I have posted about this before but its still happening and never really got a decent answer or explanation. When i drive at highway speeds during moderate to heavy rain and then pull off on an off ramp for example and come to a stop the car studders and acts like it wants to stall out. I have to throw it into neutral and rev it up some till the light turns green. Seems worse when driving in traffic where there is alot of "spray" coming off of the tires from the cars in front of me. Does not seem to happen during regular street level driving at say 45mph. Is it possible that the water spray is making its way to the air filter and sogging it up until i rev it and dry it out a little bit? Really baffled. Is the suction from the intake at say 65mph enough to suck in this water vapor? Never happens outside of driving in the rain.
Still having issues while driving in rain??
- Thread starter Fla02LS
- Start date
I do have a stock intake although i did remove the snorkel thing that attaches to the airbox. Figured maybe that is giving water a more direct route to the filter element.
COPS? I cant imagine the coil covers being loose enough or having enough of a gap to let water thru. I have left off the big plastic cover thing with the lincoln logo that goes over the throttle/intake runner area. Perhaps that blocks water from getting to the COP area while at high speed. Its just odd that after throwing in neutral and revving it a little the problem goes away.
chocolat1701
Dedicated LVC Member
also the next time it happens i dont know if you have a garage or not when you get home open up the engine bay and see if there is any visible water overspray somewhere especially near the thhrottle body and the coil covers.
People have had water leak in through the engine cowl, the one that covers the cabin air filter etc., if the vinyl rivets are missing. The water leaks through the hole, down the cowl and into the motor and fouls the COPs.
I have water dripping onto the back of the block/coil covers from where the wiper arm attaches everytime it rains. I bought that little circular foam seal, but I don't see how that will fix it - it seems like a stupid design.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
Exactly this.
if youre talking about the pc i think youre talking about the front seal on the underside of the hood rests on that pc to seal itself. almost every pc of plastic on the car has some purpose (whether its readily apparent or not), just reinstall it and leave it be. might have to replace parts and pcs that got too wet to function properly. theres more to the 'cop' than just the coil and the boot, the module that sits on top shouldnt get wet either. the engine seals protect it and it sounds like yours got too wet. plenty of other possible problems with an unsealed bay, anyone here can only stab in the dark without seeing the car (esp right after the problem is occuring) to take a more educated stab in the dark
Could it be water getting onto the alternator?
I dont like how close the the ground the alternator is in this car. Seems like a dip into a large puddle will kill it. I havent had any issues yet even in heavy rain though.
I dont like how close the the ground the alternator is in this car. Seems like a dip into a large puddle will kill it. I havent had any issues yet even in heavy rain though.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
No, you don't need that cover. It's just for appearance and noise. There are some foam seals in the wiper area that degrade over time. There is a TSB out about replacing those. Otherwise, it dumps water onto the bank 1 cover exactly where the wiring goes under the cover.
I do agree that it's odd that revving for a bit would make it go away. Perhaps your problem is something different.
Yeah didnt think that cover was necessary either and thought possibly by removing it that might allow a little bit better airflow over the intake runner area and keep it cooler while driving. Lame thought but obviously doesnt hurt either.
Now are the covers we are talking about in regards to water getting to them the rectangle covers that need to be removed to gain access to the cops and plugs? I'm going to go take a detailed look but if it is those covers could some high temp silicone beads around these problem areas help? Rather than trying to prevent the water leaking which can be challenging i thought let the water do its thing but protect the wiring with some silicone or some other product.
The revving thing is what made me think it was the air filter element getting soaked and that by revving and sucking in some hot engine bay air it was "drying" the paper element thus smoothing the idle. I'm about to get a K/N kit anyway to clean and reoil my old k/n filter but i have been using the cheapo fram paper filters.
The most confusing part to me is the fact that it doesnt happen any and everytime it rains. Only when im driving at high speeds with lots of "spray" from the traffic of other cars.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
Never say never, but I've seen the dealers try the rtv on the coil covers and it still not work. The problem is where the wiring goes in at the back of the covers. It's hard to get the rtv to stick to the wires, and there's no way to apply pressure to it. AFAIK, replacing the foam seals in the wiper area does usually work.
Yeah i felt back there (not alot of space) and could feel the wiring that your talking about. Such a tight area but i guess it makes sense to try to rid the water leak and hope that works.
I was thinking and Plasti Dip is rated up to 200 degrees, i think with the exception of engine heat plasti dip would be a great way for wires at cover to get weatherproofed. Thoughts anyone?
Can Plasti Dip withstand underhood temps? The website says is witholds up to 200 degrees but "won’t melt or become overly rubbery at high temps"
I wouldn't use it. If you look through the Plasti-Dip thread (I think it is there) there is a pic of it coming off of someone's window trim due to the heat and sun. I don't think it would hold up well in the engine bay. I would use electrical tape and then wrap it with some hockey tape. I'm sure there are other, better options too.
Here is the post
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showpost.php?p=2037221670&postcount=305
Here is the post
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showpost.php?p=2037221670&postcount=305
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Cool, note taken. Thanks. Just thinking of more of a liquid covering than electrical tape type. And believe me, i am a STRONG supporter of tape and obsessor of duct tape. My wife gets so annoyed by how much i use duct tape for all sorts of things. And now you can get duct tape in every form of design and pattern!!!
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
If you don't want to buy the foam seals from Ford, go to the hardware store and get some of the really thick and wide stick on door and window seal stuff. I promise that if you stop the water from pouring on the back of the engine (and this will do that), you'll stop any from getting under the coil cover. (Assuming that this really is your problem...) This will be easier than the other things you have suggested.
I actually have a couple rolls of different size weatherstripping like your mentioning. I dont think i quite know the area ya'll are talking about that needs sealed? Wiper arm area? Picture would help
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x12003.htm~gen~ref.htm
Remove the cowl panel grill. You may need a small gear puller to get the wiper arms off.
You should be able to see where the remains of the original foam are. Remove that and replace with what you have.
Are any of the fastners broken on the cowl? If the cowl doesn't fit tight water will leak by. I put a piece of flashing under the drivers side windsheild wiper arm till I could get a new cowl. Mine leaked right through the hole for the wiper arm on to the PCV hose right into the spark plug wells. This was on the V6. Good Luck