Black "soot" in engine bay

[Rockinar]

Westerbeke 30B THREE. Engine bay is beginning to have black "soot" in it on the walls and everything. My only guess is its coming from the intake filter. Not sure what would cause this. Maybe an exhaust hose leak? Took off the filter housing and theres no foam or anything in it, its just an empty shell. Was told its more of a "breather" than a filter.

Almost about to throw in the towel on the old engine that keeps giving me problems and get a new Beta anyways. Seems I fix one thing and two things break. Curious where the soot might be coming from and why it would be doing that. It did not do it really at all the last year. Seems to be getting worse.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Rockinar

Westerbeke 30B THREE. Engine bay is beginning to have black "soot" in it on the walls and everything. My only guess is its coming from the intake filter. Not sure what would cause this. Maybe an exhaust hose leak? Took off the filter housing and theres no foam or anything in it, its just an empty shell. Was told its more of a "breather" than a filter.

Almost about to throw in the towel on the old engine that keeps giving me problems and get a new Beta anyways. Seems I fix one thing and two things break. Curious where the soot might be coming from and why it would be doing that. It did not do it really at all the last year. Seems to be getting worse.

Belt dust??

[Rockinar]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Belt dust??

Hmmm. I dont suspect it. But a it's a possibility I could investigate.

[Wotname]

What Uncle Bob said - almost always belt dust.

[StuM]

Yep, my money is on belt dust as well. I've seen it in quite a few engine wells with worn belts.

"Seems to be getting worse. " it will do that as the belt wears.

[Rumrace]

Try some belt dressing. Belt putting out a lot of rubber are already broken. A tiny pin hole gasket on a valve cover or the last part you worked on and didn’t get the mating surfaces clean. The belt ends up distributing the vapour so folks replace the belt. The smell is a dead give away. The belt smells like burning rubber and the oil leak smells like an old wallet.

[roberttigar]

Exhaust leak. Run the engine at high idle and look at the engine.

[Wolfe10]

A strong flashlight should be able to find a black soot trail of it is an exhaust leak. Start at the head and work "down stream".

[JPA Cate]

My money's on belt dust, too. Heard any squealing when the engine is first started and the battery bank is low? If so, almost certainly belt dust. The belt may need replacing, but there is spray on belt dressing you can use, and if the squeal has gone away, that was your problem (belt dust). It is not a forever fix. Belts do best when you've spent more for a higher quality one, than el cheapos, in our experience. If your belt is coming apart, it was the source of what looks like a spray of tiny black dots all over the engine box, except the farthest points from the belt. [I saw one in shreds, once.]



Ann