help, need plug wires!!

[96lt1]

help me guys, i pressure washed my engine yesterday and boy does it look nice. problem is, i filled one of the plug wells with water. even worse, when i pulled the other wires up to check for water i pulled one of the wires right out of the boot. i am done messin with aftermarket wires. anyone have motorcraft wires?? i need em bad. i am only runnin with 4 cylinders.

 

[sdpatt]

The lowest cost source for the Motorcraft wires is FordPartNetwork.com. The wires for the 3.0L (slao fit the 3.2L) are the WR-4033 and cost $83.99. Please don't use water in the engine campartment. You may have created even more problems than you already know.

 

[Blast7]

Couldn't we have a sticky in every forum stating not to wash your engine because it will almost definitely cause you problems if you do?

 

[96lt1]

boy, sorry to open up this can a worms. every other car i have owned i have done the same thing. i use a product called "Purple Power" and a pressure washer and it makes the motor look brand new. never had any problems till now. the rest of the car runs fine. as soon as i get the plug wires taken care of all is well. but thank u for the tip on where to get the wires. i was expecting more than that.

thanx

Sean

 

[shojuan]

Blast7:
Couldn't we have a sticky in every forum stating not to wash your engine because it will almost definitely cause you problems if you do?

This is quite a bold statement. It is *very* arguable whether you will have problems washing the engine or not. If it was so inherently dangerous to the engine bay the manufacturers of spray on engine degreasing solvents wouldn't be selling those products because they're liable if you f*ck up your engine.

Now I wouldn't take a pressure washer to my engine bay because it's not necessary to use that much force, if you use a solvent you just need to rinse it away not force water into all the nooks and crannies.

FWIW I've washed the engines in 4 of the 5 cars in my driveway using gumout steam premium and/or gunk foamy (prefer the steam premium cuz it smells so good) with *no* ill effects. Well, to be honest the SHO's fan controller kept the fan running until it dried out, about a half hour. That was because I went in there a second time a lot more aggressively than the first "pre-cleaning" time. In addition to these cars I've used can steam cleaner and the garden hose on 2 toyota camry's. Camry #1 could take all the water I could dish out, without covering anything up, because everything is sealed from the elements by design, and toyota's is a good one. The second camry was not a california car and I suspect this might have something to do with not all of the electrical seals being factory tight and water proof. It would do the same thing as it would do after driving through a huge puddle, run rough until dry (a couple of minutes).

Now I'm not recommeding that everybody go out there with a can of solvent and a garden hose and clean their engine bay. If you do you definately have to look out for water getting into the spark plug tubes (seal the edges with silly putty maybe?) I just think it's getting a bit carried away to instantly condemn everybody who does it.

Rick

 

[96lt1]

Originally posted by shojuan:

thanx, i couldnt agree more

 

[yamahaSHO]

I use the Gunk Engine Degreaser on my motor and have no problems. I will have to agree, don't use a pressure washer. Also, just be carfull around eletrical connectors. I also washed the motor on my camry this way, never had any problems.

<small>[ November 29, 2002, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: yamahaSHO ]</small>

 

[luigisho]

Some of us will have to agree to disagree on this. The plug wires are designed to keep moisture out of the plug wells. I think the design is less than adequate to keep pressure washing or large amounts of liquid immersion out of there. If it was not a consideration then the boot design would not be used.
Also, with the age of the electronics and wiring and the amount of engine movement tugging on them, I don't find this to be a good idea either. No scientific data to back it up, just my opinion.

 

[96lt1]

ok, i admit that pressure washing the motor may not be the best idea, however i think a lot of it depends on the motor design i.e. what is exposed and what isnt exposed. i pressure wash my Trans Am motor about once a month and never have any problem. my old S-10 however sat in my uncle's car wash bay for over and hour after i cleaned it up before it would run. the DOHC design i think makes it a bad idea because of the recessed plugs. on the up side though, my motor looks awesome and in a few hours ill have it back runnin normal again. when i clean my 91's motor i plan on doing the same, i will just take a little more caution to not spray directly into electrucal ares.

 

[yamahaSHO]

96LT1,
I vote for you to keep the SHO+ model. I know that isn't what you were asking, but I spotted it in your sig. Just my opinion. wink

 

[96lt1]

yamahaSHO:
96LT1,
I vote for you to keep the SHO+ model. I know that isn't what you were asking, but I spotted it in your sig. Just my opinion. wink

LOL, hey thanx. i may need to change my sig. there is an outside chance i can keep both. i just hope it can happen. lettin go of a sho is like losin a kid.

 

[Kevin Ryan]

The best quality for price I've found is Delco wires. Approx. $45.00. No problems on mine in 40,000 miles.