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[kellsonm]

Hey everyone, I'm hoping you guys might be able to help me diagnose engine trouble with my '94, 130k. So I just bought this car, and it was sitting for two years until I picked it up. Well I got it running, and it seems to be in good health. Drove it around for a while until I decided to powerspray the engine bay, since it was so filthy. I bought engine degreaser, and was very careful to cover any exposed electrical components before I sprayed it on. I let the degreaser sit, then powersprayed the whole thing. Car ran fine after that and all that night.
The next day, I was driving around and noticed that the engine would run very rough below 2000 RPMs, once I accelerated and the engine revved past 2000, it ran fine.
Another day passed, and the choking/sputtering problem is now so bad that the engine won't idle, and stalls.
Today, I changed the spark plugs and wires, and there was a bit of water in the cylinders.
That didn't help the problem, although the old plugs definitely needed replacing.
I though perhaps somehow I was out of fuel, so I added more. No change. Car won't turn over.

I'm thinking maybe it's the fuel pump:/
Amy ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[chrispoe]

Sounds to me like you have a vacuum leak.

[kellsonm]

I'll look around I guess, wouldn't that turn on the check engine light?

[mitch1204]

The engine doesn't handle moisture well. All the electrical connections are not weather tight.

When I bought my first Capri it ran great. Then a few weeks later the problems started. It would idle rough to eventually stalling pretty much like yours. The headlight motors and windshield wiper motor was intermittent depending on whether it rained or not.

I changed my fuel filter and tapped the old one on the ground. All kinds of crap come out of the inlet side. I had a good idea the tank was corroded. Sure enough it was rusted bad on the inside. After a new tank and pump then it still had the low rpm problems. I cleaned all the ground straps as some had corrosion under the connections. I then cleaned and used dielectric grease on all the connections. It ran fine after that. So I bet you got moisture in one of your connectors. Probably the IAC connector on the passenger side of the intake. It's a blue connector. Make sure it's clean and dry on the inside. Dielectric grease is great as it keeps future moisture or corrosion out. I would also suspect moisture under the distributor cap even though you covered it. Take it off and inspect the inside for moisture or carbon tracking.

Inspect the fuel filter for signs of trash entering it. Like Chris said inspect your vacuum hoses which could be knocked off with a pressure washer. They all feed off the intake. There's 4 or 5 hoses coming off of it. A couple under the front of the intake are coolant hoses. They most likely have clamps on them.

Most likely your problem is from the pressure washer but I can't count the times something else happened coincidentally. Start with the obvious but remember the car has been sitting two years. A lot of corrosion can happen in that time.

[kellsonm]

Thanks so much for all the wisdom!
I inspected all of the vacuum hoses today, and they are all connected and undamaged.
I replaced my fuel filter about 30 miles ago, I removed it today and nothing but pure, clean gasoline came out.
I'll crack open the fuel tank as soon as I can and see what's going on in there.

[Rocketman]

An un-spoken rule of Capri ownership is to NEVER power wash the engine bay, for any reason! lol. It *never* ends well, no matter how careful you are (I thought I could pull it off, it did not end well for me either)

Pull the distributor cap & rotor, check for moisture in there. This will wreak havoc on the spark. It's remarkably easy for it to get in.
If you found water in the plug wires, then that's certainly part of the issue.

Run the engine till it's warmed up (fan on) then shut it down, and pull the plug wires. This heat will help drive off the moisture. You may have to do this twice.

Is it still cranking & turning over?

[kellsonm]

Replaced the ignition rotor just now and it turned right over! Cleaned up the cap too, doesn't look like it needs replacing. The motor now sounds like it has a lifter tap, or maybe even a misfire?? I will drive it for a bit, and then redo the plugs/wires if the sound doesn't go away.
Thanks for all the help, I won't be power washing an engine ever again! Hopefully this is the end of my water problems.

[mitch1204]

Check the inside of the cap while someone cranks it. If you see a blue arc then replace it. Not all cracks are easily seen so the arcing helps. You might of hit it with the wand.

You can ohm out the plug wires. It should be 4000-6000 ohms per foot. Boots look good? Then no need to replace unless you want to upgrade.

[Grimsleeper]

The only other thing to check that i can think of that might cause a problem is the ground leads at the water neck.  That caused a butt load of problems for me.  All the choking and spitting that you described cleared right up for me when I cleaned and tightened that ground.