I still remember when I was 7 or 8, my dad had an old Buick LeSabre with point-type ignition. He took it to the car wash, and I watched as he washed the engine down. He didn't leave it running, and it wouldn't start after he was done! It turns out he soaked the distributor down, and the points were too wet to make good contact. He had some WD40 to drive the water out, and it fired right up! After 30 minutes of cussing and poking at things under the hood, that is.

 

thanks for the idea.

Any specific degreaser can?

 

anything will work. i think "gunk" make something.

my dad worked at federal mogul/felpro for many many years before he passed, and we have an endless supply of felpro brand lubes, primers, degreasers, locktights, etc, etc.

 

so keep the engine running when cleaning under the hood?

 

i did, cause many times you wont' be able to start it once you've soaked everything...it's not such a big deal with newer cars, cause there arent' and distributors and what not. just be careful around spark plugs. also, i feel keeping it on keeps it really hot under there and makes **** evaporate and what not.

 

Thanks for the tips. I'll be trying it out.