Everyones worst nightmare!

[radiopilot]

I was hosing the engine down and forgot to cover the air intake, I started the car and water got in, just what was on the air filter mesh, it started rough and blew smoke/oil up through the carb, now it idles very rough, did I blow the head gasket or intake manifold gasket, I'm getting an oil leak on the right side of the engine and there is an oil leak by on the right of the intake manifold just below the cam cover? Do I have to replace the gaskets because nothing I do seems to get a smooth idle anymore...
Can the gaskets be replaced easily while the engine is in the car or do I need to have the engine removed?

Help please....

Nick

[So Cal Mark]

how much water went down the intake? If you filled a cylinder, you may have hydrauliced it and bent a rod. With the engine idling, remove the plug wires from the cap, one at a time until you find one that doesn't make a difference. Then remove the spark plug and see if it's fouled. Getting water into the intake won't cause a blown head gasket. Have you pulled the dipstick to see if water has diluted the oil and raised the level?

[radiopilot]

Not alot of water, just what was on the air filter mesh, I was hosing the sides of the engine... I removed each spark plug and they are not fouled up, the engine runs decent on high revs, but idles rough, there is no water in the oil, I remove each spark plug looking for the one that makes a difference but it is not fouled up, it's burning fine, no build up, but like I said earlier it's leaking oil from the cam/head gasket area closest to the cam gears on the intake side, it's also leaking more oil by the exhaust side cam/head gasket area... no other leaks... I also hear a spit fire/misfire every other five to ten seconds when I rev up the engine at around 2000 rpm and up.

Nick

[pope]

When ever you shoot water into the engine compartment, you have a chance of getting water into the electrical connections, and spark plug wires. That can cause your engine to run rough. Dielectric jelly works best. Try to unplug engine connections and dry them off with a paper towel. Moisture can get caught in there and take a long time to dry out, causing misreadings and poor conections.

[radiopilot]

This happened yesterday, the temp was 85 degrees, hot and sunny, I let the car dry completely and today started the car, removed the dizzy cap and dried it, everything else looks dry, just running rough with erratic idling and won't hold an idle, will die out, I removed the idle solenoid and blew air in, cleaned and replaced it, turned it out 1/4-1/2 turn but still rough idle. Sprayed carb cleaner and it revs up and comes back down.

[So Cal Mark]

you still need to determine which cyl is misfiring, but if carb cleaner makes it rev up, maybe you knocked a vacuum hose off the manifold

[rlux4]

Damn! You're good Mark. When you read a post, you read every word. I've noticed things said, almost in passing, and you zero in on it as a possible cause.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

[mdrburchette]

That's why we keep him around.

[radiopilot]

you still need to determine which cyl is misfiring, but if carb cleaner makes it rev up, maybe you knocked a vacuum hose off the manifold

I checked all the vacuum hoses and they are intact, unless they plugged up somehow... I will recheck them again...

If I hydrauliced a cylinder... how would I know.. by compression check? How would I know I bent a rod.. is there a way to check with the plug removed, say... measure the height of the piston in relation to the 'good' cylinder piston?

Thanks for all your help... and YES guys and dolls... this is why we need Mark here... he's indispensable.

[So Cal Mark]

usually a bent rod will cause the engine to run rough, an easy way is to remove the spark plugs and use a long screwdriver to measure the height of the pistons. Since 1-4 and 2-3 will be at the same height, it's easy to compare

[radiopilot]

OK... Checked the piston heights, they are good as far as I can measure using a dial caliper... got the engine to idle over 1000 rpm, but I'm hearing some tapping noise coming from the cam/valve cover housing... could I have bent a valve rod?
If so is it easier to get a new head or fix the valves?

Nick

[So Cal Mark]

it would be much more expensive to get a new head. If you get a used head, it would be quite a gamble to install it without having it checked out

[radiopilot]

Car is still running rough, I removed the idle solenoid to see if it works and sure enough it was not... I didn't want to wait for an order at one of the usual supply houses so I removed the coil and checked the resistance and it was dead. I removed all the wire and found the short, rewound the coil with new wire and replaced it back into the housing and EUREKA it works... replaced the solenoid in the carb and it idles much better but I can tell the car still needs valve work.. I hear that tapping sound.

Symptoms:

When I accelerate the car the carb sort of chokes and like it can't get enough air... a deep sucking sound, could the carb be the problem?

When I drive the car it hesitates and like it looses power... could this be from a faulty valve?

[So Cal Mark]

a bad valve would cause a definite misfire all of the time. You may have dislodged a piece of carbon by getting water into a cylinder. A common method to clean cylinders is to add water to the intake while the engine is running. It's possible that you have a loose piece of carbon on top of the piston causing the noise. Is it erratic at all, or very rythmic?

My neighbor used that method once, added too much water while the engine was running and warped all of the intake valves.

Your perf trouble sounds more like fuel starvation, maybe you have a restricted jet in the carb. Try blowing thru the air bleeds with compressed air or carb cleaner. (wear eye protection!)