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Thread: Whole Lotta Soot

  1. #1
    dunaholic
    There is an enourmous amount of soot that appears on the port side of my boat after a weekend of running my boat. Way more than I have ever noticed before and it's is really dark! Starboard side has some, but the port side is really bad. I have a 496 Mag that I run 87 in that appears to be running way to rich. Is there anybody else that has had this problem?

  2. #2
    Not So Fast
    There is an enourmous amount of soot that appears on the port side of my boat after a weekend of running my boat. Way more than I have ever noticed before and it's is really dark! Starboard side has some, but the port side is really bad. I have a 496 Mag that I run 87 in that appears to be running way to rich. Is there anybody else that has had this problem?
    Plenty, do a search. Common malady for Merc motors. NSF

  3. #3
    Sweet Addiction
    Mine always soots up. The whole transom gets dirty. I can't stand it, but they say the 496 motors run rich. I run 89 in mine. Just keep on truckin'.

  4. #4
    HM
    Pull the plugs and inspect on that side and see if you can determine whether it is that side or just one piston.
    I don't know anything about the 496...I am just thinking trouble shooting in general. I had my 502 get sooty on the starboard side and I had a burnt/bent valve.

  5. #5
    dunaholic
    Mine always soots up. The whole transom gets dirty. I can't stand it, but they say the 496 motors run rich. I run 89 in mine. Just keep on truckin'.
    i will put a picture up soon... I think there might be a problem from the amount of soot there was this weekend.

  6. #6
    Keith E. Sayre
    Take it to a Merc certified dealer that you trust. 99% of the time, they will
    reflash the computer and you'll be back in business. Also, run 87 octane
    only. I know, all of us old school carbed out motor junkies always want to
    run better octance. For the last 100 years, that' s been pounded into our
    brains, and I still think that way, just not with the Merc 496's!!
    What "Not So Fast" said is correct, it does happen.
    What HM said also could be true.
    Good luck.
    Keith Sayre

  7. #7
    dunaholic
    Take it to a Merc certified dealer that you trust. 99% of the time, they will
    reflash the computer and you'll be back in business. Also, run 87 octane
    only. I know, all of us old school carbed out motor junkies always want to
    run better octance. For the last 100 years, that' s been pounded into our
    brains, and I still think that way, just not with the Merc 496's!!
    What "Not So Fast" said is correct, it does happen.
    What HM said also could be true.
    Good luck.
    Keith Sayre
    I only run 87 in it.

  8. #8
    AZJD
    I have been running 89 octane in mine and it reduced the soot by half. Should I not run 89? Is it a problem for the motor?

  9. #9
    Chico&Zeus
    Only time mine sooted really bad was running 87 from dangling rope marina at Powell.....that shit left a diesel cloud on my transom and bimini boot

  10. #10
    McIntyrelocal
    yeah its probably bad gas and the side thats worse might have a couple of worn sparkplugs the guys with deep pockets run av gas just so there is no soot but those motors were build to run on 87 so there is no piont in running anything different unless you cant stand the soot but as long as theres no performance issue its probably just the gas. new cap rotor and plugs will probably fix it.

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