Decided to clean engine and...

[titoisme]

So I decided to clean my engine today (can hardly see it under the grease, rat turd and other niceys). I bought some cleaning solution and got out the hose. Covered the dist cap, that's it. After washing out the engine I let the car sit and decided to clean the whole car. Afterwards, about 2 hours later I take the car out for a spin, drives nicely until it shakes, sputters and dies on me. I try to turn it on after a few min but it just turns, no combustion tough. So I decided to pop the hood and check out the spark plugs and, damn, it seems water has seeped in there from the cleaning. So I dry out the area and inside the spark compartments. Wait a little while and turn the key and it turns on, but now with a terrible vibration when idle. Was able to get it home w/o dying. Is it just a matter of letting it dry out or could something have fried?

PS: Please don't tell me how dumb I was, I've been beating myself up enough. LOL

Thanks

[Venom_5]

you should cover the distributor cap AND alternator/starter ....

but sometimes the cap gets wet even when covered - mine took 24 hrs to dry ... it should be fine after you let it dry a few more hours, nothing is permanently damaged i dont think

[bigbird]

how much water? if u have water in your spark plug channel then thereas a good chance that it may have gone into the engine, that could be causing the stumble if theres water in the oil system. id change the oil or at least check it to be sure. weve all done stupid stuff

[toyomoho]

Recheck for water in the spark plug tubes, inside the ends of the plug and coil wires, distributor (cap and sensors), coil, ignitor, MAP and IAC connections. Might try using a hair drier around the connections.

[ASG14]

I've done worse. It should be fine. when was the last time you replaced the Dis cap, rotor, and wires anyway? (Miles and time)

[titoisme]

Originally Posted by ASG14

I've done worse. It should be fine. when was the last time you replaced the Dis cap, rotor, and wires anyway? (Miles and time)

I haven't, but I'm planning to change them once spring FINALLY decides to come my way. hehe. Also, how bad would it be if water did enter the engine through the spark tubes?

Thanks for all your replies, keep'em coming if you have anything else to offer.

[ASG14]

It should not be enough water to cause any kinda of long term issues. If the Disi cap and rotor are original, even being covered, water could have gotten in. Also for the wires, if those are old, the water directly on them could be the cause. It's not likely anything you did, but just old wires/cap/rotor.

[RedPhoenix]

id just let it burn off, replace the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, etc do a seafoam, maybe that will help?

[Venom_5]

i wouldnt replace the distro cap or anything yet...

getting them wet once doesnt destroy them... let us know what happens after waiting a day and starting the car up ... let it run for an hour or so (drive it around) ... if the problem still exists then you can replace parts

ive taken a Land Cruiser through puddles and stuff soaking the distro cap weekly and it still holds up fine after it dries out - no need to spend money just yet

[nodrogkam]

yeah i'd say let it dry out. Double check the plugs to be sure they are still in good shape, and make sure the plug wire caps are dry too. just air out the darn thing.

The rough idle is due to one or more plugs not firing or firing correctly, no real damage done.

[Red Camry]

do you atleast have a pic of the cleaned engine?

[bigbird]

yeah! screw ur problems...we want some pics!!

[SilvaCam92]

i cleaned the engine on my moms ford probe last year. july 4th right before the fireworks. anyways ya i cleaned it and it wouldnt start. so we went to the fireworks and about 3 hours later i tried to start it. still wouldnt start and so i took the spark plug wires and there was water in there so i tapped them to get water out. had to do it quite a few times and then my mom started it and it was sputtering really bad so she held it at like 4500rpm for a couple of mins and then the cat started glowing orange/red so we shut it off. let it sit for a day and started it up. still sputtering so we brought a mechanic to look at it and he bought it spark plug wires and it ran perfect again!!!

sorry for the long unessesary story but i thought id add details lol

[jhbhatia]

Originally Posted by SilvaCam92

and then the cat started glowing orange/red so we shut it off.

LOL, and how does a car (i know you misspelled) glow orange/red?

[titoisme]

Originally Posted by jhbhatia

LOL, and how does a car (i know you misspelled) glow orange/red?

Maybe he meant CATalytic converter...? lol

I'll take a pic of the engine, still kinda ugly, but I can read off it again...lol.

PPPS: What size ratchet I use to unscrew sparkplugs, 5/8?

Thx