Redbud40

I had the brilliant idea of washing off the oil from a valve cover leak I fixed. Engine was running great before. I thought I was careful and only did around valve covers and lower. Let dry. Now car won’t start and starter cuts out at times. On one attempt pretty good backfire. It seems to just crank and crank ,like it’s out of gas but it’s not. Any thoughts from the experts. My only thought is let is sit overnight and try again. ???
Thanks in advance

4+4+2=10

Pop the distributor cap and spray inside with WD-40, sound like water got in there.

harleyrules

More then likely you have water under the distributor cap.

Redbud40

On it. I popped cap for the overnight sit. I ll spray it w WD 40 Thanks.

oldcutlass

Don't spray the wd40 in there. Just wipe the inside of the cap with a dry towel and hit the points with some compressed air.

Redbud40

Success !,, must have been the wet dist. I won’t be power washing anytime in the near future. Thanks guys.

rocketraider

You can still pressure wash your engine. Just be careful where you spray and cover dist cap, coil, carb, alternator, anything like that that moisture might bother it.

Plus a clean underhood is so much nicer to work on...

ijasond

Why not?

Fun fact: WD stands for water displacement. It's completely non-conductive and was originally designed to displace water from electrical components for immediate use rather than having to wait for them to dry. I think the 40 is the number of formulas they went through to get it right.

All that science and we act like it's just for squeaky door hinges.

Fun71

And it's actually not a very good lubricant.

It's a decent solvent, though. I use it all the time to clean old grease and gunk out of smaller parts.

ijasond

Yeah, I use it to get sticker residue off of things where other solvents would be too harsh.


A salesman at an appliance store actually recommended it for stainless steel. It is the best thing I have found for the front of my kitchen appliances. There is an odor but it dissipates quickly.

oldcutlass

Because when it mixes with the carbon deposits it causes shorts between the electrodes.

OLDSter Ralph

Some fishermen spray it on lures and bait.

rocketraider

Doesn't work all that well as a penetrant or rust-buster either, but it works well for what it's designed for.

I use it to dissolve and remove tar and road oil before washing a vehicle. Everyone has a can of WD40 and saves having to buy a can of tar remover at yer FLAPS. Or do they even make that anymore?