Bad Eggy smell, catalytic

[Jim Bowen 1]

after a drive my car smells of egg outside, is this normal?, am sure its only on short runs

[Toad 0]

I seem to remember that when a car is idling a lot and fairly cold, such as in town, the catalyst isn't as efficient, and stuff(Technical term there) builds up in the cat until it is run hard, and the cat warms up and burns all the sulphur based stuff off, hence the eggy smell. I can't remember why, or what builds up, apart from that it has a high sulphur content.

[dinkus 10]

Definitely something to do with the cat, but don't know if taking it for a blat will clear it up or not.

[Jim Bowen 1]

i have heard about it before, but can't remember if it was good, bad or just normal

 

i'll get out and have a smell after my longish journey home :lol: nothing like sniffing for pussy fumes after some serious knob shifting 8)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

LOL :lol:

 

Yeah the egginess is perfectly normall, it's a byproduct of the catalysing process. It's the high density ceramic cats that smell the most. Metallic cats with fewer cells don't smell half as much.

 

If you can smell unburned fuel, you have a pre-cat exhaust leak or a dud cat, so the fact you're enjoying sulphury goodness is a good sign.

[StuartFZR400 0]

can never smell mine beside the car much, but followed it home once in another car and it stank horrid !! A month later the Cat went clank-ety-clank-clank; again , cannot smell anything off this ceramic cat.

[jonnyboyo 0]

When my cat on a Renault 19 16v became eggy pongy, it went and collapsed on me!! Mechanic said a duff lamba sensor was sending to much fuel through it which 'poisened' it. But then it was a Renault, everything collapsed on them :lol: :lol: