seal it somehow.
Might want to keep that car out of the rain until you fix whatever leaked, no car should do this.
My old Grand Am had a thick layer of old gummy oil on the block from a leaking valve cover (leaking before I got it - I changed it). It was great insulation for our -40 winters, and never caused any problems in the summer since my radiator worked fine.
The only mechanic that touches my vehicles (me) gets covered in grease and coal dust at work all the time and really doesn't care if there's a little grease on the engine. There are products available that you can clean yourself with!
I just think the less water and cleaning products thrown haphazardly at the engine, the better. It will get into areas it shouldn't. If you very carefully clean the engine bay; that's good. But I'm far too lazy to do spend the time doing that!
" just think the less water and cleaning products thrown haphazardly at the engine, the better. It will get into areas it shouldn't. "
ever drive in the rain? You would be surprised where water gets....
I use the old quarter car wash nozzle (3 minutes for 75 cents) and spray away on low pressure; quite haphazardly actually. Unless you force it into a fuse box, it doesn't hurt anything. Been doing it for at least 25 years, nothing more than steam and moderately clean engines to show for it. Gets bugs out of the radiator, road grime off the frame, decomposed leaves off the many places they collect....and road salt, too; although that's really not an issue down here.
But hey, if you like road grime all over the wheel bearing you just re-packed, or dried leaves in the CV grease, more power to you. Is that a new valve cover gasket leak or 5 year old road grime?
ever drive in the rain? You would be surprised where water gets....
I use the old quarter car wash nozzle (3 minutes for 75 cents) and spray away on low pressure; quite haphazardly actually. Unless you force it into a fuse box, it doesn't hurt anything. Been doing it for at least 25 years, nothing more than steam and moderately clean engines to show for it. Gets bugs out of the radiator, road grime off the frame, decomposed leaves off the many places they collect....and road salt, too; although that's really not an issue down here.
But hey, if you like road grime all over the wheel bearing you just re-packed, or dried leaves in the CV grease, more power to you. Is that a new valve cover gasket leak or 5 year old road grime?
I'm not sure how leaves are going to make their way into the boots of a CV assembly. There don't appear to be any on my workbench. You'll have to explain that one to me.
Anyhoo, I'm not going to tell you that a little bit of clean, low pressure water is going to damage anything. I do sometimes use the garden hose to low pressure spray the engine bay, for example if some coolant gets on things during a coolant flush. Or for getting rid of leaves and dirt. But this isn't much of a cleaning. I was referring more to high pressure or detergents when I said "the less water and cleaning products thrown haphazardly at the engine, the better." A key word there is "haphazardly", which can be defined as "without care". So as long as you're doing things carefully (low pressure), you're fine. Sorry for the confusion.
Counterpoint: I've been using a 2700 psi gas powered pressure washer on my engines for some time now. I take some precautions, such as not using the "laser beam" tip (which generates a stream so concentrated it will dig a hole in my concrete driveway), and not aiming the spray directly into the alternator or fuse boxes. The first time I tried it, I deliberately sprayed at the PS reservoir and its cover for a while (figuring I could suck out any intruding water with my turkey baster). It held just fine, and allowed no water to enter. Pressure washing may not be the smartest thing to do to an older car, but I've experienced no trouble at all with my admittedly aggressive cleaning procedure on my cars (earliest MY I've done this to was a '98). Oh yeah, I use Simple Green as a detergent before firing up the water cannon.
EDIT: I also start my car immediately after pressure washing the engine, and then drive it for 10 min or so. My theory is that the heat and air flow will take care of any water that may have pooled where it would be unwelcome.
EDIT: I also start my car immediately after pressure washing the engine, and then drive it for 10 min or so. My theory is that the heat and air flow will take care of any water that may have pooled where it would be unwelcome.
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Forget the mechanic ...how 'bout you? I've bought 3 cars off of one of my ex-work partners. He kept the oil changed and topped up ...but didn't do anything else under the hood. He also wasn't very careful in how he added his oil. I bought his 89 Ranger xcab for $1300 w/180k on it ...and it took 4 cans of Gunk engine cleaner to get down to 1993 grafitti on it. The same with the 91 Taurus I got off him for $300. I couldn't do anything on either of them without having a forearm that looked like I was on some covert night vision mission and liked to do it with my sleeves rolled up. Not fun for me ..or the mechanic.
Now I just keep a can of brake clean just for cleaning localized spills and such (oil filter drippage). It does a great job and leaves no residuals. It's not the cheapest way to do this ..but...
i normally go get breakfast at the oasis on a saturday morning (2 mile round trip). once i'm home, i pop the hood and mist some simple green into the engine compartment. let it sit while i spray cleaner on the wheels, then go back and rinse the engine. i rinse the wheels, then take the car around the subdivision to shake out the water from the places it won't drain that well. wipe everything down, use a brush, etc...
there was a time when i covered the alternator, distributor, and all the electrical looking stuff with plastic bags, but i'm way past that now. you don't necessarily have to seal it tight; just enough to keep direct water out of whatever caused your problem.
almost 64000 miles on my 2.5 year old car, and the mechanics at the dealership just chuckle when they open the hood. it probably looks better than when it was new.
g'luck!
there was a time when i covered the alternator, distributor, and all the electrical looking stuff with plastic bags, but i'm way past that now. you don't necessarily have to seal it tight; just enough to keep direct water out of whatever caused your problem.
almost 64000 miles on my 2.5 year old car, and the mechanics at the dealership just chuckle when they open the hood. it probably looks better than when it was new.
g'luck!
The old school mechanics that taught me when I was a kid told me to never wash an engine, and I listened.
well, the old school mechanics in my family (2 uncles and a cousin, one uncle was an petroleum engineer who custom machined carburetors in his spare time, the other uncle had his own repair shop; and my cousin custom built and painted automobiles adn motorcycles) always washed their engines and their customers' engines....I listened and watched.
OK, we know that you have neither a hearing problem, nor a clean engine.
And you'll need an equally strong argument to convince me that washing engines is of any benefit. I've never had a problem by not washing an engine, and I've had several cars that had electrical problems when it rained. Presumably not washing an engine is a lot safer.
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