MyBlue02

so the every now and then that i romp on my car and bring the rpm's up bit to 5,000 and up, with actually getting into the throtle a bit i get the "rotten egg smell" in the car a little (windows up).

its not overwhelming, but i do smell it, the wierd thing is that my car has almost no smell to the exhaust while running normally...i'm not used to that...it usually has some sort of smell, at least it has on all my other cars that i've owned over hte years.

so are my cats going? are am i just heating them up more than they are used to from the babieng that it gets 90% of the time?

thanks

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

Most 6th genners have also had that. For us it is just the cats. Whether or not the situation is the same with yours, I don't see why not, but I am not certain!

Swee

infiniteecho

I had the same thing happen after playing around on the highway and accelerating to about 120. It is probably just from them being used more so then normal.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Skylowmax

YEA it happens to me from time to time...when I push it really hard....At first i though it was the in-cabin microfilter BUT Nah...but i always wonder what can cause that smell? can anyone answer this!! because i have driven other cars in full throtle and i dont smell anything!!

ioccaste

now, i'm no genious about cars, but i know a few things. you're all right! when driving another car hard, i don't normally smell the rotten egg smell from the catalytic converter. basically, the cat is a small laboratory in a can. it converts all the garbage that our cars would normally emit into a safer(but still terrible for the environment) emission. under normal conditions, that cat can make these chemical reactions with ease. when we dance on the throttle, we're asking the cat to perform these reactions at a much faster rate, and sometimes it can't keep up. the problem can happen at low rpm's as well, such as moving up a hill. when you mash the gas, more unburned fuel is making it's way through the exhaust system and into the cat, which normally would just convert gas, not liquid. also, maybe the cat is getting close to the end of it's life. just like an experiment in your high school chem class, if you don't have enough of the catalyst to perform a reaction, then the reaction just won't work.

Matt_01SE_20th

iTrader: (1)

ioccaste: Everything you said is correct except for the catalyst being used up part, thats the definition of a catalyst, it converts WITHOUT being used up.

Now i am more familiar with diesel engine emissions, but here is a quick rundown of what is going on.

Mashing on the accelerator: Unburnt hydrocarbons are passing the cat due to a slightly rich condition in which there is no oxygen for the cat to perform its duty. This smell will be similar to that of a cold start, at which point the temps arent high enough for conversion.

Beating it up after long gentle use: Most likely you are doing one of two things. First, sometimes your catalyst will actually trap some of the oxides, when you beat on it and run LEAN and hot, these will be released. The more sulfur in your fuel the worse this will be. Second, due to the temps encountered during the excessive loads seen by the engine, the combustion temps rise rapidly causing a high rate of oxide formation, and you will smell this too.

If your cat is bad it will be stinky frequently, if it is intermittant and potant, you need to burn out the cat more often.

So take a lesson from this, drive harder more often, and most importantly, have some fun.

jeff5347

There's sulfur in fuel additives; your engine isn't burning it completely and your catalytic converter is storing it and then releasing it as hydrogen sulfide when you add load to the engine and force more air through.

Try switching gas stations, or fuel grades; then try a thorough tune-up: replace the spark plugs, plug wires, fuel and air filters, and oxygen sensor, and clean the fuel injectors. If that doesn't do it, replace your converter.


Dealers will always blame cheap gas rather than the catalytic converter. If you do a lot of short hop driving, you may need to blow out that cat with an Italian tuneup. First, make sure your air filter is in good condition, or replace it, it's cheap. Then tank up with premium unleaded and get out on the superhighway or other open road where you can drive at sustained high speed to heat up the platinum catalyst and burn out the gunk.

Heres an education on cat's http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h64.pdf

MyBlue02

well...since my job is 2 miles or less away...and i don't really romp on on the way to work i'd say i need to clean it out more offen.

i use 93 oct. (hess)

car has less than 48,000 miles, and a new air filter....i'll just romp on it more offen.

killical01

yeah i have had the same problem. and it seems like if i get into my max harder more often than it goes away.