Well I was cleaning my car and decided to degrease my engine, I covered all the electronics. Sprayed the degreaser and let it set then washed it off with a hose. Well I was going to drive it, well it stuttered around 3,000 rpm's and very very slow performance over 3,500-4,000+. It stopped stuttering but it still doesn't have the speed it uses to. I can barely make it to 60mph and won't go any higher then 80mph, I use to be able to get 110mph with ease. What should I look for? All the vac holes are connects as far as I can tell. It's been 2 days and nothing had changed, I just want my Benz working again.

-Steve

Tell us exactly what you did to clean it.
Did you drive it to a car wash ?
Do it in your driveway ?
that sort of information....
like engine temp...
water temp....
etc....

I just used engine degeaser in a can, sprayed it on the block, head and IP pump. I left the degreaser on for about 10 minutes and used a hose to wash all degreaser off. This was all in my driveway, and the water came out of a low pressure hose which wasn't that cold. Also the car set about 30 minutes before I began to wash the engine. It's been 2 days and it still acts the same. Today I just changed my oil and put a new oil filter in of course, just to let you know.

The Injection pump can be harmed by thermal trauma....
I don't know if 30 minutes was enough..... the tolerances in the IP are very tight.... and it should be stone cold and sprayed with regular tap water when cleaned.....

Suggest you first do really good check of vacuum lines... and throttle linkage before going further....

You've seem to have discovered the same mystery effect that has hit me and other people on this board before. Our engines seem to resent getting a bath and will sometimes pout for a few days afterwards for no apparent reason whatsoever...

Check the things mentioned in the linked thread, and if nothing is amiss just wait a little longer and your car will probably go back to normal all on its own .

__________________
'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

Oh I forgot something important, my car shifts better now, 1-2 is not rough it's more softer now. So I was thinking vac, but all the hoses seem connected.

Mystery Gremlins ? Haunted cars ?
Possible....

If the car is shifting softer you have a vacuum leak. Most of the spray-on can cleaners are real tough on rubber, often making them porous or swelling. If they swell, then they leak till they shrink back to size. Sometimes they end up having to be replaced.

__________________
'10 Chrysler T&C Stow-N-Go White. Grandpa's ride.

'13 Chrysler 200 Touring Candy Red. Grandma's ride.

Age and cunning will always over come youth and vigor.

Had that same problem.

Check all ur vacuum lines. By checking, it means each line has to be connected AND SNUG. The last point is important because a line may look connected but not snug and hence leaking.

So check all lines and make sure each connection is snug.

Like the above post say, check ur linkages.

Good Luck!

I know in my older cars this is the case...

No vac = hard high rpm shifts. Lots of vac = very soft, fast shifts.

__________________
'99 S420 - Mommies
'72 280SE 4.5 - looking to breathe life into it
'84 300SD Grey - Sold
'85 300SD Silver - Sold
'78 Ski Nautique

Yes, it is amazing what a couple of bucks worth of vacuum line can do for these car. These rubber connectors can even be snugg, but have become porous and leak. I replaced every piece of short vacuum rubber connectors after I got the car and fixed all the rough idle, and flairing by the auto trans. I am currently waiting on some 3 and 4 way rubber connectors so I can get the trunk and fuel door to lock when I lock driver's door.

__________________
'10 Chrysler T&C Stow-N-Go White. Grandpa's ride.

'13 Chrysler 200 Touring Candy Red. Grandma's ride.

Age and cunning will always over come youth and vigor.

Check and lubricate your throttle linkages.

I power wash my engine regularly but ensuring that the engine is stone COLD. I have had no problems.

Apparently the degreaser must have caused swelling like oldnavy said, but it sounds like it stopped a leak for you. I just go through and swap all the vacuum related rubber out shortly after buying, the headache they can make isn't worth the couple dollars per fitting.

I've tried to clean my engine compartment out several times, once even with a pressure washer but I can never seem to get the grey paint under the hood grey again. It is all just covered in carbon, any easy fixs for this? I heard steam cleaning works well but don't have one or have an idea who would do it and for how much. I'm thinking of using simple green on the painted surfaces and letting it soak in for a while, better than degreaser in a can!?

__________________
Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

A scrub brush with simple green will get the crud off where a pressure washer can't, it just takes alot of scrubbing...

Simple fix. The water is shorting out the overboost sensor, and that's causing the "stutter"... the overboost solenoid is turning on & off, and you are not getting fuel enrichment. Try pulling the wire off the sensor on the intake manifold (behind the air cleaner), or pull the wire off the solenoid (next to the brake booster). I bet that cures it. Or wait a few days for the water to evaporate. BT, DT, driven a car with these exact symptoms after washing the engine....

:p