Black soot

[RattlenRam]

I just got around to washing the MH from our trip to the rally in Redmond. As I was washing the drivers side I noticed the inside of the exaust was black and when I touched it, it had soot inside. Is this normal for the 8.1? or is the engine running to rich. If in fact it is running to rich how do you correct this problem.

[RattlenRam]

I just got around to washing the MH from our trip to the rally in Redmond. As I was washing the drivers side I noticed the inside of the exaust was black and when I touched it, it had soot inside. Is this normal for the 8.1? or is the engine running to rich. If in fact it is running to rich how do you correct this problem.

[DriVer]

The deposits that are seen on the inside of the exhaust tips is normal for most all 8.1L W-Series Workhorse front gas chassis.

The exhaust stream begins to cool right around the tailpipe and a carbon deposit is left behind.

Now if you have an after market Banks exhaust system, I would ask Banks, "What the problem is?"

[RattlenRam]

Driver: thanks for the responce. Yes I do have the banks on my unit so I will call them and see what they say.

[Bagman57]

I also have the full Banks Power Pack and also have the black soot, but the motor home runs great! Bagman.

[Marshall316]

Rattleram,

I've got an 07 W20 and the tail pipes are very sooty. I think they all do it.

[wa7hra]

I just finished a 250 mile trip. It was the first time out since the installation of the Ultrapower ECM upgrade. An interesting observation is that I now have very little soot in the right side tail pipe. Left side appears to be "normal".

Any comments??

Bob, WA7HRA

[Joe Gilbert]

I had about 17,000 miles on my W22 prior to the ECM program change and about 7,000 miles since. I really do not see any change in the amount of soot.

I guess the official Workhorse answer to the soot is as DriVer stated however, what RV exhaust doesn't cool prior to reaching the pipe tip. You cannot convince me that the soot isn't caused by a rich mixture. Whatever, my 8.1 runs so well I'm not hung up about the soot issue.

[RattlenRam]

Just like others have stated, the engine seems to run great. I was just wondering about the black soot,so I guess it is not a problem. thanks to all.

[Duner]

Go take a look at any newer 6.8 Ford powered Class A or large Class C and you don't see any soot, nada, zero soot. My friends 37' Bounder on a new 340 hp Ford exhaust looks like any new car on the road, just light tan color.

Sorry DriVer, I just don't buy the "long exhaust-cool down" theory. Steve from Brazels, who is the programming guru behind the Ultrapower, told me that his theory is GM has the 8.1 running rich to keep the catalytic operating at the right temp to meet EPA code.

My opinion, we are loosing 1 to 2 mpg because the engine is running so rich. The Ultrapower does give you back some of this fuel economy by running leaner under some throttle/load conditions. I've got about 5000 miles on the Ultrapower, and I see a pretty significant reduction in soot, but it's still black as night.

But...on the other hand, the engine does run great and richer mixture should give it more longevity considering how hard it has to work pulling 26K lbs up & down all the hills we have out West (& Branson/Ozarks too).

Duner

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Duner:
Sorry DriVer, I just don't buy the "long exhaust-cool down" theory. Steve from Brazels, who is the programming guru behind the Ultrapower, told me that his theory is GM has the 8.1 running rich to keep the catalytic operating at the right temp to meet EPA code. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>..... with the resulting soot being deposited on the pipes. Not a theory. Guru is an understatement.

[Tom N]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RattlenRam:
I just got around to washing the MH from our trip to the rally in Redmond. As I was washing the drivers side I noticed the inside of the exaust was black and when I touched it, it had soot inside. Is this normal for the 8.1? or is the engine running to rich. If in fact it is running to rich how do you correct this problem. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Workhorse addresses this soot problem in the 2006 Chassis Manual, and I'll quote the manual, "This is normal operation and should not be confused with the engine running rich, as that condition would be detected by the oxygen sensors and set a check engine light."

-Tom