Engine problems after cleaning

L

Lauraetco

New member
Hello everyone,

I just cleaned my engine following the directions on this site. I wiped off the debris with a brush, covered the battery with a bag, sprayed it with degreaser, scrubbed it, and rinsed it with a hose. I didn't think I needed to cover my distributor cap, etc. because my engine has a big plastic cover over it. It's a 2001 Kia, Rio. Anyways, I misread the directions and started my engine before it was dry. It's idling terribly! My whole car is shaking and the engine almost stopped completely. Is this normal when the engine is still wet or did I get water somewhere I wasn't supposed to and cause permanent damage?

Thanks so much,

Laura
 
Not normally, but I have no experience with Kias...Lift the hood and let it dry out for a while and then try again.
 
You might want to check your plugs, if water got down on them, it will cause them to misfire and the engine will run like crap.
 
Yeah, it should be fine once it is dry. Depending on the vehicle you might have gotten some water in the distrubutor cap. I did my truck one time and got some in the alternator. I started driving down the road and my volt meter pegged out into the red zone. I quickly pulled over and the water was bubbling out of the top of the battery. I disconnected the charging wire and let the truck run for a few minutes to dry it out and it worked fine after that.
 
Take off the distributor cap and spray WD-40 liberally on the inside, it will displace the water. Wipe out the excess, put it back on, and crank it up. This happens to me sometimes when I clean the engine on cars with distributors in spite of plastic bags and being careful. Quick fix!
 
Also I always tend to take an old shirt and wrap around the part before putting the bag over it just in case something gets through.
 
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