Hesitation, and bad sputtering.

[silver280zx]

ok so i washed my car the other day, and cleaned the engine bay, and left my car to sit, kinda like what another guy did. I came back and drove it the next day and it was fine for about 15 min, then started sputtering really bad, and i would put it to the floor and it would go nowhere, then just lurch and go. then do it again. The problem would persist for about 20 minutes before stopping. Ive driven it now about 5 times since then, and it just keeps getting worse. It kinda feels like its misfireing a bit. The car is a 91. I have no idea on what to check on these miatas. Thanks guys.

[redrumracer]

check to see if water got down into the spark plug tubes. and check the connections on the coils to see if they have any water.

[FlipKing]

Yeah, check spark plugs

[Doppelgänger]

water in spark plug holes... end of story.

pull plug wires,get a long flathead screwdriver and a good rag...and have fun.

[matredd]

Air compressor if you have one to blow the water out.

[MoD_Scotty]

Or a straw.

[silver280zx]

So i checked for moisture, and there was a little bit on the wire of cylinder 4, so i let it dry, but it still sputters some, mostly at 2000rpm or less, it will just start jerking and bog down, i dont know wtf it wrong with it.

[RotorNutFD3S]

I hate to say this, but the last time I saw something like this after the washing of the engine bay, the head gasket on my mom's '97 Miata had blown ever so slightly. It was no good, she didn't know what she did. Check the coolant for oil and the oil for coolant.

[silver280zx]

Crap the engine was kinda warm when i did it, i hope thats not the case

[RotorNutFD3S]

Well just check out both the fluids first. If it's not that, it'll cross a big problem off the list. :)

[silver280zx]

ok, so i just checked the oil and coolant, and both at at their maximums, and i dont see oil in the coolant. I wonder if i may have cracked the Porcelain on a spark plug or something, since the motor was still kind of warm when i washed it. Ive done that before on lawnmower engines. Is there any other sensors i could check for moisture? do you think the fuel pump or alternator could be messing up. The battery is pretty old, and doesnt hold a charge very well too.

[RotorNutFD3S]

Any of those are possible, guess it's going to be troubleshooting everything.
However, I meant to drain the fluids if you can. It's a pain, but those two fluids will separate in a pan.

[silver280zx]

ya, but if it was blown wouldnt i be burning some coolant?

[RotorNutFD3S]

Depends on how badly it's blown. I've seen one that only caused a little steam out of the tailpipe, but the horrible running conditions like you're having.
If there's no water pooled up in the plug holes and everything's dry, it's gotta be something else than spark. Did you check the contacts inside the wires and check the coils to make sure they're dry? Might be wise to check the harness that connects to the coil pack and see if there's water trapped in there.

[silver280zx]

hmm ill check them out tomorrow, the thing that makes me think its not a head gasket, is that its intermittent, like a short or a bad contact.