Engine Issues After Cleaning Engine Bay

David Pepiton

Active Member
Dec 17, 2011
662
68
49
Laveen, Arizona
Well since I replaced a PS pump that was leaking all over over the drivers side of my car since I got it in December. well today I wanted to start cleaning it off so armed with a degreaser I go down to the local shelf serve car wash and go to town cleaning everything on the drivers side engine bay from firewall to the radiator (at about 11am). Understand I had and still have a ton of PS fluid all over the engine bay along with motor oil from the valve cover and rear main. well long story short I ended up spraying down the entire engine bay but focused mostly on the front and drivers side.

Now the drive home was fine so i think cool. get a call from the parts store that my sn95 master cylinder is in so ill go get it (time is 1:15pm). Jump in the stang and turn the key and a fairly hard start ok thats odd so I let it sit for a minuet and the idle is is ranging from 600-900 so I pop the hood and find a vacuum line had come off so I reconnect it and no change. I think hmm well lets just see how it does around the block so back out the drive way and put her in drive and give it about 10% throttle and it feels like its trying to die. well I make it around the block (very short drive) and its still falling on its face. so pop the hood again and try and see if it stumbles and I cant get it to do it by hand only while in drive and under load.

So here I sit needing assistance asap.
 
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Dielectric grease..... get some pull your connections apart add grease put back together. This will help keep out moisture. I have a SVO cobra hood with a working scoop... so my dizzy gets wet, when it gets wet the car stumbles and pops and breaks up before the rpms come up.... Add grease no more problems when it rains.
Good Luck.:jester:
 
have done that with even "new" cars. can take days to dry out. i have ruined parts by trying to force dry it by running the engine. set it out in the hot sun with the hood up for a couple days, drive your dd in the mean time.
 
well oddly enough I just bought a tube of DG. my fox doesnt have ac, doesnt have door panels or a working radio and id rather drive that then my navigator any day. actually im gunna sell it to fund a few projects for the stang and stuff around the house.
 
Hmmm sometimes my car breaks up when it rains even a like rain. I don't have good scoop. First started when I went thru a flooding low area, I nearly didn't make it out lol. I misjudged, and knew I couldn't stop so I punched it. Kept trying to die on me, seemed like water mix with gas (I do have the filler tube leak)
But it's been months and I don't think it happens anymore

Sent front my SGS3 Epic 4GLTE Touch
 
if you got water in the cylinders you would likely bend a rod or valve.

I made a custom CAI for a friends 06 Hyundai Sonata V6 with in a week it rained he drove through a huge puddle and water got sucked up into the engine and he bent 3 rods and bent 2 valves.
 
Don't use any more water pressure than you can get out of a garden hose.

Use some mineral spirits in a 1 or 1.5 gallon garden pressure sprayer to loosen up the heavy grease and oil deposits. You can get the garden pressure sprayer and the mineral spirits at any home improvement store or Ace hardware. Use some quality engine wash to do the engine compartment after the mineral spirits bath. Cover the electrical items with plastic or zip bags. Have some WD40 ready to spray the ignition wiring, inside of the distributor cap and distributor when you get done.

The first time you drive the car, all the leftover moisture will condense inside the distributor cap and cause rough running, and maybe a no start. Get out the WD40 and some paper towels and wipe down the ignition system and inside of the distributor cap again...