Hello all. I had to have my radiator replaced today because it had a hairline crack at the top. I had a friend put it in for me and he told me I needed to go wash the engine now to get rid of all of the excess oil and coolant to see if anything is leaking after he put the hoses back on. I didn't feel comfortable doing it myself so I asked him to take it and do it for me. He said that it stalled out on him when he was done and leaving the bay but once he got it started it was fine. Well I got in it about a couple hours after he washed it to go to the store and it is bogging down really bad. Could it just be from the washing? Or do you think it may be something else? I am running it right now for a little bit with the hood open trying to get it to dry out more if that is what the problem is. Any suggestions? Oh I forgot to add it is a 92 ES300.

 

Sounds like he might've used high pressure washer... bad idea. It's possible water made it into someplace it doesn't belong. IIRC the 92 has a distributor doesn't it? If so that'd be the first thing I checked.

 

Yes he took it to a car wash and cleaned it. He tried to say maybe I need to have the sparkplugs replaced and then he said something about checking the carburetor.

 

Carburetor?? Good luck finding that. Your car does not have one. I admire your friend for helping you but he isn't terribly car smart. You did not need to wash the engine to determine if you still had a coolant leak . Anyway, he may have gotten the spark plug wires or distributor cap wet and caused some problems. Just give it a day to dry out and it will probably (hopefully) be ok. You can buy products to dry the wires (WD40 will even soak up the moisture) but just letting it dry out on its own is fine. And BTW, if the wires or distributor cap are that sensitive to moisture, it is time to replace them.

 

Thank you both! I am praying that that's all it needs to do it dry out....

 

If you can let it sit for a day or so, preferably with the hood open, that'll work. If it still gives you trouble then pull the dist. cap and check inside for moisture. You can also get a spray bottle of water once it's running and mist the wires while it's running to see if the wires are arcing.

 

If he washed the engine, maybe some water got inside the spark plug wells and the distributor cap. You might have to remove the spark plug wires and distributor cap to let them dry.

 

Actually, the misting with the spray bottle is an excellent test. With good wires and dist. cap, you should be able to wet the wires and cap liberally and have no problems. But if you do, then its time to replace the item(s).

Another really good test is to get the car inside of a dark garage or wait until night. Then watch the engine while running and look to see if there are any sparks flying between the wires or cap. If nothing, you can mist it with the spray bottle and watch. If you get a "light show", then you need to replace some parts.