I changed the valve cover gasket on my B230 this afternoon. Then I sprayed some degreaser on the engine, let it sit for twenty minutes, and sprayed it off with the garden hose. The car sat for three hours and dried out.

A few minutes ago I cranked it for a trip to the grocery store. Car ran rough, like it was running on just three of the four cylinders. I had sprayed the hose at the base of the distributer, so I assumed I had some water in there. Figured I'd drive it a few miles and the engine would heat up and dry out.

About two miles out I was cruising at 50mph with the engine running on three cylinders. At least, that's what it felt like to me. The engine finally died. During subsequent attempts to crank, it would spin over but not catch. Each time when I released the key, the engine would quit spinning and I'd hear a backfire, as if fumes were igniting in the exhaust system. I finally gave it up when the battery started getting weak.

My question is: is this just something that will dry out and crank tomorrow, or do I need to remove the distributor cap and do something? Any advice on how to restart the car? What else could I have done to cause this?

Thanks,

Robert