Jacked up carwash, engine problems.

[mbaran]

Took my just purchased 94 firebird formula today for its smog check which it passed with flying colors with a brand new catco cat. Took it to the huge carwash where I live, probably 200+ cars a day. Had them do a rad flush/oilchange and a full detail/motor cleaning.

Im assuming they do tons of this stuff. My car doesnt run. I picked it up and it barely started and lopped its way out of the parking lot. I took it right back and said WTF?

They claim its water and when it dries it will work fine. Meanwhile, in the 20 minutes the car was on it almost overheated. If I unscrew the rad cap should i feel coolant through the .. hole? The overflow bottle is full, but did they forget to full the car with coolant? It was smoking, but they said it was the cleaning solvent coming off. The smoke wasnt coming out of anything, but rather just off of everything. I left the car there for the night because they assured me it would be just fine when it dried. What is my first steps if it does not work tomorrow. It was barely cranking over and felt terrible weak and idled like I had a HUGE cam in it. From a standstill, and hit the pedal the car shook and jolted around and hardly got to speed...

I just got this car on the road after spending all day on a new CAT, Battery, Alternator, Starter and Belt...

Thanks for any possible advice to use when dealing with this.

-Matt
"wishes his new firebird ran"

edit:: there wasnt coolant in the rad when i took the cap off. thats why i asked if I should feel it. Thanks

[JeffM]

wow.. sorry to hear.. First thing's first. Don't let ANYONE do maintence on your car unless it's REALLY needed. ESPECIALLY stupid little stuff like oil and coolant - those dudes that have that job are trained monkeys that don't know their arse from their elbows.

They probably sprayed the entire engine down with water, and now your optispark has gone South. You will most likely need a new one - a few hundo's.

The 94's didn't have vented optis, so it's probably hosed.

Maybe you can get them to pay for it.

[mbaran]

Thats what im getting on the other forum. It still doesnt explain why there was no visable or ..feelable coolant in the radiator when i checked that too.. I will keep posted tomorrow I guess with what happens.

-Matt

[Christopherrr]

agreed...your opti went to opti heaven.

[Performin Norman]

agreed...your opti went to opti heaven.

[TraceZ]

Long live the optispark!!


And yes, you should see coolant right up to the top when you remove the radiator cap. It should be so full it comes right up to the top.

It sounds like you got seriously screwed at the car wash.

What were you thinking letting those idiots touch your car? Man, I have yet to let anyone but myself and my immediate family touch mine. If you want it done right, do it yourself. I really hope the carwash covers the repairs for you.

[Dave M]

I agree with everyone else, your optispark is trash now, and likely won't be fine after it dries out. They also probably didn't bleed the air out of the cooling system and that's why it's overheating. Check your owners manual for the location of the bleed screws, and try that. Hopefully that will at least solve that problem. I would demand they pay for an opti replacement, it's going to be several hundred dollars, even more if you have it done at a shop.

[Jeanius]

Whats the best way to clean the engine bay yourself? This is something i really need to do, I was thinking of taking it to get steam cleaned but was skeptical because of the opti

[TraceZ]

Whats the best way to clean the engine bay yourself? This is something i really need to do, I was thinking of taking it to get steam cleaned but was skeptical because of the opti

Use some simple green and a long bristled brush to spot clean it. Be carefull to avoid getting water on the opti. you can use the hose to rinse around the engine bay, but dont soak the engine itself. Use rags and simple green to clean the engine. the best way to clean the TB and alternator is to remove them and use a wire wheel on a drill or bench grinder. the wire wheel with brighten the aluminum up like new.

[wolfdogs]

sheez broh... i thought you knew better than to do sommin like that... not flamming ya..but wow........

even with a vented opti...i would'nt dream of doing that... i used simple green and a small brush followed by immediate wipe-off and dry.... never a "flush"...

change the water pump while you are there......