D15b7 Smoking Black Help?

[CustomCreations]

My best friend owns a 1994 Honda Civic Dx 5-speed. It has 170,XXX miles on it and being kids as we are... we drive the car very hard. He blew a head gasket around a month ago and we found out the head was warped. We took it to get milled down and we ended up milling it around 8,000/inch. We adjusted the valves correctly for the diffrence in the head. Now we are noticing Black smoke when he gets on it. I have pulled the plugs and one of the plugs was melted and ashy and another was covered in oil. Im assuming the oil covered plug is the cause of the black smoke. I am a young still and dont have as much knowledge as alot so can anyone help clear up what causes these problems. If its worth fixing or just buying another engine. Help out before money is wasted, its well appreciated

 

[SGGilmo]

the oil on the plug is a problem however it is most likely due to either leaky seals or piston rings.

black smoke is actually fuel related. usually happens when you are running rich or have a plug that is not igniting as it should. those two plugs could be causing this problem. i would start with changing them out first as they are fairly cheap and easy to do.

one question though. is your check engine light on? if it is then that can also cause this problem. when the cel is on the car goes into "limp" mode or "safe" mode which by nature will run a richer fuel map to help protect the motor.

 

[CustomCreations]

Actually now that you say that, yes the check engine light has been on now for around 20,000 miles. Sounds dumb not to look into that but everyone around my area swears the check engine light doesnt mean anything even though clearly it does. And yes the car does have blow by past the rings so that does explain the oil. And is there a way to know for sure if the car is in Protect mode? If so how do I fix this problem and proceed to the next problem?

 

[SGGilmo]

Actually now that you say that, yes the check engine light has been on now for around 20,000 miles. Sounds dumb not to look into that but everyone around my area swears the check engine light doesnt mean anything even though clearly it does. And yes the car does have blow by past the rings so that does explain the oil. And is there a way to know for sure if the car is in Protect mode? If so how do I fix this problem and proceed to the next problem?

well the cel is on so yes it is in "safe" mode. best thing for you to do is to pull the codes and fix the problem. if i had to guess, i bet it's the o2 sensor lol

 

[CustomCreations]

changed the O2 censor last month when I did the head gasket. The light was on prior to the head Gasket blowing. If I flash the engine computer and remove all codes will it take it out of protect mode??

 

[SGGilmo]

haha. oh well.

yes it will maybe. if there are just codes there that need to be cleared then yes. if there is a code because something is wrong then no. you would need to fix the problem first or the light will just come right back on.

 

[CustomCreations]

Alright I flashed the computer and removed all codes and changed spark plugs to those E3 Diomond fire plugs... nothing is showing up the check engine light is off and at high Rpms it smokes black. At idle now it revs up and down. Number one cylender has oil on the plug. Number three cylender has a melted plug thats ashy. This car is cursed I promise... I can not figure out this cars problem honestly lol. And you said earlier the oil on the plug could be a bad ring.... it does have blow by past the rings so we figured that problem out. Now why is the other plug melted and ashy? And a new problem... it idles up and down now. Sorry about all the questions but if your like me you enjoy it... I love a good puzzle haha

 

[SGGilmo]

post a pic of your plugs. what are you considering melted and ashy?

 

[CustomCreations]

My camera wont upload the picture... the end of the plug where it actually sparks to ignite the fuel, is completely melted and whats left is ashy... when I say melted I mean the plug is unusable and looks like you took a blow torch to the end of it. I have never seen this before and I would assume all the plugs would be like this one, but its only the one plug.

 

[SGGilmo]

look like any of these?

 

[CustomCreations]

Looks like ALOT like too hot... and pre ignition. What causes this and how do you fix?? sorry about all the questions but I like to learn so next time I know.

 

[SGGilmo]

could be a variety of things. for the most part its running too hot. could be too hot of a plug, cooling fans not working, low coolant, timing is off (too far advanced in this case).

 

[CustomCreations]

Alright ive checked into it from what you have said... He is running those E3 Diomond fire spark plugs and they do burn hotter. so thats probally part of the problem and I do belive the timming is set in advanced he had one of those mechanics that knows it all cause he took shop class in highschool work on it. So I really do appreciate your help even though this is all obvious now that you have explained it to me. I did learn some new things and I thank you and hopefully we can get this Honda running on all 4s agian .... THANKS AGIAN

 

[SGGilmo]

No problem. Happy to help. Anything else feel free to ask.

 

[CustomCreations]

Thanks