someone please help

[phoenix05]

so today started out a nice day i would say probably in the 80s with clear skies and i took my t/a to work. well by the time i got out of work i look out the window and it is hailing hardcore with some pretty big sized pieces. well i go to move my car because i of course dont want any hail damage, but in the process of moving her i drove over a puddle and my car choked a little then died. now my car refuses to start she sputters like she wants to turn on but never actually kicks on. I have been given various different reasons by the people i work with that it could be my distributor and i should just let it dry...well it has been sitting for a good 3hr and everything appears dry but still no go. It was also stated that my intake could have sucked up some water and i should try and put some wd-40 in there but i really have no idea...can someone please help out

[basballny2]

some electrical got wet, agreed it would best to let it dry then try.

[JoshieDoom]

My money is on the optispark getting wet, BUT in the past year I have seen 3 cases of hydrolocked engines on here. If you sucked up water you would know if you did some looking around(giant hole in block) Check your fluids and see if you are getting spark at all. Hopefully its just the opti.

[phoenix05]

if it were the optispark would i just have to let it dry?
and sorry im new when it comes to working under the hood so how exactly would i check my fluids to make sure i am getting a spark?
and just to add a bit of info there was a bit of water collected around the base of my cai which runs through the bottom of my bird and apparently had no filter on it...

[phoenix05]

although i did check the inside of my cai and there was no condensation or traces of water so i dont know

[stephen02ws6]

if it still turns over i would say something got wet that shouldnt have. if it wont turn it is probly hydrolocked. my friend blew his motor the same way on his mustang. the way you are describing it, it doesnt sound locked. it might just be that optispark.

[LSCyaL8R]

and just to add a bit of info there was a bit of water collected around the base of my cai which runs through the bottom of my bird and apparently had no filter on it...

This does not sound like a recipe for a long engine life... a cai with no filter, on the bottom of the car is going to suck a lot of garbage into your engine.... dust leaves grass.... hopefully this is not a normal running condition for you. Cars have filters for a good reason.

[basballny2]

This does not sound like a recipe for a long engine life... a cai with no filter, on the bottom of the car is going to suck a lot of garbage into your engine.... dust leaves grass.... hopefully this is not a normal running condition for you. Cars have filters for a good reason.

[Orcus79]

well, sounds like you still sucked up some water into the block. it doesn't take much, specially with no filter. Start with pulling a plug or 8 and see what they look like.

then yea try replacing that optispark, they don't like getting wet adn whent hey do, just replace it.

[Orcus79]

stupid double post

[Kaotic_ws6]

i say almost FOR SURE its the opti spark because when i had my lt1 my water pump started leaking BAD and it leaked onto the optispark and put me into the same condition as you... if you do hsve to replace it, get an aftermarket one

[JoshieDoom]

Check your oil to see if you lost any. Most of the times its wet and you will not notice oil on the ground. Has nothing to do with spark but to check and see if you threw something out the side. I have seen blown apart engines that can still turn over.

[phoenix05]

ya i know im getting a filter for it asap it used to have a filter or should i say it had one when i bought it but somewhere in brief span of time i had it, it managed to fall off...at least now i know which can be considered a good thing from these events...also to clarify things are optispark and distributor the same thing i was told they are by my friend but just need to make sure...it would be nice since the distributor is under warranty...and my car already leaks oil since there is a crack in the head gasket...

[phoenix05]

also the cai is a little dirty on the inside...has dirt on the walls...im guessing it probably shouldnt and i should clean it out? what would be best for this?

[Orcus79]

With out knowing what CAI you have, its hard to tell, but ti can be dirty up to where it meets the filter and air lid. These cars feed in air form the bottom so with a CAI kit it acts like a vacuum.

And yes a distributor and opti are close to the same thing. just slightly different internals.

[phoenix05]

well its pretty much dirty throughout the whole cai well as far down as i can see at least...im guessing though a little bit of cleaning has never hurt anything...ok sorry i know im terrible at this still trying to learn and get to know things...so should i consider getting both parts replaced?

[Orcus79]

Both parts? If you are refering to the opti, you may have just cooked the eletronics, but with out testing it's hard to tell.

Cleaning never hurt for sure. hey part of learning is asking, so ask away.

[phoenix05]

ya sorry i was referring to the opti and the distributor if i should just get them both replaced...and how would i test the opti?

[Orcus79]

as far as I know take it to a shop. I am not all that up on how the opti works my self, but my understanding is that where is fails is on the inside. and to save the confusion, the opti is the distributor.

[phoenix05]

ok opti=distributor lets go with that
well since the distributor is under warranty ill just throw a new one in there anyways...do you know if they are hard to put on?...but ya i guess ill have to have someone from a shop look her over just hoping its just an electrical problem