[V6-12v] Strange new exhaust smell

[Craig D. Niederst]

I checked the DTC codes a couple of weeks ago, and there were none. That
combined with the fact the O2 sensors were replaced at ~75k miles, they
should still be OK. I also don't recall a rotten egg smell from this car any
time in the past. Maybe I'll pull the codes again to see if anything has
shown up.

Thanks.

Craig
'92 100S (108k)
'86 CGT (234k)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "The CyberPoet" <thecyberpoet at cyberpoet.net>
To: "Craig D. Niederst" <niederst at dashfast.com>
Cc: <v6-12v at audifans.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 10:36 PM
Subject: Re: [V6-12v] Strange new exhaust smell


> Sounds like you might have burned out your catalytic converter (which
> initially smells like sulfur or rotten eggs, and becomes milder after a
> few days). A bad oxygen sensor will permit unburnt fuel to get into the
> exhaust system, increasing the temperature to the point of the
> substrate in the catalytic converters failing.
>
> Cheers
> =-= Marc Glasgow
>
> On Tuesday, January 6, 2004, at 10:07  PM, Craig D. Niederst wrote:
>
> > For about the past month, I have had a strange exhaust smell from my
> > '92 100S. It smells like burnt coffee beans (not exactly the odor, but
> > that's as close as I can describe it). I originally thought it was
> > just some sunflower seeds that mice had stowed in the engine bay that
> > I attempted to blow out and happened to get onto the exhaust or other
> > hot engine surface. But upon closer inspection, the smell is
> > definitely coming from the exhaust, and not the engine bay. I have
> > changed the oil in that time period (from 10W30 Syntec to 10W30 Quaker
> > State Higher Mileage) to see if it helps my oil consumption issues (~1
> > qt per 500 miles), so I was wondering if it may have something to do
> > with it. I have used this same Quaker State oil in a Honda Accord and
> > Plymouth Voyager, and they do not have this odor. Any ideas?