So I power washed my 1.8t engine the other day to clean off oil and just make it look nicer and now im running into problems. I know now (after checking the web) that power washing it wasnt the best idea. I had a cylinder two misfire and sputted home. The thing dried out but it still seems like there may be something wrong. Im not sure if its the engine or coincidence that a balancing weight fell of my wheel, but now there is a slight vibration while on the road. All cylinders are firing and there is no check engine light. Are my cylinders ok and firing synchronized? I dont want to hurt the engine!

 

Yeah, you need to be careful when using a pressure washer in the engine bay. It sounds like something got wet and subsequently dried out if you're no longer getting misfires. Did you use the pressure washer on the wheels also? You may have knocked loose a balancing weight as you suggested.

 

I sprayed the wheels briefly. I think Im just paranoid that its my engine creating the vibrations. Im gonna get my tires balanced and see if that fixes it. If my engine was the problem would a CEL come on?

 

Anytime something goes wrong with these engines, the CEL comes on. Sometimes I think the CEL turns on just to make sure you know that the light works.

 

I think everytime it comes on some engineer in Germany laughs his *** off.

 

Well my tires didnt have enough tread on them to get balanced :/ and when I accelerated hard to get on the highway it stuttered and felt like it lost power. Gonna check the coil packs and spark plugs today and see if those are all good and not wet.

 

Did the CEL come on? Do you have access to a scanner to check for misfires?

 

No CEL and yes I have a scanner.

 

I don't know why anyone EVER attempts to pressure wash their engine bay, or use any type of hose for that matter. I don't think I can think of a time when i've heard it go well for someone. Just don't do it. Wash it off by hand its really not that difficult.

 

Is it a generic scanner or actual vag-com? Even with VCDS lite and an ebay cable it you can see misfires as you drive to figure out if one cylinder is the cause.