What did I do!!?

[ShiftFMX]

I washed my truck today and I popped the hood and gave the motor a quick spray with the power washer. Now my truck absolutely runs like crap! Its a '99 F250. It vibrates pretty hard at lower RPM's and the exhaust stinks now. I figured I got water in my gas So I drove to the Gas station and put some fresh gas and put some STP "Gas Treatment" in it. On my way home me check engine light came on. When I take off it kinda sounds like its bogging. I'm supposed to leave for the dunes this weekend and I really hope this is nothing huge cause I DO NOT have the money to fix this right now.

I have a 5.4 330

Originally posted by ShiftFMX
I washed my truck today and I popped the hood and gave the motor a quick spray with the power washer. Now my truck absolutely runs like crap! Its a '99 F250. It vibrates pretty hard at lower RPM's and the gas stinks now. I figured I got water in my gas So I drove to the Gas station and put some fresh gas and put some STP "Gas Treatment" in it. On my way home me check engine light came on. When I take off it kinda sounds like its bogging. I'm supposed to leave for the dunes this weekend and I really hope this is nothing huge cause I DO NOT have the money to fix this right now.

I have a 5.4 330

My friend's Dodge used to do something similar to that. And it was the starting coil. Once it got wet, it bogged down and ran like crap. But once it dried out, it ran like normal.

[ShiftFMX]

I pray to GOD that tomorrow my truck runs fine!

[csimp3]

didnt get your air filter all wet did ya?

[ShiftFMX]

I dont think so, Its all sealed up, Although there is a K&N in there, but its still a Stock intake the comes through the Fender.

[honda4life72]

my dads f350 did that to , let it dry out and it should not do it anymore

[wvspeedfreak]

You got water on the plug wires and more than likely down around where the plug wires goes in the head to the plugs.It is pretty common with the 4.6 and 5.4's if they get wet.The "check engine" light comes on when it sets a misfire code on a cylinder.
If it doesn't dry out on it's own,you will probably have to pull the plug wires and blow the water out of the spark plug holes.
From my experience with them,the 3rd one back on the passenger side is the one that gives the most problem with water getting in.It is kind of a pain to get to as well.See how it does tomorrow....it will possibly dry out on it's own.

[ShiftFMX]

So this isnt something that will hinder my trip to the dunes this weekend? I'm leaving friday

[NacsMXer]

Ohh man, I know exactly what you did. When washing these motors, you have to be VERY careful about where you spray water. When I wash my 5.4 down, I rinse it with nothing more than a trickle stream of water being very careful to avoid the coil packs. I don't want to alarm you, the damage is already done, but I would never think to use a pressure washer in there :eek2:

The problem is the design of where the spark plugs sit in the head. You access them from the TOP of the motor next to the intake and they go straight down from there. The COP (coil over plug) packs then push straight down over the spark plugs. You get ANY amount of water in that spark plug recess and it will have nowhere to go. You get the boot of the COP sitting in that pool of water on the plug and there's your problem.

What I would do if I were you would be to pull off each individual COP pack, blow compressed air down the spark plug hole to get all that pooled water out, then clean out the COP boot and pack it with dielectric grease. To get the COP packs out, you need to loosen the single 7mm bolt holding it down and remove the wire harness from it by squeezing and pulling off the connector. The ones in the back are an absolute biatch to get to i've done it.

If you can do this and get the truck running good again, great. I'll tell you right now though that this is the best case scenario. There is still a good chance you shorted out a COP pack or two when you introduced water down there...it is hard to say. These things aren't exactly cheap to replace at about 50 bucks a pop.

Let us know how it goes, you can PM me if you need help....good luck :)

[ShiftFMX]

Well Let me ask this, Is it ok to drive it how it is? I have to go to work in the morning :mad:

[NacsMXer]

You can drive it, but it will run like crap. You also risk shorting out more COP packs by having the electrical system active while there still may be water down there.

On the upside, you may luck out and it is just running crappy because the COP's are saturated in water. Just from the heat of running it, some of the water will evaporate off and it may run better.

Keep in mind that the check engine light has already been set off. When this happens the PCM will cause the engine to go into "limp mode" to protect itself from further damage. Without a tuner, you will have to make a trip to the auto parts store or the Ford dealer to diagnose and clear the DTC's that are setting off the check engine light. It is not good practice to cruise around with the CEL on for extended periods.

Go shoot the COP's down with compressed air if you can...get as much water sprayed out of there as you can without taking it apart at the very least. Use a leaf blower, whatever you got. Then take the truck for a cruise around the block a couple times to get it up to temp to burn off that pooled water. It's worth a shot, but that check engine light will still be there until it is cleared.

[Ghost-Rider]

You got water in the coil packs. just pull the pack off top the plug wipe it out and or take a air comprssor and blow any standing water out let it dry and should be good.ptrlby have a check engine light though.Bought my truck washed it and sprayed engine same happened.Also on my dads truck same problem.

[ShiftFMX]

Originally posted by ShiftFMX
I pray to GOD that tomorrow my truck runs fine!

Thanks God :D

Truck ran great this morning!

[NacsMXer]

Originally posted by ShiftFMX
Thanks God :D

Truck ran great this morning!

Good to hear! You lucked out for sure :D Probably just needed to dry itself out who's to say how much or how little water you got in there.

At least you can take this experience as a lesson learned...coil packs + water = bad news haha :p

[ShiftFMX]

Hell Yeah, What makes me so mad is that I didnt even get the motor clean!! :mad: