I didn't use a pressure washer just a garden hose and nozzle set to shower and not stream.
I know these are nice cars but damn. I've washed plenty of car motors and have never had a problem close to this.
I highly recommend if you have a first gen LS do not wash the engine unless you have unlimited resources at the bank.

I'd love a second opinion but the tow to the shop was $85 and the diagnostic was $85 and I'm not the Geico man made of money.

This blows

 

When I did mine, it was off and cooled. I think the consensus is not to power wash at all. Engine degreeser and rags are the way to go.

 

the quote for number of hours to replace the starter is correct, but I have never even heard of a case where even pressure washing an engine damaged the starter - just because an LS400 won't start, doesn't mean it needs a $1000+ starter replacement!

the starter in these cars is extremely well protected, that's exactly why it costs so much on the labor, it's buried, and not susceptible to damage from washing the engine.

someone is trying to scam you


PS - how would they know "the starter is destroyed" without spending many hours removing it? - they don't know because they didn't remove it and they cannot make that BS statement

well I am an expert, and you are correct, he didn't damage his starter by washing the engine, period, the end!

 

Threads merged.

Wow, this a scenario so far.

The exhaust doesn't have to come off for a starter replacement. The intake plenum and depending how nasty the gaskets are those will need to be replaced. Starter should be ~$700 from an independent.

It is highly possible something shorted and blew a key fuse. Check all the fuses inside and in the engine compartment. You'd have to really soak the intake valley area to introduce water into the starter. The wiring harness in that area is going to be pretty brittle.

The simpler the motor, the easier is is with washing. Water and electronics in current cars is a poor combination new and especially old.

 

listen to RA40 - he is very wise - you have water someplace it shouldn't be, and you may well have popped a fuse, fuselink, or broken an important wire that was old and brittle etc. - but you didn't break the starter!

 

Yeah, after thinking about it I also believe you are getting ripped off Bert.

 

I power wash engine bays all the time. Never had a problem. I leave the car running and its hot enough to evaporate the water fairly fast. Pressure washer gives control of where to aim the water. And its pressurized with less water. Unlike a water hose with more volume of water going at a slow rate. Avoid directly spraying the exhaust manifold if there is no shield it can crack if its cast. Avoid fuse boxes and distributors. Mostly all connectors have seals so water does not enter. There is the case where there is a seal crushed from a previous disconnection and reconnection and water can seep in.

If the car starts to idle weird or run rough avoid spraying the area thats causing it. If you have an air compressor spray compressed air in the areas you would avoid spraying water.

If you encounter water in the spark plug tube. remove the spark plug allowing the water to enter the cylinder put the spark plug back in but to do not thread it in, hold the spark plug down and have some one crank the motor over the pressure should shoot the water out. (disable fuel and distibutor/coils)

*hint* If spark plug boot has pin holes or tiny cracks it can arc through even more with moisture in the area causing it to arc to the spark plug tube = loss of power.

 

when I have encountered water in the spark plug tube, I leave the spark plug tight and run a special thin tube blow-gun attached to my compressor down beside plug and hit it with air blast and all of the water comes blasting out of the hole!

 

just get the car safely back home, and away from these crooks, and we well tell ya how to proceed from there!

 

Let us know in detail what electrical systems are operative and not?
Battery still has a good charge?

 

They lowered the repair bill from $1600 to $1080 after a lot of debate and mainly my complaint about how in the hell does water kill a starter that is buried under a intake manifold.

Y'all, I checked everything I could think of and access. It was beyond my scope of ability.
I think the truth is only the shop will really know what happened.

If they give me a different reason for the engine not spinning over when all other electrics work I will let y'all know.

To LScowboy and everyone else that has tried to help me all I can say is "Big Thank yous"

 

Hate to see you shell out money for that repair...and it not fix your problem... that would be the worst outcome...

 

I wonder if they changed the starter at all, if they lied to you about the problem in the first place, then why trust them that they did all of those hours of labor!

ask for your old part back, they won't have thrown it away, too much copper value and and the recycling man only comes by every couple of months, (I have owned many shops) - they will have the old part if they did the work, and also ask them to show you what part of the starter failed.

 

Just had my engine and undercarriage power washed at a local car wash for $35. The car was off but warmed up real good. I could see the water steaming off as the guy did it. All the dirt and oil from a leak that I have in the back of the oil pan since the back 2 bolts don't tighten( might need inserts ) was killing me when I did the engine and transmission mounts last weekend with the help of a friend. Anyway the car started right up afterwards but it is running kind of rough and the VSC light popped on. I'll give it a couple of days to dry out good and see what happens.

 

If I were you, I would check the neutral safety switch and its line first. Does your starter solenoid have 12 supply? This can be checked at the pin 2 of the starter relay located at the fuse box. So you don't need to access the starter motor itself to check the voltage.

The neutral safety switch is in the box attached to the AT and water is passing through there when the engine is washed by plenty of water with chemicals. The box is originally waterproofed but an aged box tends to loose the good capability of it and also some chemicals damage the sealing.