Black stuff on my bumper? Whats this?

[sageuvagony]

ok now I need SERIOUS help here... I live in Tampa, FL which is all highway with lil stop and go.. I travel usually at 55MPH 99% of the time. I have a 92 Civic LX with short ram intake.

Now... I BARELY ever get 200 miles to my tank. If I ever wanna hit the 200 line... I'd have to drive till the last drops of gas. Now I have been told I am running too rich and dont know why this happens but every day I have to clean my bumper. It turns black cuz shit comes outa my engine..

I bought this car in december with 76,000 miles on it. Now it has almost 91,000 miles on it. All fluids were changed and so were the belts and I bought Platinum Bosch +4's. Had my engine treated with "Motor flush" when I first changed my oil. I change the oil every 3,000 miles or less. I usually have to add a quart every 2 or 3 damn weeks... Now I may be burning oil but there is NEVER any smoke so.. I may be leaking it..

I have an automatic (ewww) Sure I drive it hard at times but I dont think this is a reason for it to have my milage so low... I have 13" stock steelies since my 15" tegs were bent! What could be causing this black crap to keep getting on my bumper? I am begging for serious tips. I want this car to last... I'll do ANY treatments to make it better... This pic I took about 5 min ago and I last cleaned my bumper YESTERDAY. That thing gets SO bad after like 3 or 4 days! How can I prevent this and what causes this? and any tips on MY car to improve gas milage will help. THANKS!

[Miataracer]

when was the last time it had an O2 sensor?

maybe you have a stuck fuel injector...

just some possible thoughts

[sageuvagony]

This car was owned by a priest and almost NOTHING was changed... the OIL and transmission fluid were almost BLACK WATER and did NOTHING to help the engine... and the tires were SHIT.. I got 5 brand new ones including a spare... seeing these things im guessing no ones ever touched the PCV valves, o2 sensors... fuel filter or ANYTHING... and are my spark plugs any good? the kind I mean... +4's

[Miataracer]

I have platinum Bosch plugs in mine... they seem just fine

if i were you i would change the O2 sensor and maybe even get your injectors cleaned, as long as you're at it put in a fuel filter

[sageuvagony]

would changing any of these make any difference in gas milage also? and would it MAYBE take some of the black stuff away? and how much is an O2 sensor?

[Miataracer]

the O2 sensor is there to make sure the computer is keeping the fuel mixture correct... so if it is not working properly and the computer thinks it is too lean it will keep dumping in more and more fuel even if it is actually too rich... so you will be using too much gas

a way to get a little bit of a glimpse at the conditions in the cylinders is to pull your spark plugs and take a look at them

as far as fuel injectors... over time they get carbon and other deposits on them and instead of having a nice clean and controlled mist they start to spray fuel irratically causing uneven distribution... thats bad too

if your car really is running too rich it could at least partially contribute to the black soot on your back bumper... some of it probably is the oil usage that you were talking about too though

[Miataracer]

O2 sensors arent too expensive... and if it really is bad it will soon pay for itself in gas mileage

[sageuvagony]

Miata I love you! Damn you are new-ish to THIS forum but are VERY smart and know your stuff... I wish you'd stick around here for a long time :-) Any idea how much an o2 sensor could cost? sorry if the question seems dumb.. I guess I'll just look it up

[Miataracer]

this is totally out of thin air but lets say $60...

that doesnt sound like a whole lot until you see the thing and realize it doesnt LOOK like it should cost more than like $5 but oh well...

[BullShifter]

With you exhausted mounted like that, what do you think is gonna happen? Have it exit behind the bumper, not under the bumper.

Yet another problem effecting the fuel economy. Loose the platinum tipped plugs. It could be the O2 sensor or something else.

Its "normal" for a Honda to burn 1qt of oil per 3,000miles

Take it to Honda for 90K maint service. You'll find whats wrong for sure then

[candlaudio]

well if you have luck like me then your o2 sensor is gonna be about $189.90, thats what it was when i called and checked on it cause i need one too, so i dont know what to tell you there except break out the wallet...

[Miataracer]

this is where I have gained a lot of my knowledge

[Miataracer]

now I just need some pictures of the Civic!!!

[undergroundimports]

I dont even have o2 sensors I have bolts. almost every honda i've put a header on the service engine light would come on so I build an o2 sensor simulator for the problem.(makes the car think it has them) anyway I ran my 1st civic for about a month with the o2 sensors un pluged (for good reason) and it never spit out anything that bad. I would say check your cat if its cloged it will rob you of power and gas milage and will spit black s#i+ on your bumper. When did it start? did you do anything to the car like an aftermarket muffler etc. I would wipe it off with a dry rag (if possable) and smell it if it just smells like really strong exhaust than probably too rich cat may be bad if it smells like oil than I would really get a new engine hope this helps. good luck

[sageuvagony]

what would happen if I drove with the sensor unplugged? What effects would I see with the car? would it run lean? (use little gas) or rich (lota gas) Im not sure if I wanna try it but I wanna see if there is a difference. I am REALLY debating weather I should change it or not (The o2 sensor). Its no much.. JUST like miata said.. its around 60... around here its gonna cost me 61 bucks. My car has about 90,450 miles and is a 92 civic LX. Should I change it? would it help? I just dont wanna replace something that isnt broken.. but if it really SHOULD be replaced then I'll to it today... Thanks..