soot exhaust build-up on my 212x

[justason]

My 2009 212x has always shown a steady and consistent soot build up on the stern end after ANY kind of use. Last week in Bimini I noticed this on mine and @upperdeck 212x and none of the other boats with the same engine.

I Always use Sta-Bil MARINE fuel additive. I have a bottle of ring free I'm adding for this coming weekends use. Does anyone else see this? The image below is from maybe 10 hours last week. The dark spot on the right engine did not come off with a general washing, which is a first.

plugs are new with about 20/25 hours use on them, and NGK brand.

anyone else see this? root cause?

 

[Wayloncle]

I notice it on mine a little bit sometimes but there was one time that it seemed a lot worse than normal. I don't know why or what was different about that time, maybe just spent longer at speed than normal or something...

 

[buckbuck]

Scratching my head on that one. I have never seen it on my boat. If it were mine I would change the plugs again.

 

[Scottintexas]

I've seen people occasionally post pictures over the years but yours looks like the worst I remember seeing. Most of the time people said it went away with a plug change if I remember correctly or there was no consensus on why it was happening. Do you have a YDS to hook up? I'm not sure if it would help you diagnose anything but it's one of the first places I would check, then a plug change,

 

[jetboater4life]

I've had my boat out once this year and I fogged it heavily in the fall. The soot build up looked just like yours and would not come off with a simple hand scrub. I figured it was just from blowing out the fogging oil. I have not changed my plugs yet this year and plan to do it tomorrow.

 

[Bruce]

Do your engines use any oil?

 

[jdonalds]

I had this happen once on my Honda ski. I cleaned it up and it never happened again. No Stabil or Ring Free in my case. It hasn't happened on my boat.

 

[davel501]

Soot means running rich but not sure how that would work with a fuel injected computer controlled engine. Especially 2 right next to each other but with separate computers, sensors, etc. If battery voltage is good then I would look at the common replaceables like air filters since they are sucking the same dirt. I would also run some SeaFoam or some other gas treatment through there in case dirty fuel gunked up the injectors and they are dripping instead of misting.

 

[justason]

Soot means running rich but not sure how that would work with a fuel injected computer controlled engine. Especially 2 right next to each other but with separate computers, sensors, etc. If battery voltage is good then I would look at the common replaceables like air filters since they are sucking the same dirt. I would also run some SeaFoam or some other gas treatment through there in case dirty fuel gunked up the injectors and they are dripping instead of misting.

thanks everyone for chiming in. @buckbuck I change my spark plugs almost to a fault. Boat has about 100 hours on it now, 80 are mine and I'd say I've changed the plugs 4 times now (purchased/bimini 2013/after cylinder water/bimini 2014)

I had someone comment on it smelling rich last week, I never gave it much thought till last week when I saw it common to a pair of 212x's and no other boats. I do believe I over-fogged it last winter but that should be gone by now (?). Recently changed the oil and will recheck the levels, I'm going to run a tank of ringfree thru this weekend then will consider Seafoam. 90% of our boating is about 25-30 mph, the image above is probably 15+ hours at 30-35 mph..

thanks everyone

 

[Jump Right In]

I definitely have areas (on my 2010 212X) around my engines that require additional cleaning. Never really thought much about it until just reading this post. I still have a few other small issues with the boat (specifically water in my bilge) and as long as it is running well, I guess I can tolerate a couple of sprays of "hot sauce" to keep the area clean.

 

[marc7]

I had the same thing appear last year, of which I had a fuel injector that was dumping fuel...Once I replaced the injector, the soot went away. Not saying this was the cause, just an observation.

Cheers!

 

[waterboy]

@marc7 did your engine throw a code? How did you zero in on the injector?

@justason I have the software, etc needed to hook up to your motor. Maybe we can get together and check it out.

Occasionally I will see very little soot but not like that.

 

[justason]

@marc7 did your engine throw a code? How did you zero in on the injector?

@justason I have the software, etc needed to hook up to your motor. Maybe we can get together and check it out.

Occasionally I will see very little soot but not like that.

I would like that ! I had my engine clock disconnected since last fall and have lost track of the engine hours, including last week. I had little faith in the accuracy of the onboard meter as well.

 

[marc7]

@waterboy No I didn't run the YDS (I have it just didn't run it). The Port engine started revving the RPM's from say 7000 up to 8000 then drop back...You could smell the fuel and see the rainbow affect in the water...I just pulled the plugs until I found #3 to be fouled....Ordered a new injector...replaced the injector and all the plugs...did 3 oil changes in less 3 weeks time to remove any excess fuel that had dumped into the engine...All has been good since then...

Cheers!

 

[waterboy]

Thanks for going through what you found. Good to know and glad to know a relatively easy fix.

 

[DoubleThrust]

I had the same thing appear last year, of which I had a fuel injector that was dumping fuel...Once I replaced the injector, the soot went away. Not saying this was the cause, just an observation.

Cheers!

Ring free (modified chevron Techron automotive additive, also Chevron produced) should probably clear up a clogged injector. I've seen chevron Techron concentrate unclog 2 injectors on cars, personally. I'd start there, or maybe just the regular auto version which is what I use.

 

[jetboater4life]

What is the best way to clean up that soot?

 

[davel501]

What is the best way to clean up that soot?

Get someone to do it for you.

 

[jetboater4life]

Get someone to do it for you.

If my kids were a little bigger they might be able to put some elbow grease into and clean it up and I'd definitely pay them for it. I'm looking for that magical product that will help the removal.

 

[davel501]

The regular west marine boat soap should do the trick. If that does not work you could step up to Roll Off.