Carbon/soot floating in exhaust water

[mattman]

Lately when I start my Westerbeke 21 there is a large film of what looks like carbon/soot exiting the wet exhaust system for a good ~5-10 minutes. It seems to stop once the engine warms up.

Earlier this season I found 2 bad glow plugs which were contributing to difficulty starting. There were probably 6-10 times that I tried to start the engine and it took multiple tries before finally cranking. I assumed once this was resolved the exhaust film would clear up, but it's been months now.

Any suggestions?

I've attached some photos.

[a64pilot]

Check valve adjustment and have your injectors serviced by an injection shop.
Ithink you have dirty injectors, but checking valves unless you have done recently is never a bad idea

[mattman]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Check valve adjustment and have your injectors serviced by an injection shop.
Ithink you have dirty injectors, but checking valves unless you have done recently is never a bad idea

Should I try using a product like SeaFoam in my fuel filter to help clean them out first? The last time the engine had major service was 2009.

[gamayun]

Ditto on injectors. I had this very same issue. Pulled the injectors, which all needed to be rebuilt. Easier starting and no soot now.

[a64pilot]

Nothing you can put into the fuel can properly clean an injector, plus there is more to servicing than cleaning.
It doesn’t cost much to have them serviced and is something that should be done every so often anyway, I think about every 500 hours, although fuel quality greatly impacts that number.

I’m not saying that is absolutely 100% your problem, but it’s the most likely candidate in my opinion, and something that should be performed regularly anyway, like a valve adjustment.

[gamayun]

Oh, I am also using a biocide to keep gunk down. Can't remember name of it, but was reccommended by several people including the diesel shop.

[a64pilot]

Biobor JF ?

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Biobor JF ?

My mistake...it's not a biocide but Stanadyne fuel additive (Performance Formula) that I started using after getting the injectors rebuilt. It's this one: https://promo.parker.com/promotionsi...us/en/products