Washed engine, now running rough

topless98gt · Oct 28, 2005

I washed my engine today. I know you're not supposed to wash it when it's hot, but what I did was let it sit overnight and then moved it this afternoon and washed the car and then the engine. After that I let it idle for a little bit (probably about 10 minutes) and now the car is running rough when I drive it. On the access road in 5th gear going 42mph it felt like it was bouncing a lot. That's the only way I can describe it. Any ideas?

mustanggt3685 · Oct 28, 2005

Did you cover the ignition coils...air filter and the other assorted electronics? If not thats probably why. Check to see if there are any wires or anything that are un protected.

FORCED2DV8 · Oct 28, 2005

Yeah if you got the coils wet or have bad ignition wires they will arc and give you poor spark and it will run really rough, check you air filter also if you sucking water / Thats Not Good / most of the other electronics are sealed or will dry out with no problem, just like driving in the rain. Go for the wires, a good way to test is start the car at night with no lights, open the hood and turn off the under hood light, sometime you can actually see the wires arcing off the engine.

saldivo2 · Oct 28, 2005

I did the same thing after i got my GT. It will dry and go away in a couple days, you got to love modern electronics

topless98gt · Oct 28, 2005

Thanks guys for the advice/information. I guess I'll wait it out a few days and see what happens. I'll keep y'all updated.

Oh, and no, I didn't cover the coils or anything.

soctty7676 · Oct 28, 2005

topless98gt said:
Thanks guys for the advice/information. I guess I'll wait it out a few days and see what happens. I'll keep y'all updated.

Oh, and no, I didn't cover the coils or anything.

Spray WD-40 all over the top of the engine/airbox/coils/electronics, etc.... This has worked for me 90% of the time. It gets in tight spaces and displaces the water. It will stink and smoke for a few minutes because it will burn off when the engine warms up, but it almost always worked for me.

It also makes everything shiny!

topless98gt · Oct 28, 2005

soctty7676 said:
Spray WD-40 all over the top of the engine/airbox/coils/electronics, etc.... This has worked for me 90% of the time. It gets in tight spaces and displaces the water. It will stink and smoke for a few minutes because it will burn off when the engine warms up, but it almost always worked for me.

It also makes everything shiny!

This guy isn't pulling my chain, is he? I don't want to do this and foul my car up. Anyone else?

large pizza · Oct 28, 2005

saldivo2 said:
I did the same thing after i got my GT. It will dry and go away in a couple days

what he said......it'll be fine

soctty7676 · Oct 28, 2005

topless98gt said:
This guy isn't pulling my chain, is he? I don't want to do this and foul my car up. Anyone else?

Ha ha, no I'm being serious. Type this phrase into google:

dry "distributor cap" wd-40

It is an old trick my dad taught me when I used to wash the engine in my older cars. I always got water in and around the dist. cap, I would remove it and spray it along with the plug wires and ends. The car would start right up and run smooth after that.

cougar694u · Oct 28, 2005

If you drive it around normally, the water will evaporate. Typically, water gets down in the spark plug wells, it's happened to me before. The reason why the other guy said to use wd-40 is because it displaces water (WD=Water Displacement), which helps get water off the electrical connections. It is flammable, so beware, but I'd just drive it.

'13_ImpactBlue_GT · Oct 28, 2005

Or just dont wash the engine and save yourself the hassle.

Jackie Chan · Oct 28, 2005

I think the only way to solve this is to get a really powerful stereo system and a cd that sounds like a mustang running well. The only problem is matching the engine speed to the cd.

or you could do what those guys said

ponysarepretty · Oct 28, 2005

My bad advice ?

My car ran less than optimally after washing it until i evaporated all the water, check under the hood, if there is water keep driving and the heat wil do it. I think it has to do with the fact that a lot of evaporated water comes off while gets sucked by the air filter, kind of replicating very high humidity.

john_324 · Oct 28, 2005

FORCED2DV8 said:
...and turn off the under hood light...

Sigh...underhood light. That must be nice to have...

COramprat · Oct 28, 2005

Mine ran rough for a week. I went back and removed all of the wires and plugs and dried them then put them back. Cleared right up.

DogVomit · Oct 28, 2005

Once I ran through a huge puddle and stalled. My pop passed by and stopped. He laughed, opened his trunk and tool box, walked out with a blue and yellow can. He sprayed WD40 on my coil, distributor and plug lines, smiled and walked past me, back to his car and drove off.

I just almost Sheit.

Got in the car, canked and BOOM!

Wet wires, WD40.

ponysarepretty · Oct 28, 2005

I thought our engines didn't have plug wires?

Susky · Oct 28, 2005

The only problem with WD-40 is that while it works to displace water, it promotes the adhesion of more dirt, which could eventually cause more electrical issues. Go ahead and use the stuff, but you may want to get in there and wipe things out before too long.

Fatheadkid · Jun 23, 2017

Yesterday i wahed my engine and today it runs like crap (making popping nosie)

robertsa · Jun 23, 2017

Fatheadkid said:
Yesterday i wahed my engine and today it runs like crap (making popping nosie)

You'll probably have better luck making a new thread instead of reviving one that's 12 years old.

If you read what was posted though, you probably just have water somewhere you shouldn't. Let it dry or start pulling plug wires to dry out the wells with compressed air or whatever, make sure the coils are dry, etc.

Washed engine, now running rough

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