i ran my car through the express wash at work. i figured that since no one is inside revving it up while it goes through the tunnel, there should be no water getting sucked into my CAI.

all of sudden " DUDE!!! YOUR CAR'S SMOKING LIKE CRAZY!!"
smelt like it was having the injectors cleaned, and i just seafoamed her not too long ago, sometime in november. but the smoke that was coming out of her exhaust was so much thicker and cloudier than what i got from the seamfoam. i took the CAI off at work and let the piping and filter air dry as it was a little wet. fuck me, stupid free wash.

what kind of trouble am i in?

 

I VERY HIGHLY DOUBT that water from a drive thru car wash, can affect a CAI bro. Your filter would have to be pretty much submerged into water for it to be able to suck up enough water to actually get into your engine and cause damage!

 

Why were you revving it up?

 

cuz he's 21 and he can

 

Ya dude, I can't imagine you revving your engine in a car wash would hydrolock your engine.

Going through one of those car washes, its kind of just like driving through a torrential downpour.

As for the white smoke, I have no idea. Maybe it's because you haven't revved your engine high and it was blowing out some carbon. Honestly, I have no idea bout that part.

Was your car stuttering afterwards?

 

The way I read it he said he it wasn't being revved. In any case I'm an insurance agent and I have had several customers have problems using express washes in different locations so I come to the realization that its probably not a good idea to use them or at least know your vehicles at risk if you use them.

 

I used to always use them when I first purchased my CL-S 6 years ago....till one fine day, I looked at my car and had a gouge that was in my door and 1/4 panel about 3 feet long! And not to mention they are hell on your paint and rims...so it has been the ol' soap and water method for me over the last 4 years, except when I have the detailer come to my house and give her a wax & polish

 

another reason i don't like the CAI

 

I think your fine. Mine did the same thing, but i was just at idle when the jet washer sprayed low on the front bumber. My car stated to stumble, then died. I let it sit for the remainder of the wash and restarted it when it was done. Car gave me a missfire code and stumbled for about 20 seconds, then it cleared up. No problems after I cleared the code. No doubt it got some water in it. You did not hydrolock your motor. You would have never got out of the washer if you did. Not to mention you'd likely have a rod through the side of your block. You probably sucked up some water. Put it back together and you should be fine. If you drove it to work after the wash you should be ok.

Did it smoke all the way to work? If so you might have blown a head gasket?


Revving your motor high in park with no load is one of the fastest ways to spin a bearing. You should stop revving for no reason.

 

i am sure its NOT the culprit. U probably have afta burns that burned off from when u used seafoam in the car.

 

haha, thank you. i DID NOT rev it, NO ONE was inside to rev it.

anyways, the car was cutting out if i didn't keep the idle a little higher than 1000 rpms... i work at a car wash/quick lube, so the washes were free, so i didn't have to drive anywhere. i had my service manager take a look and he said that some water did get into the CAI. we unistalled the piping and checked the throttle body and it did have small water drops in it. i just let it sit for an hour and drove it around, after 10 minutes or so, the car was idling smoother than before... weird. haha. the car wash manager said that the underbody sprayers were on, but it wasnt water that came out of them, it was rust inhibitor. so i guess rust inhibitors clean fuel injectors. haha.

 

Ya, I miss read it also. Sorry I thought you were saying you were revving it. Thats good news though. A little water won't hurt.

 

haha, yeah, i was re-reading the noob pages and somewhere it said that our stock 01 rims stick out a little, causing the fugly curb rashes and scratches. so express washes are not for the 01s with stockies. but since imma be getting some new rims and use these stocks for crappy weather, i dont really care. haha.

mobile detailers, huh? never heard or thought of that. ill have to check locally for services.

 

dont jynx it, haha.

 

and besides, CAI give power in higher RPM's which our cars dont need because of VTEC. Not sayin they dont help but the CL needs help in the acceleration department


As for the OP, glad nothing happened to the car

 

:noob:

its a tough motor to destroy, im sure everything is good

 

well my suggestion is dont use those drive through car washers especially if they have those huge pad things they scratch the hell out of your paint job, go with the touchfree or better wash it yourself swirl marks are a bitch

 

In the old days, you could decarbonize a motor by shooting some water down the carburator with a spray bottle. I'm sure the water mist injested by your CAI did the same thing. That's why it was similar to your seafoam treatment.

 

There's so much misinformation & conjecture in this thread.

 

haha, im pretty sure that in the old days with carburetors (which our cars don't have) it was different. i mean, my co-worker just told me that they used to use wood chippings in the transmission or their old truck to keep the gears from slipping. go figure.

thanks anyways guys, ill just keep praying that my car won't die on me.

 

Our cars don't have carburators?

You're missing the point. Water decarbonizing has nothing to do with carburated vs. fuel injected. I was just illustrating how to inject water easily into the combustion process.

Google "Water Decarbonizing".

Here's one thread as an example:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=283211

Maybe you should just sell your car since you're probably !@#$ed...

 

Use the "touchless" type automatic car wash and you won't have that sort of problem.

 

you wouldnt hydralock your motor by the amount of water youd suck up in that car wash. It's take a LOT more.

 

eh, love her too much to sell her.

 

are you sure your secondaries are opening? I can squeeze a 6.2 run to 60.......that is usually the culprit of your car is running slowly.......

 

No one said my car was running slowly but the acceleration isnt very fast on the CL, at least not on the 5AT. Running slowly haha.............

 

so... would it be better to get an icebox instead of a CAI because of the VTEC?

 

The icebox is quieter than a cai, which I personally like.

 

how about the whole higher rpm deal? does the icebox have a better affect than the cai at higher rpms?