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  • 1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech

Sounds like GT is DYING!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter stang09er
  • Start date Start date Jun 1, 2004

stang09er

Member
Jul 28, 2003
115
0
16
Clarkston, MI
Jun 1, 2004
#1
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #1
I just washed my engine bay using an engine degreaser from autozone! Well, it did the trick, my whole engine bay looks good as new. but when I started it to let it idle....It ran really rough. I let it idle and it seemed to get better, but then went back to idling rough. It sounds a little bit like a chopper. As if I put a gigantic cam on my car and it shakes my car. Bare w/ me here...Instead of a "ga-lu ga-lu ga-lu ga-lu"...I hear "ga-lop ga-lop gal-op ga-lop". I took it out for a ride to get excess water out of the bay and it felt like a lot of power was missing. Im worried. I did cover my battery, alternator and intake before sprayin it down...What could it be?
 

COramprat

...I can take it. I think.
20+ Year Stangneter
Mar 2, 2003
8,474
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Sea of Tranquility
Jun 1, 2004
#2
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #2
It'll eventually smooth out. You may have gotten some water in the spark plug holes causing the rough idle. you might try removing the COP's and see if you have any water or moisture in there, then try drying it out.
 

stang09er

Member
Jul 28, 2003
115
0
16
Clarkston, MI
Jun 1, 2004
#3
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #3
I let it idle for about 20 mins plus a 5 minute ride. Should I let it idle longer?
 

COramprat

...I can take it. I think.
20+ Year Stangneter
Mar 2, 2003
8,474
1,463
223
Sea of Tranquility
Jun 1, 2004
#4
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #4
If there is water or moisture...yes it will take a while to evaporate. Give it some time, say an hour or so of driving...bet it will clear up good as new.
 

stang09er

Member
Jul 28, 2003
115
0
16
Clarkston, MI
Jun 1, 2004
#5
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #5
I took it out again to see if it would run better. It still sounds/performs the same. I recently reviewed my first post and figured it was a little confusing. Here goes a 2nd shot: It sounds EXACTLY like if you tried to "peel out" w/traction control ON, Would a simple tune up fix the problem?
 

stang09er

Member
Jul 28, 2003
115
0
16
Clarkston, MI
Jun 1, 2004
#6
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #6
Thank-you coramprat!!! Your posts honostly are making me feel a little better and give me hope. I will be patient and wait a little longer.
 

ShadowGT

New Member
Dec 10, 2002
202
0
0
Western Kentucky
Jun 1, 2004
#7
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #7
If you have a shop vac you might want to try and suck any excess water out from your spark plug area, etc. Also, try letting the car idle for 30 minutes or so.
 

stang09er

Member
Jul 28, 2003
115
0
16
Clarkston, MI
Jun 1, 2004
#8
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #8
thanks guys!! Im gonna let it go for the whole day and try to start her up later-on tonight to see how she's doin.
 

Best

New Member
Mar 28, 2003
35
0
0
Houston Tx (SRING)
Jun 1, 2004
#9
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #9
You may want to check and see if you didn't nock off a vacuume line on the air intake or manifold area also pull out one of the spark plug "boots" and look at the spark plug for any water,if so you may need to blow off the plugs.DO NOT REMOVE THE PLUGS wile you are blowing them off but from what it sound like I would say you are having a vacuume problem just my .02
 
G

grk_stangsta

New Member
Jan 21, 2003
75
0
0
havertown, pa
Jun 1, 2004
#10
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #10
I actually wanted to do the same thing with my engine bay, but i was thinking of just taking it to a local car wash and have them steam clean my engine out, or something like that. do you guys think i should do this instead?
 
R

Roger_4.6_96

Founding Member
Jul 16, 2002
1,209
0
0
Reno,NV
Jun 1, 2004
#11
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #11
you guys are telling him to let his car missfire for 20 - 30 minutes

Dude remove your wires and look down the hole of your spark plugs see if there is any water.
 
B

Blk03GT

New Member
Feb 11, 2003
337
0
0
Ca
Jun 1, 2004
#12
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #12
Last guy I know that did that ended up needing a new coil pack. Get it dry asap.
 

DaNd4Speed

Founding Member
Jun 12, 2002
180
0
0
Patterson, NY
Jun 1, 2004
#13
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #13
Same thing happened to me when I used Gunk Engine Bright on my engine. It's your coilpacks! I messed 2 of mine up, and the car behaved exactly as you described. If you continue to drive the car with the misfire you'll get a check engine light. There are several ways of diagnosing exactly which one it is:

1) If you have an OBDII scanner (or know a friend that has one), it'll tell you what cylinder(s) are causing the misfire. The dealer can easily find this out as well.

2) If you dont have a scanner, you can narrow down which cylinder it is by diconnecting only 1 coil pack at a time and starting the engine. If it makes the idle rougher, shut the car off and re-connect the coil pack, and move to the next. The faulty coil pack will be the one that causes no change at all in your idling sound.

Most dealers parts departments stock coil packs, and they cost roughly $100 each. Hope this helps!
 

1fast03pony

Member
Jul 1, 2003
749
0
17
New york
Jun 1, 2004
#14
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #14
theres something about spraying water onto my engine that makes me skeptical.
id never wash my engine. ever.
 

DaNd4Speed

Founding Member
Jun 12, 2002
180
0
0
Patterson, NY
Jun 1, 2004
#15
  • Jun 1, 2004
  • #15
Used car dealers do it all the time acutally..with a powerwasher! Usually it causes no harm if you cover the right electrical components.
 
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