engine studdering

Hey guys, this isnt a camaro im talking about, but im talking about the same engine that was once put in the camaro.

Anyways, it is the iron duke.

I spilled brake fluid all over the wiring and stuff, so i wanted to clean it off, and i gunked the engine. I sprayed it off, and let the engine idle for 15 minutes like the directions said to.

I went to drive the car today, and it seemed to studder after i got done stopping at a stop sign, and i was pulling out. It stalled out once, and studdered and almost stalled when i was trying to go after the light turned green.

I first thought the problem was when i had the AC on only, but i turned the AC off, and it did studder a bit. It seems to only be shuttering when the car has been idiling for a while (like waiting at a redlight) And after driving it around for a while, it seemed to quit, and only happen when the car was idiling.

WHen i say studdering, it feels like in the car, when you let the clutch out too fast, and dont get it enough gas, the car is shaking, and studdering trying to stall out.

Im assuming that some water got in the distributer cap, and isnt letting it fire right.. but i just wanted your guy's opinions.

The distributer is REALLY hard to get at, or i would of already taken the cap off, and seen if there was water in it.

I dont drive the car much, and if the problem is water in the distributer cap, is there any harm in letting the water evaporate by itself?

Thanks.. and if needed, the car is a 1985 chevy celeb.

sounds like you steamed your distributor cap .
It wont evaporate on its own - the moisture is trapped under there.
You will need to remove the cap and dry it out. CRC556 or WD40 works well to displace the moisture.

steamed the cap?

what does that mean?

Im guessing water in your cap.

Spraying cold water on a warm engine = Steam

Funny ...Steamed Cap. NO its not the case. This a carb right. As i understand its missfiring.

1 Bad wire
2 Bad plugs
3 Bad cap (not likely theres no way that water would not evaporate from there when the engine is hot)
4 Vacuum leak
5 Ignition module.
6 Carb problem
7 Stuck lifters (not likely)

Should be.. I think 86 was when Chevy made everyone go FI.

no, it isnt a carb.

it is kinda of funny how everything was fine, then i sprayed the engine down, and it happens.

also, how would water in the cap do this? I mean, the same thing happened in my camaro.. there was water in the cap, and a few cylinders wernt firing.. i mean, we have hard water, it is very conductive.

moisture in the distributor cap will/would cause the problem you are having. moisture (in the air inside of the cap) prevents the spark from jumping from the terminals like it should. have you ever rubbed your feet on a carpet and gotten a static shock when your hands are wet? No, you haven't. It only happens when your skin is dry. The same applies to distributor caps (carbed or not). This is probably you're problem.

supervisor1886, you really shouldn't misinform people like that.... moisture in the cap is a pretty common problem, and it doesn't easily evaporate even if the engine is hot.

moisture in the distributor cap will/would cause the problem you are having. moisture (in the air inside of the cap) prevents the spark from jumping from the terminals like it should. have you ever rubbed your feet on a carpet and gotten a static shock when your hands are wet? No, you haven't. It only happens when your skin is dry. The same applies to distributor caps (carbed or not). This is probably you're problem.

That is very true. I know from my days of Van de graaff building that moisture is the enemy. Especially in Florida where its extremely humid. One thing I did when I was building VDG's was to create a heat box. Basically a sealed box with a high heat light bulb. Home-made van de graaff machines are a little more finicky than a distributor though.