hey guys,

when i hit the gas really hard i have this rotten egg smell. i heard people say that it could be the MAF. Does this deffinetly mean that my MAF is bad or is it something else?? because i want to be sure that its the MAF before i buy it. By the way i have a 2000 Maxima SE

Now im not completely sure if my car is sluggish or not because i bought the car used with 95000 miles and it feels pretty much the same and i dont know how it rides brand new. Im also 17yrs old which tells you how much experience driving i have. But i definetly do think that my car could go faster and run better if i changed something

Thank you for being so helpful @ this forum.. you guys are the best.

 

the maf helps determine a/f ratios in typical driving so it has nothing to do with smell. the only instance where it might lead to a scent is if it goes foul and it makes the car run really rich and dump alot of fuel. if you are smelling a foul smell then you may have a clogged catalytic converter. i would have someone inspect that before you replace the maf.

 

smells like an 02 sensor.. hehe
do you have your SES light on?
if 02 sensor is bad .. could make your car run lean or rich. if its too much one or the other. you get the bad smell like rotten eggs or stanky a*s . hehe

btw i like your org name. "ti sucka" haha.

 

I heard that it may be the additive in the winter gas, is this true? Because I get the same smell too after hard acceleration and I have a new CAT-CONV

 

rotten egg smell = cat going bad

 

You're smelling sulfur ...

bad cat converter ... or your MAF is melting away its outer layer ... usually happens at >100k miles.

 

bet he pumps Citgo too...

 

well the only time i get the smell is during hard acceleration which i usually do if me and my brother are going somewhere on our cars and i wanna race him. BTW he has a lexus is300. i should be able to beat him but i havent had a good chance yet.

I DONT have a SES Light and is there a way to clean a clogged catalytic converter??

@goldmaxNYC::: at least some people understand my org name lol

 

I am going to try some Seafoam this weekend.

 

if its going bad you have to replace it. its not clogged...its breaking down.
read this and it will make sense - http://auto.howstuffworks.com/catalytic-converter.htm

 

What those guys said ^^^^.. my car threw 2 codes which said gas is running rich. Everyone told me 2 oxygen sensors going bad at the same time is rare, so I replaced MAF and rotten egg smell and SES code is now gone. I'd replace the MAF first since it's the cheapest and easiest. Goodluck.

 

that has nothing to do with a bad cat or rotten egg smell but ok.

write up - http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hlight=seafoam

 

I have a 2K se which had been experiencing problems

1) When i punched it on the highway I too would get the sulfar stink.

2) On cold morning startups it would buck in 1st and 2nd. After about 2-3 blocks all was fine.

I figured I would change the MAF being it's so cheap.......Glad I did!!!!!
Both above problems are gone!

 

it could also be ethanol. Winter gas have ethanol in it. Not sure about NJ but in CO, ethanol is added

 

Drink it and get buzzed. C2H5OH Ethanol is good in some forms Just like in Crown Royal. . . .

 

My 00 bucks--has for a couple of years, when cold only for the first mile or so. I have a 5 speed so I can more easily maintain the revs, but I've thought it was the MAF. It's the only time I notice a problem though, so I've still not replaced it

 

thanks for the link soonerfan. i actually wanted to do this to my car.

this may be a silly question but are there any bad side affects to sea foam??

Do any of you guys have a link on how to clean the throttle body by any chance? Im pretty much trying clean my entire car mechanically for best performance.

SO this is what i will do in the next month or two:

1. Seafoam
2. Oil change using mobile 1 synthetic
3. Transmission Flush (does it matter in which step i do the tranny flush? can i do it first??)

The main reason why im trying to do all the stuff is because of my MPG which comes out to about 16 (im gonna try to use better gas). Ive read MANY MANY threads on the forum in order to try and fix this. so im trying to do all these things in order to try and make that better in the process.

thanks for ALL your help

 

see i help people dam it.

here are picture showing how to really clean the throttle body
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/335422/8

ive done seafoma twice with no side affects though i would recommend changing oil and spark plugs shortly after

 

http://www.swri.edu/10light/catalyst.htm

Check out this link. It Might not be so bad after all.

 

hmmm... I get the same smell when I punch it. I have a new MAF, new coils and no SES light.

 

buy a new cat thats most likely it heh

 

ONE MORE QUESTION:

My car practically has no power in the 2K-3K RPM rage. I hit the gas and almost nothing happens..


NOW, is this the MAF??? Because its really frustrating me. Im guessing SeaFoam will help, but that cant fix the whole problem

THANKS!!

 

What kind of gas are you using, (brand and octane)? Like mention earlier what you are smelling is sulfur. Before you go spending money on a catalytic convertor try switching brands and see if that helps. As for the MAF sensor, you can get that from DaveB at Southpoint Nissan for around $100. www.motorvate.ca has a write up on cleaning the TB for whoever ask about it.

 

Yes, that is most likely MAF.

 

Replace the MAF!
I was too getting the Rotten Egg smell after WOT. After replacing the MAF both the smell as well as the bucking when cold went away.

 

ok im deffinetly going to get an MAF.

now for the gas.. ive been using regular or plus... The last time i pumped gas i used MOBILE. But i doubt if i used super it would give me a very big difference in power between 2-3K rpm. BUT ill deffinetly get the better octane next time. im kinda short on cash since im only 17 w/ college next yr which is a TON of money.

 

Before you pumped Mobil gas did you have the rotten egg smell? I agree, using premium won't give you noticeable power between 2-3k rpm. I was just curious what type of gas you were using. I shouldn't of ask about the octane. Anyways Toyota has a TSB about the Rotten egg smell and it goes into about sulfer in gas giving off the rotten egg smell. I believe they recommend changing brands of gas. One more thing, before I replaced my MAF sensor, I my car bogged around the 2-4K rpms then after that it would accelarate. It felt like a clog cat. I also had hard shifts and a DTC (forgot the number but the description said lean shift or lean biased.) If you feel loss of power around the same rpm range then I would replaced the MAF sensor like recommended by most already.

 

well i still havent really floored my pedal with the mobile that im using now (its actually regular). And i only get the smell when i hit the pedal hard so i really cant answer that.

but yes i will change the MAF in the next month and ill keep you guys posted on my progress.

thanks for all your help. its greatly appreciated.

 

Are you guys sure that it just isnt a typical Maxima exhaust smell? My gf's 03 SE smells like that if I am driving behind her and she goes WOT. Her car runs fine, no CEL's, gas mileage is good, and it only has 30k miles on it. There is never any smell in the passenger compartment tho.

 

haha....I was gonna post something in this thread......got me paranoid!