Rotten egg smell

I have an 87 4wd van. When I accelerate I get the sulfur smell - bad enough that I cannot drive with window down - I have to stick my head out usually. The smell will stay for a bit after acceleration. I read that it could be the catalytic converter.

Here's the detail.

I have had the van for maybe 6 months - 2000 miles. Upon purchase it needed in CA to pass smog - it received a new O2 sensor and a new catalytic converter - basically this http://www.carid.com/1987-toyota-van...ct-details-tab but the last # is 1013 instead of 1012. Afaik the smell has always been there for me but at first I think I assumed it was the smell of a new CC

I do not have carpet in the back - not sure how much that affects fumes. The smell just seems not normal though.

Compared to my 86 2wd the acceleration is not as good.

My dash computer light codes are 4 and 11 - split by about 2.5 seconds. I do have broken wires where the water sensors are and I can make the 4 go away so I think that is it. Not sure yet how to deal with 11 and if its related but thought I would throw that in.

The car just receieved a full tuneup - all plugs, cap, rotor, cables, belts, all fluids.

It has not yet been timed.

What would you suggest? I hate to just try another converter just to see if it works. It's welded on so its a bit of a job.

Thanks for any input!

I'd say check the timing. Has the distributor been out/replaced? Is it misfiring?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brentlehr

I'd say check the timing. Has the distributor been out/replaced? Is it misfiring?

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Disttributor has not been out since I've owned it and it doesn't misfire. It runs pretty smooth actually. I can only compare to my 86 which was a 22r though. I know this is a smaller engine so might be why. Not as peppy. I will check the timing asap and report

The rotten egg smell is the battery getting overcharged a lot of the time. The sulfuric acid is boiling inside the battery. The voltage regulator could be bad. Check how many volts are at the battery when idling and when the RPMs are increased. Shouldn't be over 15 volts and less when just idling. That's my 2 cents.

First off I offer my opinion based on my experience with the same or similar issues a few years ago. The smell could be the cat working hard. Here's why...Code 4 is coolant temp sensor. This is used by the computer to determine how much fuel the van needs based on the operating temp. A bad one will cause poor performance. Code 11 is likely a tps code which can also affect fueling. Both of these issues will make the cat work harder to burn off the excess emissions. At the very least you should remedy code 4 with a permanent repair or you will ruin the new cat. You could rule out the battery with a simple voltage test or by looking at the battery when you notice the smell to verify it's not wet from boiling over particularly around the vent caps but since you describe low power I suspect it will check fine. No one wants their van burned to the ground though so it wouldn't hurt to look. I would start by fixing the known issues to remedy the active codes before messing with timing. Also, the 22r was never I installed in the vans and physically won't fit without engine cover mods. Both your vans should have the 2.2 liter 4y engine. The 4wd is heavier and geared a little different but performance shouldn't be hugely different.

I agree with all the above advice. Another thing regarding TPS failure is Electronic Timing Advance. The TPS is part of the ETA system. When the TPS is down, so is the ETA. Not having ETA will make the van sluggish and can make the exhaust system run hot. Tim