# rotten egg smell and cat converter



## fro98665 (May 11, 2004)

Hello, what does it mean when i get on my little sentra(94 le 1.6 auto) and I sometimes smell a rotten egg smell. Thanks, Fro


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## Sentra GTR-1 (Aug 2, 2002)

A rotten egg smell usually means that your cat converter is going bad.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

what he said, shove a pole or something in there and hollow the sucker out


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## I'm tired of my usernamee (Feb 16, 2004)

just replace the cat.


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

that involves money


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## himbo (Sep 20, 2003)

maybe something's leakin out your ass, thats my problem :cheers:


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## SentraGuy101 (Nov 23, 2004)

Does a bad Cat result in a loss of pickup (not only on hills but on flat ground too)...Mine has gone out too and i think ill be getting it fixed in a couple of days, so im kinda curious of what to expect with the new one in there...oh and is it worth it to get it down at a muffler shop and get a quality one (gonna cost me bout 185$) or should i go to autozone and buy one of theirs and put it in myself? Thx


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

yes u will notice a change, lets say your idling down the rode, at low rpms especially it will feel like its choking and might even start to buck a little, thats how bad my buddys truck got, had to keep it above three grand. also find out why your cat is bad, just because its old or are u running rich or burning oil or anything like that because if u replace it and get a new one with those problems then u spent your 185 for nothin, i always just say hollow it out until its time for emissions then get a new one put on especially being around x mass time u need your money for other stuff


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## SentraGuy101 (Nov 23, 2004)

Slacky said:


> yes u will notice a change, lets say your idling down the rode, at low rpms especially it will feel like its choking and might even start to buck a little, thats how bad my buddys truck got, had to keep it above three grand. also find out why your cat is bad, just because its old or are u running rich or burning oil or anything like that because if u replace it and get a new one with those problems then u spent your 185 for nothin, i always just say hollow it out until its time for emissions then get a new one put on especially being around x mass time u need your money for other stuff


Yeah i guess i will just clean it out for now, till i have to get a new one for emissions. Being new to this and all, do i basically just take it off and stick something inside of it to scrape out everything? Will this give me the same effects as if i were to get a new Cat?


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

yea its like a honey comb mesh stuff in there, just run a pole through it like a broom stick and break it all up and technically u will flow better than having a good cat i would think, unless there turbulance cuased by the holow area either way its better than spending money or dealing with no power. u know what u could do is put a strait pipe there unless if u got pulled over and your exhaust were to be examind u could get a ticket for it thats why i would atleast have the hollow shell there


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## SentraGuy101 (Nov 23, 2004)

Now when i go to buy a new Cat, cant i get reported by the mechanic for tamporing with my old one?


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## Sentra GTR-1 (Aug 2, 2002)

*Random Technology*

You could get an OEM one for replacement from the dealership but from what Ive heard its much more expensive than an after market one. I would get the random technologies high flow cat converter instead. Its stainless steel, high flow and its cheaper roughy 220 dollars compared to the dealerships 300-400 dollar price tag. You should check it out. Hope this helps!


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

no u cant get in trouble just say it was choking and a buddy said to run a pole through it and it helped right out, didnt think that makin my car run was against the law or something clever like that and thats if they even ask which i doubt they will


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## Mack (Mar 18, 2003)

Sentra GTR-1 said:


> A rotten egg smell usually means that your cat converter is going bad.


Ok, I know this thread seems to be over, but I just wanted to shed some light on the situation. A "rotton egg" smell, which is actually the smell of the sulfur compounds in the fuel burning process, is *NOT* a sign of your catalytic converter going bad. It's simple chemistry. Various compounds in the exhaust are broken down, which include sulfur dioxide, and the result (besides the changed compounds) inlcudes a rotton egg smell.

Very new catalytic converters can make this smell, and it is not indicative of any problem. It's probably too late for your cat, since you've most likely done something already. For future reference, though, keep in mind that the smell just means that the chemical reaction that removes pollutant compounds from your exhaust is working well.

Here's a website that helps explain the situation.

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

(I mostly decided to reply to this thread because you might just get a rotton smell from a new cat, if that's what you decide to do.)


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## Mack (Mar 18, 2003)

Slacky said:


> yea its like a honey comb mesh stuff in there, just run a pole through it like a broom stick and break it all up and technically u will flow better than having a good cat i would think, unless there turbulance cuased by the holow area either way its better than spending money or dealing with no power. u know what u could do is put a strait pipe there unless if u got pulled over and your exhaust were to be examind u could get a ticket for it thats why i would atleast have the hollow shell there


Oh, and while I'm thinking about it - this seems like _terrible_ advice. I don't mean to be rude, but it sounds like you really don't know what you're talking about. Here's why:

1) _...break it all up..._ -Why does this make any sense? "Breaking up" the constituents of the catalytic converter could easily create a problem, such as a clog. Turbulence from the irregular surface is also a concern - uneven flow decreases power.

2) _...u know what u could do is put a strait pipe..._ -Here's the deal. Unless you haven't heard, cars produce a lot of terrible pollutant compounds. Catalytic converters aren't stupid or unnecessary devices, and you aren't _cool_ for not having one. Get over the fact that they do serve a purpose, and just improve the other aspects of your exhaust (muffler, pipe diameter, etc). Race cars might be exempt from using them, but I doubt your Sentra is a dedicated racer. 

3) _...technically u will flow better than having a good cat..._ -Well, first of all, even the "highest performance" cats for the Sentra only allow for about a 1 hp gain over the stock cat. So even if "breaking up" the inside of your cat produced somewhat better flow, the difference is virtually indistinguishable. 

I just didn't want anyone searching "rotton egg smell from cat" to run across this thread and decide to destroy their factory cat - since 1) the egg smell is _normal_, 2) breaking up the inside of your cat is not a great idea, and 3) you should leave a cat on your car.


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## Exalta (Jan 21, 2003)

Very nice advice. :thumbup:


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## Nissanowner2012 (Sep 18, 2015)

Is there a way to get rid of the smell?


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