thanks and silly story

[PCT Hiker]

Thanks to those who responded to my fmax query... I did decide to go w/
f-max, and so I called the fabricator who had my car to tell him not to
start anything.  He said he hadn't done anything except "clean up the
engine bay a little b/c it was so grimy", and that he'd leave it on the
street for me to pick up.  So I went by after hours to grab it, and could
barely get it started.  Rough idle--sounded more like a damn chainsaw than
an sr20.  Bucked like crazy when I applied the throttle.  WTF?  It was
running fine when I dropped it off...why does everyone else who touches my
car seem to break it? I thought.  Having no flashlight on hand, I limped
home cautiously, figuring they'd probably unplugged a vacuum line or sensor
connector while sizing up the job, or knocked a ground wire loose,
something like that.

I checked the vac hoses and connectors at home and there were no obvious
leaks or missed connections.  Injectors were ticking merrily away.  So I
decided to check for spark.  Pulled the wires and couldn't even see the
plugs...because they were all #%$#ing underwater!  The wells were all
filled to about the halfway point, so that the wire boots and contacts were
completely submerged.  The guy obviously either hosed it down or steam
cleaned it.   I'm amazed it started at all like that ;-)

Adam
'91 w/ submersible DET