Sprayed off the engine, and prolly fried something???

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

shonoff24

Hates Hondas
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Location
Ohio
Hey everybody. Im hoping one of my fellow SHO owners can bail me out... Again!... 2 weeks ago, I had a perfectly running 93 atx, with 120 on the clock, until I decided to spray the engine off. It has not run right since.

So heres what happened... I sprayed the engine off for about 2 minutes, when it was cold, and not running. Afterwards, I try to start it, and get absolutely nothing but a sputtering engine that is on the verge of firing up. So I look around the engine, and i notice that the front 3 plug wires had come unsnapped a little. (Im guessing from the force of the water.) I go ahead and pull the wires all the way off and see that all 3 plug holes are full of water. I think well, thats gotta be it. So I suck all the water out with a shop vac, pull the plugs and clean them, (which they looked fine) and wiped off the wires as best i could, and put it back together. I go to start it, and it fires right up... Then i try to drive it, and its just a mess. I drove it for about an hour thinking I needed to get the engine good and hot, let everything dry out, and it would correct itself. Wrong..... Now the car is down at least 100 - 150 hp, is constantly backfiring, idles rough at about 500 RPM, and getting roughly 7 or 8 miles a gallon on fuel. The unburnt gas fumes from the exhaust are overwhelming. The car seemed to run worse as it got warmer, and eventually died on me, and left me stranded... I checked the engine codes doing the KOEO test and got a code for an EGR something, but thats been throwing that code for 5 years now, with no past driveability problems. I try the KOER test and get nothing. For whatever reason, the scanner, or the cars computer, or ??? just wouldnt run the test.

So I had the car towed to a "mechanic", who has a "6 thousand dollar engine scanner", and "30 years of experience". Today I find out, he grossly exaggerated his "engine scanner" and "30 years experience", and told me he doesnt have the first clue what is wrong with it, is unable to hook it up to his machine, has never even seen an SHO engine, and that im pretty much on my own, and to come get it. So Im wondering has anyone else ever done this, and maybe have an idea of what it is, or what to check? Or do I file this under the this kinda shit only happens to me, mortgage the house, and have it towed to the Ford dealer??? Thanks for any replies in advance
 

yamahaSHO

E85 whore
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
10,646
Reaction score
2,516
Location
Arkansas
I spray my engine off all the time. It's an easy fix. I've never had the plug wells fill up on mine, I have on a customers car.
 

yamahaSHO

E85 whore
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
10,646
Reaction score
2,516
Location
Arkansas
When I clean my engine, I probably hose down the engine bay longer. But I may not know what I'm doing... Only been doing it to this car for about 10 years.
 

rubydist

SHO Master
Staff member
Super Moderators
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
7,521
Reaction score
3,399
Location
Denver
it depends a very great deal on how your plug wire boots seal against the valve covers. if you have good wires and the right length (Motorcraft) plugs you can often hose off the engine without getting the plug wells full of water. then again, sometimes you get water in there. unfortunately, when you do get water in there, its a good way to ruin the plugs and wires.
 

SHO1

Coke Is It!
Joined
Dec 31, 2005
Messages
1,275
Reaction score
214
Location
The State Of Hockey
I spray my engine off all the time. It's an easy fix. I've never had the plug wells fill up on mine, I have on a customers car.

Same here, I've done it about 7 times on 3 SHO's and only got water in the wells once and that was the one that didn't have stock wires.
 

19sho90

Active Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
253
Reaction score
46
Location
Colorado
I spray my engine off every time i wash her and have never had a problem. (Knock on wood!) I would also suggest looking at the back three. I would also assume you dont have factory wires or plugs!
 

Irish Pride

Irish Inside
Staff member
Super Moderators
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Messages
3,705
Reaction score
4,761
Location
MusicCityUSA
After you pull the back 3 plugs you might want to change your oil. Depending on how long you ran it like that there is a good chance you've watered down the oil with unburnt gasoline. Hate for you to get it running right then spin a bearing.
 

jayro

SHO Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
1,918
Reaction score
349
Location
Auburn, In
After you pull the back 3 plugs you might want to change your oil. Depending on how long you ran it like that there is a good chance you've watered down the oil with unburnt gasoline. Hate for you to get it running right then spin a bearing.

Guess this is a new one for me....how can this cause gas to get into the oil?
 

DJSHO91

SHO Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2004
Messages
1,089
Reaction score
809
Location
Durham, NC
I wash off my engine several times a year. Spray the entire engine compartment, place a plastic bag over the fuse box, with engine foam cleaner and then rinse off the foam. Always use hose at home and don't use any "high-pressure" attachments. I also keep the engine running at idle while I rinse it off. Never have had any problems using this method. I NEVER use the "engine cleaning" step at the DIYS car washes, seen too many engines damaged over the years.:salute:
 

shobote

SHO Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2003
Messages
1,476
Reaction score
207
Location
Naperville, IL
Spraying the engine and spraying it with pressure so high it blows the plug wires off are 2 different animals. prolly water in the wells shorting out; Use degreaser like simple green and with a low pressure hose next time.
 

Irish Pride

Irish Inside
Staff member
Super Moderators
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Messages
3,705
Reaction score
4,761
Location
MusicCityUSA
Spraying the engine and spraying it with pressure so high it blows the plug wires off are 2 different animals. prolly water in the wells shorting out; Use degreaser like simple green and with a low pressure hose next time.

Wont Simple Green mess up the finish on the intake?
 

RonPorter

SHO Club of America
Joined
Feb 25, 2001
Messages
3,722
Reaction score
2,572
Location
Lake Orion, MI
I spray my engine off all the time. It's an easy fix. I've never had the plug wells fill up on mine, I have on a customers car.

Yep done it dozens of times over the years on the SHOs, and have never had an issue. I do it with the engine hot & running, and I'm just careful around the plug areas. Also had used Gunk Foamy that did a nice job after the winter.
 

shonoff24

Hates Hondas
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Location
Ohio
Update... I went to the shop where its at, and pulled all them back plug wires, and looked in the plug wells real good with a light, and sure enough 2 of them were about half full of water... Ive owned this car for 13 years and never had this happen before, but common sense should of told me that 19 year old plug wires that have been through thousands of heat cycles probably wouldn't seal too well against a garden hose... Lesson learned. Thanks again everyone.
 

HotBoxSHO

New Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2001
Messages
90
Reaction score
0
Location
Portland, Maine
Update... I went to the shop where its at, and pulled all them back plug wires, and looked in the plug wells real good with a light, and sure enough 2 of them were about half full of water... Ive owned this car for 13 years and never had this happen before, but common sense should of told me that 19 year old plug wires that have been through thousands of heat cycles probably wouldn't seal too well against a garden hose... Lesson learned. Thanks again everyone.

19 year old plug wires?!? My god. I'd replace them just for peace of mind.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
107,077
Messages
1,181,195
Members
16,141
Latest member
grapnelg

Members online

No members online now.
Back
Top