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Car Black Smoke Questions and Answers
This category contains featured questions as examples. They relate to most vehicles.
Question: 1999 Ford
Explorer 4.0 mileage: 110,000. The engine
misses when cold or hot and black smoke and
soot come out of the exhaust. I get three
codes from the computer; 157,158,159 all
deal with the mass airflow sensor. I've
replaced the sensor and this still does not
cure the problem. What else could be wrong?
Answer: Check the
catalytic converter as it may be plugged.
When a converter is plugged, the pressure in
the exhaust system builds up to the point
that the intake vacuum drops. This causes
the mass airflow sensor to think there is a
problem in the engine and set a code.
Question: 1998 Toyota
Camry 4 cyl mileage: 30,000. We have owned
the car about a month. The first week I
noticed a terrible cloud of smoke when I
first took off from a stoplight. It did it
about 5 or 6 more times (every time), till I
took it home for the night. I knew that the
engine was bad. It is still under the
bumper-to-bumper warranty so I had Toyota
look at it. They couldn't get it to smoke,
and I can't either whenever I want. It just
does it every once in a while, but it has
used about a qt of oil in 1500 miles. The
oil level seems to go down in direct
relation to the smoking incidents. In
addition, it seems to be getting a little
better, less smoke less often. My question
is, what could be wrong and what advice
could you give. Gene
Answer: Check the
gaskets for signs of an oil leak and change
the PCV valve.
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Question: 2004 Ford
Windstar 2.3 mileage: 70,000.
The van is running rich. You can see black
smoke. At high rpm's runs ok, but rich. I
did change the O2 sensor, the MAP sensor,
the EGR sensor, the one in the back of the
EGR, and the temperature sensor. Also, fuel
filter, air filter and spark plugs. For
moments when I stop, the excess gas
disappears but a few seconds later, while
idling, the smoke starts again and the
engine misses a lot. When I press the
accelerator, it starts running okay but you
see the black smoke behind like a diesel
engine.
Answer: The only thing
you missed was replacing the fuel pressure
regulator which is probably causing your
problem.
Question:
1999 Ford F250 mileage: 110,000. I am
getting poor fuel mileage. When we hooked it
up to the computer it came up rich condition
[dah]. There is black smoke coming out
of the tailpipe. Anyway to the point.
After checking all of the sensors, we
checked the fuel system. We hooked up
a fuel pressure gauge and when the engine is
first started, the pressure is fine [38 psi
spec is 35 -45 psi]. Then all of a
sudden it goes up and pegs the needle [over
100 psi]. I believe the problem is in
the tank selector solenoid. Is this
item rebuildable or do I have to get a new
one?
Answer:
We do not believe your problem is the tank
selector solenoid. More than likely,
it is the fuel pressure regulator.
Question: 1999
Volkswagen Golf mileage: 75,000. Lately my
car is wasting too much gas and I notice
black smoke is coming out.
Answer: Your car
may be ready for a major tune-up including
spark plugs, fuel filter and air filter,
scan computer for trouble codes. Also,
perform a fuel pump pressure test. Clean
fuel injection system including throttle
bore, idle speed control motor and passages.
Question: 2001
Dodge Dakoda mileage: 102,000. After the
engine is fully warm, it will start to
sputter. Black smoke will come out of the
exhaust. It does not happen all the time. I
have new wires, plugs, rotor, cap, pcv,
oxygen sensor, and just about every other
sensor you could think of. Timing is ok,
idle speed ok, I checked for codes and none
appear. I also checked for vacuum leaks and
found none. The engine has no problems
starting hot or cold. I did notice when the
car was sputtering I could not get my timing
light to work as if the timing was off. The
car is in mint condition except for the high
miles. So, I hate to trash it. Has the
computer seen it days? Is there a way of
resetting the computer? Any idea of what the
problem may be?
Answer: You have
done a through job of trouble shooting your
problem. You mentioned your timing light not
working when the problem is present. Two
things come to mind, the pick-up coil in the
distributor or the computer maybe failing.
If the computer is failing it must be
replaced.
Question: 1998
Chevy Camaro mileage: 101,000. I just got my
car back from a person who intended on
buying it but didn’t. Now there are many
problems. I know some stuff about cars but
you know more so please help me. My car runs
ruff when first started, it also runs ruff
when hot. It blows out black smoke, and has
lost some power since I last had it. In
addition, the transmission has to be
redlined in order to shift gears anytime.
Answer: There are
a number of things that can cause this
condition. First, be sure the engine is
properly tuned-up. Have the spark plug and
plug sires been replaced? Distributor cap
and rotor, fuel filter and oxygen sensor?
Then scan PCM (computer) for fault codes.
This will tell you if any engine control
components have failed. Also check for
vacuum leaks or bad vacuum hoses. Once the
engine is running properly the transmission,
"shift points" may be corrected
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