alright i get the bad feeling that i might have blown my car out, cuz i got a nasty smelling smoke coming from my car yesterday(right in front of my passenger rear tire), almost like burning rotten eggs, and theres a vibrating kibda noise coming somewhere from the exhaust when i rev it...no check engine light tho
now i have two questions...how can a cat get messed up? and how bad is it to drive with it having gone bad, and what are the circumstances?

 

Maybe you ran over something that messed it up..... I dont see any major problems with running it like that, but I would still get it fixed though......

 

There is some sort of ceramic in the cat, if a piece broke off and is bouncing around in there it could definatly be making some noises, usually a rattle though. Not too sure about the smell however.

 

yeap...tat's wat happened to me, and i blew my y-pipe

 

A dirty air filter caused my engine to run too rich and caused the ceramic to get too hot and sorta fused together (no chunking). If you smell sulfur (rotten eggs) your cat may not be burning off gases correctly.

I agree with sandman1098 that if it's just a vibration then maybe you hit something or maybe the heat shield or something is loose.

 

is there a reduction in performance???if not you cat isnt fully clogged.the sulfur smell could depend on gas you are using.some gasolines have higher sulphur content then others.the cats go bad from running rich all the time.this raises their temp. to a point of meltdown and then the cat media cracks.try to rev it and see if there are chunks coming out of your tail pipe.other than not being able to pass smog test,nothing bad will result in driving around like that

 

stock cat?

 

Just get the cat removed...I drive without one....I'm here in TX.....I have a guy who'll pass my car for the inspection....

 

The sulfur smell is from a damaged element in the cat whether its cracked or completely busted. Its from the hydrocarbons not breaking down completely.

Contrary to wht tattoo says:

A rich mixture would cause your exhaust to run cool.

A lean mixture would cause your exhaust to run hot.

This is how EGT gauges indicate rich or lean mixtures.

Catalytic converters die for many reasons. As one person said, you could have ran over something that hit the underside of the cat and broke a piece loose. Another one is using too many fuel additives or leaded fuel. Don't EVER use Aviation Fuel, also known as 100LL (LL stands for Low Lead) in your car unless you have the cat removed, the lead will destroy your catalytic converter. Sometimes its just time for it to die.

Oh yeah, and DON'T get your cat removed. Many states have hefty fines of up to $10,000 in some states.

 

Oh yeah, and DON'T get your cat removed. Many states have hefty fines of up to $10,000 in some states. [/B][/QUOTE]


How about Tx????

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MacGyver265
[B]The sulfur smell is from a damaged element in the cat whether its cracked or completely busted. Its from the hydrocarbons not breaking down completely.

Contrary to wht tattoo says:

A rich mixture would cause your exhaust to run cool.

But will overheat your catalitic converter.FI switches from lean to rich to keep the cat at optimal operating conditions.too rich=meltdown.

 

For McGyver

 

http://www.sebringmiata.com/page57.html

 

touche!

 

Great link.

 

you r talking about egt though,not cat temp.ever seen a cherry red cat on a car thats misfiring?i have.and that was from running rich.dont forget a chemical reaction that takes plase inside a cat