Hey fellaz,
I got a friend who has an 85 Firebird w/ 2.8 L AutoMatic w/ Fuel Injection. He says he was cleaning his engine and dumping water on it, and up here in PA it is cold, so he says that he let it sit after he dumped water on it, and he started it up and said it idled at 4,000 rpm, and when he put it in gear the tires chirped (not a good Idea). Do you think any parts of the engine froze like the choke or the throttle body? Let me know so I can help him sort this out.

 

PR,

First, the '85 reportedly has fuel injection (MPFI). Since fuel is controlled by the ECM on these systems, there is no choke. The ECM simply adds more fuel when the coolant temperature is lower to compensate for the cold starting.

There is, however a throttle plate in the throttle body, and the associated linkage that operates teh throttle plate. It is possible that the water froze the throttle or its linkage in place, and the idle speed was therefore extremely high.

I would suspect that once the engine warmed, the throttle would thaw out and dry off, and everything would return to normal. To make sure, you could have him/her use a silicone or penetrating oil spray to dispel any water so it doesn't happen again as soon as the engine cools.

Just out of curiosity, why was your friend pouring water on his/her engine? I only do that in the summer, and only to clean the engine. It's about 5°F out here in the midwest right now, and I wouldn't go near my car with water right now. There's gotta be a little better time to clean it than in freezing weather. Just askin'...