Community Forums

rednlh · 03-05-2011, 04:16 PM

Is it normal to have black soot in the tailpipe. I have 55,000 miles on
the unit. I change the oil regularily and drive at 55-60 mph.

Max Hubrich · 03-05-2011, 04:23 PM

No it's not normal. Maybe a bad spark plug or wire-

max49 · 03-05-2011, 04:39 PM

My first thought was that it is normal. Mine has always been dry, almost black and sooty. But maybe mine's not normal either.

bluepill · 03-05-2011, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rednlh

Is it normal to have black soot in the tailpipe. I have 55,000 miles on
the unit. I change the oil regularily and drive at 55-60 mph.

What engine do you have?

Is this recent? In other words, do you know for a fact that at an earlier time you DID NOT have the soot, or is it possible that you never noticed?

dieselclacker · 03-05-2011, 05:51 PM

My 2004 8.1 has always, since new, had black sooty tailpipes. Engine runs great, fuel mileage is good, passed tailpipe emissions smog test with flying colors, so for my coach I would say it is normal color.

Dieselclacker

Brazel's RV Performance · 03-05-2011, 06:38 PM

It's normal, don't worry.

This is from my phone so I won't go into great detail. Let me know if you want more details.

DriVer · 03-05-2011, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rednlh

Is it normal to have black soot in the tailpipe...

I agree with Jon Brazel ... if my pipes were not sooty I would believe that something is wrong. If the engine is running well and there aren't any performance issues, you should be good to go.

If you have any further concerns you can take it to a service center and they can check it with a Tech II.

rednlh · 03-06-2011, 07:20 AM

Thanks! It is a 22W workhorse. Guess I never noticed the soot before. Runs good. No problems.

Doug Sage · 03-06-2011, 07:54 AM

I have a 8.1 Workhorse and have had black soot since new.. I talked to the Workhorse guys at an RV rally and they told me this is normal.

JCM · 03-06-2011, 08:53 AM

It is normal. Maybe Max's unit is not "normal".

wa7hra · 03-06-2011, 10:17 AM

I had the black soot and was advised that it was normal. However, when I had the Ultrapower installed by Brazel's, the sooting was reduced to ALMOST nothing. I spoke with Steve Brazel about it, and was told not bo be concerned. He did, however, run the rig on the dynamometer and check the temperature of the catalytic converters which was normal.

I have alway suspected that the lack of sooting represents a more efficient use of fuel. I consistantly get highway gas milege in the mid 8.x mpg range.

Bob, wa7hra........

Davel · 03-06-2011, 11:45 AM

Black inside the exhaust pipe is normal with unleaded fuel. The light gray color we used to look for was due to the lead used in fuels years ago. Mine have been black since it was new and it runs great and gets up to 8 MPG if I drive it like I had some sense....which varies too much.

Dave

Joe Gilbert · 03-06-2011, 05:18 PM

My W22/8.1 has always exhibited black soot on the exhaust piped extensions. Nothing changed after I had the UltraPower mods done. There is no question the mixture is rich however, this appears to be "normal".

JoeG

Brazel's RV Performance · 03-06-2011, 07:16 PM

The black soot is actually not from the engine running rich. What causes this is the design of the exhaust system. Workhorses have 2 3" exhaust pipes that run the length of the coach and towards the back it does not get hot enough to burn out all the carbon like on most automobiles. What happens is condensation forms in the exhaust pipes and then gets blown back by the exhaust flow and stains the tailpipes black.