My idle has been low and the exhaust smells terrible. Does this mean my cat is shot? Other than that the truck runs fine. 89 3.0 5 speed runner - stock

 

Try changing brands of fuel.

Mike in AR

 

I dont think its the fuel. I get different fuel all the time because I travel alot and a tank doesnt last me more than a few days. This problem has been going on for a few weeks now.

 

perhaps your cat. is going bad?

 

sounds to me like an inop cat

 

Your O2 sensor, my buddy has and old volvo that smells like that when the O2 goes out.

 

Maybe the easter bunny hit your house early, and hid some eggs in your exhaust and they went bad.

 

Our 93 chev suburban smelled like rotten eggs from the factory...never knew why.,,figured it had a different style cat in it.

 

Some cats smell like that when new, but I don't know on an old cat.

 

I actually had that happen in my wifes new saturn. It only did it the first year. I could have swore the smell was coming from the battery in the trunk. Yeah, they put it in the truck. ???

 

still could be the fuel,you said its been doing a few weeks,there is a difference between winter & summer fuel--may have a differnt sulphur content,tanks may not be emptied of fuel with higher content yet,there are some factory bulletins for 04 & up toys for different cats,but older ones only have for fuel content

 

Sometimes if youre leaking collant into the engine it can smell like eggs. check your collant level

 

Give it some beano.

I am going to agree with the fuel theory. I was having the same problem since I decided to go and get cheaper fuel. It went away after a couple weeks.

 

But wouldnt that smell like boiled eggs, not rotten ones?

 

i had a toyota tech tell me it was my fuel. He said it was usually associated with shell gasoline quit gettting shell and the smell went away. Got the last two tanks there because it was cheapest and the smell is back.

hope that helps

 

I had an old Pontiac that produced similar odor. Turned out it was the catalytic converter. Replaced it and the odor went away. Just an idea.