Help, washed under hood, can't keep car running.

jdlatil · 10-06-2002, 03:00 PM

Help, wash under hook, can't keep car running.
There is a big event here this week Crusin' the Coast, thousands of cars.
Of course I wanted to look good. So washed under the hood.
Not a good move, now when I start the car it runs for about one or two minutes, stumbles and shuts down. Let it sit a few minutes and it will start again but stumble and shut down.

I have blown all the electrical connections off with compress air.
Checked the distributor, its clean and dry.
I let is sit over night and it run about 4 minutes and shut down again. Which left me in the middle of intersection.

Any suggestions, I running a MSD 6 BTM and JMS chip every thing else electrical is stock.

Please help took a week off from work to take my car to the event!

10-06-2002, 03:07 PM

when you say the distributor is clean and dry,are you absolutely sure it's dry?It dont take much moisture to mess up things inside,take your compressed air and blow the distributor out if you haven't done so already(?)

lx5091 · 10-06-2002, 03:08 PM

I did this a couple of years ago to my 4.6 Tbird, I simply swiveled all the fuel injectors around a bit and it ran fine.

avbcon12 · 10-06-2002, 03:47 PM

sure sounds like you have water somewhere. let it sit for a while... like stated above, make sure the distributor is totally dry

take care,
adam

HotRoddin · 10-06-2002, 04:50 PM

Sometimes if you get enough moisture in the distributor you can dry it out and when it warms up a bit, the moisture thats left down under the plate and in all the crevices will recondense on the cap ... try drying it really good then leave the cap off for a few hours to make sure all the moisture drys out.

DRASTiK · 10-06-2002, 05:11 PM

Take off the cap and spray a little bit of WD-40 in the cap and let it sit for 5 minutes. That will help dry up the moisture.

jdlatil · 10-06-2002, 09:26 PM

Thanks for all the help, it was the MSD box. Took it out and some water came out of it. Shook the water out and blow compressed air in the back cover. Car ran 30 minutes no problems.
thanks again,
Jack

10-06-2002, 10:32 PM

jack,

Glad to see you got her running,now go enjoy yourself bro!

Hey if you can,get some pictures of this cruise that your goin to,i'd love to see some!

Mustang_289 · 10-07-2002, 06:59 AM

Glad you got your water problem solved! Now here's a question to the board - what's the best way to clean and keep clean under the hood if you shouldn't spray it down with a cleaner and hose it off?

PKRWUD · 10-07-2002, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mustang_289
Glad you got your water problem solved! Now here's a question to the board - what's the best way to clean and keep clean under the hood if you shouldn't spray it down with a cleaner and hose it off?

There's nothing wrong with using cleaner and water as long as you prep it properly. Whe I have to do a customers engine, I get 5 or 6 cans of Gunk degreaser, a $10 roll of quarters, and go to the do it yourself car wash. I bring with me a roll of industrial strength Siran wrap (the kind used for wrapping pallets). I remove the distributor cap and wires, and wrap the distributor, the TB, MAF (if it has one), and an underhood fuse panel (if it has one). Spray it with half the cans I have, wash it down, re-spray to get the places I missed, and wash it again. Unwrap everything, put the cap and wires back on, and fire it up. I let it idle for a while to evaporate any remaining puddles.

The only thing you really need to be careful around are vacuum hoses and connectors. They tend to become brittle, and the high pressure water can crack them.

The best part of all doing it this way is that the water is recycled, and I have no mess to clean up.

Take care,
~Chris

drudis · 10-07-2002, 08:10 AM

Thats why when I was, I leave the motor running. If I aim at something and it starts stumbling... dont point there anymore!

I have also told people to use a hairdryer to dry out the cap. Personally, I wouldnt use WD-40.

10-06-2002, 03:00 PM	#1
jdlatil Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gulfport MS Posts: 12	Help, washed under hood, can't keep car running. Help, wash under hook, can't keep car running. There is a big event here this week Crusin' the Coast, thousands of cars. Of course I wanted to look good. So washed under the hood. Not a good move, now when I start the car it runs for about one or two minutes, stumbles and shuts down. Let it sit a few minutes and it will start again but stumble and shut down. I have blown all the electrical connections off with compress air. Checked the distributor, its clean and dry. I let is sit over night and it run about 4 minutes and shut down again. Which left me in the middle of intersection. Any suggestions, I running a MSD 6 BTM and JMS chip every thing else electrical is stock. Please help took a week off from work to take my car to the event! __________________ Jack 91 GT TFS TW heads, Edelbrock RPM, B31 cam, TRS RR, power pipe, Pro M 80, 42#inj, 70 TB, S-Trimed, 255lph FP, Kirby FPR, MSD 6AL BTM, 373 gears, shorty headers, mega bite jr. lower and adjustable uppers,sub frame, no cats, 2 1/2" with Flowmasters, billet Hurst, JMS Chip, Nitto 555r's, Under construction

10-06-2002, 03:08 PM	#3
lx5091 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Fall River, MA Posts: 467	I did this a couple of years ago to my 4.6 Tbird, I simply swiveled all the fuel injectors around a bit and it ran fine. __________________ '02 Explorer XLT 4.0L --Nice Vehicle '97 Saturn SL1--Soon to be ditched for a Ford!

10-06-2002, 03:47 PM	#4
avbcon12 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: West Bloomfield, MI Posts: 391	sure sounds like you have water somewhere. let it sit for a while... like stated above, make sure the distributor is totally dry take care, adam __________________ 90 GT black/ grey leather ported GT-40 heads w/ 1.7RR, Cobra intake w/ ported lower, 24# injectors, 190LPH pump, 75mm Pro-M MAF, 65mm TB, K&N panel, BBK long tubes, Off road H-pipe, 2 ch. Flowmaster, Black magic fan, Kirban FPR, 180 deg. T-stat, 3.73's, Steeda Tri-Ax, 130 amp alt. Accell 8.8 race wires/cap/rotor, motorcraft plugs, Factory Five suspension, etc etc etc.... http://avbcon12.stangnet.com

10-06-2002, 09:26 PM	#7
jdlatil Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gulfport MS Posts: 12	Thanks for all the help, it was the MSD box. Took it out and some water came out of it. Shook the water out and blow compressed air in the back cover. Car ran 30 minutes no problems. thanks again, Jack __________________ Jack 91 GT TFS TW heads, Edelbrock RPM, B31 cam, TRS RR, power pipe, Pro M 80, 42#inj, 70 TB, S-Trimed, 255lph FP, Kirby FPR, MSD 6AL BTM, 373 gears, shorty headers, mega bite jr. lower and adjustable uppers,sub frame, no cats, 2 1/2" with Flowmasters, billet Hurst, JMS Chip, Nitto 555r's, Under construction

10-06-2002, 10:32 PM	#8
Mustanguy Guest Posts: n/a	Wahoo,Glad you got her runnin! jack, Glad to see you got her running,now go enjoy yourself bro! Hey if you can,get some pictures of this cruise that your goin to,i'd love to see some!

10-06-2002, 03:07 PM	#2
Mustanguy Guest Posts: n/a	when you say the distributor is clean and dry,are you absolutely sure it's dry?It dont take much moisture to mess up things inside,take your compressed air and blow the distributor out if you haven't done so already(?)

10-06-2002, 04:50 PM	#5
HotRoddin cranky old man Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Longview Texas Posts: 683	Sometimes if you get enough moisture in the distributor you can dry it out and when it warms up a bit, the moisture thats left down under the plate and in all the crevices will recondense on the cap ... try drying it really good then leave the cap off for a few hours to make sure all the moisture drys out.

10-06-2002, 05:11 PM	#6
DRASTiK Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Yuma, AZ Posts: 536	Take off the cap and spray a little bit of WD-40 in the cap and let it sit for 5 minutes. That will help dry up the moisture.

10-07-2002, 06:59 AM	#9
Mustang_289 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 512	Glad you got your water problem solved! Now here's a question to the board - what's the best way to clean and keep clean under the hood if you shouldn't spray it down with a cleaner and hose it off?

10-07-2002, 08:10 AM	#11
drudis Moderator Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Livonia, MI, USA Posts: 1,194	Thats why when I was, I leave the motor running. If I aim at something and it starts stumbling... dont point there anymore! I have also told people to use a hairdryer to dry out the cap. Personally, I wouldnt use WD-40. __________________ Darius Rudis, Moderator Corner Carvers Delight 1989 Mustang LX - Open Track Car http://www.dariusrudis.com

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