A friend and I had an arguement about something my XJ has done. I put one of those new exhaust kits that the vendor mudfrog sells here. When it came out of the box, the stainless steel 2.5" pipe seemed to have a little bit of what I am guessing is manufacturing grease on/in it (nothing dripping, just a thin film. Enough to say "that feels greasy"). Anyways, I put it on, clamped everything down. Sounds great, looks great. Awesome.

Three weeks later (today), the inside of the pipe is black with exhaust. It isn't caked or slimy; basically what my old tailpipe looked like. My friend tried to tell me that this was NOT normal, and my engine was running way too rich. Here's my arguement; its been 3 weeks, my MPG is still 20 highway, she runs/idles smoothe as can be, no CEL, and the inside is just like soot and not slimy or anything. So am I right or is he?

 

I have never seen a tailpipe that didn't have a little soot on it. I guess it depends on your level of PTSD, but if you are getting good mileage and not burning oil, it ain't broke.

Just for fun, maybe drive to the mall and randomly check some other autos and compare your findings. (Caution, this might get you some strange looks. )

 

That all sounds normal to me. The grease or oil on the exhaust is just rust preventative they use for shipping.

 

Normal, your XJ aint no hybrid, you're gonna have some soot in the tailpipe.

 

normal, you've got the afterproducts of a burning material going through your exhaust whenever your motor is on, exhausts get sooty, if you were running super rich your exhaust would smoke black or reek of gas, it's pretty easy to notice.

 

totally normal

 

normal.. What does your friend Drive?

 

A diesel Dodge Ram pickup

 

lol and he's worried about soot on YOUR tailpipe?

 

Lol appariently. I told him nothing was wrong with my Jeep. No gas smell, no rough running. Except for a little oil burning, my ol' girl is tip-top.