Is there a way to tell if I am running to rich. I took off my exhaust the other day and there is a very strong smell of gas. The inside of the pipes near the header collector is very dark and oily looking. There is no smoke coming out of the exhaust, just strong exhaust smell. Is there anyway to prevent the strong odor? Would cats solve the problem. I dont have cats on my exhaust right now. Could this be the cause?

 

black smoke is normally a good sign, but you dont have any smoke?

 

Spark plugs tell all. Know how to read the plugs?

 

i dont, but am interested, could you explain it please?

 

Im am not a professional at reading plugs but here is what I know. If the tip of the plug is solid black like soot then you may be runing rich. Some people even smell their plugs. if the plug has a white dry looking finish to it then your running lean. You want a plug that has a brownish gold look to it.

 

head to the library they shoudl have books that will even show you pictures of the plugs and what each one looks like under different conditions.

but yeah if your running white on the plugs tips your prolly running lean.

and blackish depending on how it looks can either be rich or oil.

tan or goldish color is what you want to see


as far as exhuast smells you can have a car running lean and still smell strong gas odor if the motor isn't burning the fuel it has right. so best bet is to check those plugs out it will give you better indication of how the motor is running

 

Look on the back cover of a Haynes manual, they show alot of different plug 'conditions' and what they mean.