ImperialV184
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2011
- Messages
- 99
I was doing some annual checks on my 1987 Mercruiser 3.7 165 and pulled the plugs, there was a good deal of black soot on the plugs, definitely not oily, black soot I believe indicates carbon fouling. From what I understand carbon fouling indicates it is running rich. Engine was completely overhauled and rebuilt 3 years ago these are the original plugs form the rebuild. I have a good deal of black smoke until the choke opens up during start up but this goes away once at temp. I would think that if this was only a start up issue plugs would clean up during normal operation. How can I tell if it is running rich at temp, would I still see the black smoke? Or is this fairly standard for older engines?