So I have this 99 Prelude [base] & ever since I bought the car a year ago, I've been noticing black residue on my trunk after a week of driving.. I never put much thought into it, just figured to wash it more, until a friend of mine told me there was a cloud of black smoke pouring out of my exhaust once I hit the gas. Now, before I bought the car, my intake was changed to an injen cold air & I have a skunk 2 catback exhaust. I've had to change my catalytic converter twice because it was clogged, (which I don't know if it's relevant) and I've recently changed my headers to aftermarket ones. In doing some research, I was looking for a
mass air flo sensor but noticed a TP Sensor that monitors the fuel/air mixture running through.. Could that be my problem? I've brought my car to 7 different mechanics who all tell me nothing is wrong with my car, but I still see black smoke, still have residue on my trunk (a lot) which makes it look like I haven't washed my car in months, and my car tends to have a delay in it's pick-up. My check engine light has been on and off flashing an EGR code, but that wouldn't produce as much smoke as it is. And all of a sudden mechanics won't do anything unless a check engine light is on directing them to the source of the problem. Which isn't the case....

Any feedback would help me tremendously.


Modified by j3nniii at 6:00 PM 10/28/2008

 

black smoke is a sign of it running rich, and if youre going through cat's like that im not sure if they are melting or not. i dont think this helps much but, Bump~

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 96-h22a1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">black smoke is a sign of it running rich</TD></TR></TABLE>

Which is a common trait with Preludes, including mine. I think I'm going to cure it with a VAFC. But going through cats like that indicates a bigger problem. Exactly what kind of cats did you put on the car?

 

I do not know. Some kind of aftermarket one a local mechanic welded on. I don't know where to go from here..


Modified by j3nniii at 5:58 PM 10/28/2008

 

What do you mean by, bump?

 

"bump" on a thread more or less "refreshes" your post putting it on the top of the list to gain attention on your topic, i'd try another mechanic...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by j3nniii &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I do not know. Some kind of aftermarket one a local mechanic welded on. I don't know where to go from here..</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, I'd stop going to that mechanic. Grab a magnaflow/carsound high-flow cat off eBay and have someone weld it on. See if your cat problems continue.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kronn 98SH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Well, I'd stop going to that mechanic. Grab a magnaflow/carsound high-flow cat off eBay and have someone weld it on. See if your cat problems continue.</TD></TR></TABLE>

agreed. mechanics are useless. i personally don't think changing the cat out will fix the root of the problem though. like people have mentioned, the car is running rich, you fix that, you'll probably fix clogging the crap out of all your cats and you will not have black residue on your cars ***. start at the top and check your sensors.

 

If my sensors were bad wouldn't I get a check engine code? I've been researching how to test them but I don't feel like having a mechanic tell me the light needs to be on again.

 

u could get a carsound, but if u want a cheaper and arguably better solution you can go with welding a catalytic converter from another car. The car of choice if it were me would be the S2000 cat converter. It is still an OEM 3 stage catalytic converter from honda, probably less restrictive than a prelude, and will meet any emissions standards.