RyKR

I took the truck out mudding late last night. I hit some deep water and then the truck developed a terrible miss and started stalling. It generally ran like a chevy back to my friends house. It wouldn't go over 20 mph and would barely stay running at stop signs. When I got back I popped the hood (left truck running) and checked all of the connections. Nothing I did seemed to make a difference. After idling about 10 min. the idle smoothed out and the truck runs great again.

Any ideas?

I am going to do some water proofing (liquid electrical tape) around terminals and plugs. Any tips on waterproofing a distributor cap? I have seen it done with silicone, not really pretty. I would rather avoid that. Would dielectric grease work on the distributor contacts or would this make for a poor spark?

RyKR

I am not terribly sure if it matters or not, but, this was a 94 F-150 with a 5.0. The truck has always run smooth before and after this incident.

05 super

my old 89 f150 with the I6 would do this too. left me in a mudhole for awhile. once the engine dried out a little she flashed back up and drove out. i never did figger out what got wet.

wde3477

One idea borrows from an old comedy schtick - 'doctor, it hurts when I do this' -- 'then don't do that'.

But, all seriousness aside - sounds a lot like what I used to experience when hosing the motor off - the distributor gets moisture in it. Dry the distributor out and good-to-go again. A can of WD40 works wonders.

Dielectric grease is good for waterproofing connectors but not sure you want to put it directly on open electrical contact surfaces such as on the distributor cap and rotor - the grease does have electrical insulating properties.

Also, make sure the plug wires are in good shape. As far as the distributor - not sure what the answer is. Mine has a vent plug or the like on top of the cap, so not sure if the dizzy is designed to be airtight.

As far as preventing this ahead of time - perhaps check out some of the Jeep or other serious off-roading forums - usually have volumes of info on how-to seal everything up and also what should be done afterwards as far as checking fluids and what-not for moisture and water.

BIG D

The coil on my truck would ark thru the housing to ground when it got wet or even when raining out,as far as waterproofing the dist., i would not use dielectric grease on it,maybe a small bit of silicone on the cap where it meets the dist. body but dont seal the vent.

RyKR

Thanx, I will check around the 4X forums.

I haven't gotten a chance to check out the plugs and wires again. The truck was tuned up a few years ago but has less than 3000 miles on the cap, rotor, plugs, and wires. They were a hard 3K though so I still need to check them. The cap may be cracked or something.

Oh well, I get to go out again in a few weeks, so....

Gator eye

Take a spray bottle and spray a little water around your coil. You'll probably find your problem real fast.

grimmdta

was the air filter full of water?