Help Cleanned Engine And Now It Shakes at all RPMS

[Spencer]

I took some advice and carefully pressurewashed engine. Now it idles rough and shakes bad when given gas.. What did I do? I checked all spark plugs. And one may have been loose or was loosened from water. Could water in sparkplug well cause this?

Or could it be anything to do with the coil packs and that side? Should I pull plugs??

 

[piperoo]

I would just go over every cable and connection and make sure something didn't come loose. Maybe something needs to dry out?

Word to the wise: NEVER pressure wash under your hood. I just use engine cleaner on the metal parts and Armor All on all of the plastic areas.

 

[Spencer]

I would just go over every cable and connection and make sure something didn't come loose. Maybe something needs to dry out?

Word to the wise: NEVER pressure wash under your hood. I just use engine cleaner on the metal parts and Armor All on all of the plastic areas.

Yea I was avoiding pressurewashing the engine but I heard others did it carefully so I tried it myself.. I carefully went around the wires but not the plug wells so i THINK It sounds like water in wells..

Pull plugs and crank engine? Run it till it dries?

 

[Spencer]

water is in at least one of the 3 wells i checked. i pulled plugs now what. turn over engine or just let it dry before putting plug back in?

 

[raydouble]

Word to the wise: NEVER pressure wash under your hood.

That's just silly.

Yea I was avoiding pressurewashing the engine but I heard others did it carefully so I tried it myself.. I carefully went around the wires but not the plug wells so i THINK It sounds like water in wells..

Pull plugs and crank engine? Run it till it dries?

Do you have compressed air or air in a can. Paper towels down the holes? You don't want to pull the spark plugs if the water is going to run into the cylinder.

 

[Spencer]

That's just silly.



Do you have compressed air or air in a can. Paper towels down the holes? You don't want to pull the spark plugs if the water is going to run into the cylinder.

Umm too late for that.. I there was one plug with water and I pulled the plug so now it is in engine... shoot!!

 

[raydouble]

Umm too late for that.. I there was one plug with water and I pulled the plug so now it is in engine... shoot!!

Sh*t.... I'm not exactly sure the best course of action now, I know for sure you don't want any water in that cylinder when you put the spark plug back in...... yep pull all turn over a bunch, maybe a little WD40 in each cylinder and turn over, maybe lint free rag stuffed in at TDC to get the moisture that is left over?

 

[piperoo]

That's just silly.

Really? Was he having engine sputter prior to pressure washing the engine?

I am not sure if you can do serious damage while pressure spraying, but obviously there are things that can go wrong.

 

[raydouble]

Really? Was he having engine sputter prior to pressure washing the engine?

I am not sure if you can do serious damage while pressure spraying, but obviously there are things that can go wrong.

No he wasn't and I'll admit, I'm the reason he washed his engine....... but that is like saying you shouldn't drive because you might get into a accident.

 

[Spencer]

Its ok guys!! All runs fine now.. Pulled one side turned engine over and reinstalled sparkplugs sputtered a few seconds and runs just as great as before. Ill admit I have no clue why but my spark plug wires do not fit very tight in the wells at all I mean if I tug on the wire next to it, it will pull the wire from the next well..

 

[bgmac]

Word to the wise: NEVER pressure wash under your hood. I just use engine cleaner on the metal parts and Armor All on all of the plastic areas.

I would have to agree with piperoo on this one! I detail high end cars all the time and never dowse the engine down with a pressure washer! On occasion it is necessary to spray off grim towards the bottom of the engine and engine compartment, but I would never spray the top part of the motor, let alone use a pressure washer..hence water in the spark plugs.

 

[2000runr]

I used simple green on mine and it worked great. Elbow grease and lots of diligence.

 

[kball]

I'll come to Raydouble's aid and agree that pressure washing is okay but you definitely have to be careful around the plastic and rubber. In my experience at a diesel shop I worked at years ago, we pressure/steam washed all the service and parts trucks all the time but you need to make sure and leave the engine running otherwise it may not start up afterwards. I'm sure the sputtering Spencer was having was due to water near the plugs shorting them out. Just the wires criss crossing can do the same thing. Then again, these trucks we used to wash were 80's chevys... maybe they don't care about water....

 

[LINY4Runner]

i've always been taught that you use water as a last resort, and if you do, use only a light sprinkle...like when you set the nozzle to mist

you say you can use a pressure washer but be careful around wires, plastic and rubber....well that inculdes a good 75% of the engine bay

bad idea, and now we know why

 

[kball]

Good point, and thats the difference between our mid 90's + runners and mid 80's chevy's. More plastic these days...

 

[bgmac]

I'll come to Raydouble's aid and agree that pressure washing is okay but you definitely have to be careful around the plastic and rubber. In my experience at a diesel shop I worked at years ago, we pressure/steam washed all the service and parts trucks all the time but you need to make sure and leave the engine running otherwise it may not start up afterwards. I'm sure the sputtering Spencer was having was due to water near the plugs shorting them out. Just the wires criss crossing can do the same thing. Then again, these trucks we used to wash were 80's chevys... maybe they don't care about water....

You can let the motor run for a minute just to warm thing up a little to make cleaning it a little more easier but By no means should you spray down a hot motor or a running motor. That's a good way to cause even more damage. Plus you even said your self in the above statement "leave the engine running otherwise it may not start". Why even take that risk? I understand where your coming from though, I used to spray down my work truck (freight-liner) and not even think twice about hurting the CAT motor but I would never do that on my own car or a customers car.

 

[kball]

You can let the motor run for a minute just to warm thing up a little to make cleaning it a little more easier but By no means should you spray down a hot motor or a running motor. That's a good way to cause even more damage. Plus you even said your self in the above statement "leave the engine running otherwise it may not start". Why even take that risk? I understand where your coming from though, I used to spray down my work truck (freight-liner) and not even think twice about hurting the CAT motor but I would never do that on my own car or a customers car.

lol, yes bgmac, I think the secret here is the "risk" factor. Back then at the shop they were company vehicles, we didn't care. But, at the same time, to my knowledge after steam pressure washing many trucks many times, it never hurt any of them. Except for the first time I did it, before I was told you need to leave it running. It didn't really hurt it though, it just had to dry out. The pressure washer we used was so hot it would have peeled off your skin in a second which is why I said previously to be careful around plastic/rubber. The engine is pretty well sealed up so water should not get into anything and I really don't see a problem with spraying it down from a safe distance. You definitely don't want to get the nozzle right down onto something. I've never sprayed down a personal vehicle before except an 85 ford ranger. None of my vehicles have ever had a leak bad enough to cause me to want to do this.

 

[glenyoshida]

The engine is pretty well sealed up so water should not get into anything and I really don't see a problem with spraying it down from a safe distance. You definitely don't want to get the nozzle right down onto something.

I agree.

Common problems are getting the nozzle too close, spraying when the engine is hot, using soap or other chemicals that are an electrolyte. I spray my engine about a half dozen times a year. If it didn't look so nice and make it so much easier to wrench on I don't think I would bother.

It's a lot easier to say always yes or always no but just like most things the more knowledge and skill one has the more one can do. You can wash your engine you can't just do it willy nilly.

 

[Spencer]

I agree.

Common problems are getting the nozzle too close, spraying when the engine is hot, using soap or other chemicals that are an electrolyte. I spray my engine about a half dozen times a year. If it didn't look so nice and make it so much easier to wrench on I don't think I would bother.

It's a lot easier to say always yes or always no but just like most things the more knowledge and skill one has the more one can do. You can wash your engine you can't just do it willy nilly.

Yes I WAS VERY CLOSE.. this wasn't a very powerfull pressure washer and it really wasn't worth it.. I mean the engine doesn't really look any better.. GUESS I gotta use hand and tooth brush power.

 

[96743runner]

Recently I cleaned my engine bay with two cans of engine degreaser (yes, it was that dirty), rinsed with a mist of water and it came pretty clean and didn't cause any problems. As long as you watch where the water's going and you don't drench the sensitive parts with water, it should be fine.