Sulfur (aka. Rotten Egg) Smell on '03 4Runners
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CBR_GUY_IA
New member
This is the way it works........
Didn't read all the posts, but #21 on page 3 pretty much sums the whole thing up.
What happens is you have a front and rear oxygen sensor. The front one (pre-cat) measures the amount of excess fuel/oxygen left over in the cylinders when leaving the engine. The front (pre-cat) 02 sensor switches from about 200 mv to around 800-900 mv during every fuel injector pulse width.. This is how your engine (along with MANY other variables) decides to add more fuel to the combustion chamber or take fuel away to give an ideal 14.7:1 A/F ratio.. Your rear 02 sensor (post-cat) is NOT suppossed to switch from a low mv to a high mv during injector pulse width. The JOB for the cat is to take the pollution that comes out of the exhaust (I'm not sure which ones, NOx I think) and thru a chemical process convert them into non ozone depleting atoms..
Now here's the problem. Different manufacturers use different materials to acheive the same result. Japanese manufacturers in particulaur have cheaped out due to the VERY, VERY expensive materials required to acheive this process. It's also likely that their R&D team uses a different fuel than what's available in the U.S. therefore not having the issue during R&D.
One would smell this more during WOT since the vehicle goes into open loop and the PCM dumps in extra unburn fuel into the combustion chamber and ultimately out of the exhaust.
Another problem is that the manufacturers have to by LAW warranty the cat for 8/80 and they are ery expensive to build. Manufacturers would much rather set their PCM's up to not set the code unless the cat is just out of federal specs.
The only real option is to
1.) Have manufacturers build their cats with different materials which are in the long term worse to the environment than the issue it's trying to solve. It is also very costly to build them right.
2.)Have manufacturers run their vehicles slightly leaner during WOT acceleration, which is harmfull to the engine.
3.)Remove the sulfer from the fuel.
I've seen this problem especially with Japanese vehicles quite a bit. Typically it occurs with v6 and larger foreign cars. Mitsubishi also has this problem.
I've had to replace a few faulty catalytic converters and I'll be the first to tell you they are NOT cheap..
There is a huge black market for these things. No one wants the cheap aftermarket ones, but the OEM domestic ones sell for $200-$300 EACH on the black market. I know guys who work at auto dealers in the big cities. I've heard first hand how they've seen 12-13 trucks come in all in the same day around Christmas time with their catalytic converters cut off.
This is what happens. Your typical lowlife gets himself a hacksaw and a creeper. Rolls under a bunch of trucks and steals the cats. He then sells them to companies who troll the country looking for OEM cats. Othen times buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of cats at a time. He then sells them to India and other developing or third world countries where they don't care about their health. They then melt them down, take the ery expensive precious metals out of them, turn them into jewelry and ship them back to the US to be sold. Most likely Toyota doesn't put as many of these essential "precious metels" into their cats.
There is another solution I've read about above. As stated the rear 02 (post cat) is just a "catalyst monitoring" sensor. It in NO WAY effects the drieability or fuel trims of the engine. The ONLY thing the cat does is rob power and remove o-zone depleting atoms or whatever from the exhaust. The ONLY thing the rear 02 does is monitor the cats efficiency. That being said as stated preiously the cat could be remoed and a rear 02 "simulator" can be installed. The cat being removed will take care of the smell and the 02 simulator will simply keep your SES light from turning on... That is unless of course you are required to do a emission test every year.
Another idea would be to go and get one of those el-cheapo cats from autozone installed. I'm not sure if they work good enough to keep the SES light off or if they have the sulfer smell though. You could then put your OEM cats on ebay and someone from the blackmarket would most likely buy them up. (This is if OEM Toyota cats are wanted in the black market.)
Didn't read all the posts, but #21 on page 3 pretty much sums the whole thing up.
What happens is you have a front and rear oxygen sensor. The front one (pre-cat) measures the amount of excess fuel/oxygen left over in the cylinders when leaving the engine. The front (pre-cat) 02 sensor switches from about 200 mv to around 800-900 mv during every fuel injector pulse width.. This is how your engine (along with MANY other variables) decides to add more fuel to the combustion chamber or take fuel away to give an ideal 14.7:1 A/F ratio.. Your rear 02 sensor (post-cat) is NOT suppossed to switch from a low mv to a high mv during injector pulse width. The JOB for the cat is to take the pollution that comes out of the exhaust (I'm not sure which ones, NOx I think) and thru a chemical process convert them into non ozone depleting atoms..
Now here's the problem. Different manufacturers use different materials to acheive the same result. Japanese manufacturers in particulaur have cheaped out due to the VERY, VERY expensive materials required to acheive this process. It's also likely that their R&D team uses a different fuel than what's available in the U.S. therefore not having the issue during R&D.
One would smell this more during WOT since the vehicle goes into open loop and the PCM dumps in extra unburn fuel into the combustion chamber and ultimately out of the exhaust.
Another problem is that the manufacturers have to by LAW warranty the cat for 8/80 and they are ery expensive to build. Manufacturers would much rather set their PCM's up to not set the code unless the cat is just out of federal specs.
The only real option is to
1.) Have manufacturers build their cats with different materials which are in the long term worse to the environment than the issue it's trying to solve. It is also very costly to build them right.
2.)Have manufacturers run their vehicles slightly leaner during WOT acceleration, which is harmfull to the engine.
3.)Remove the sulfer from the fuel.
I've seen this problem especially with Japanese vehicles quite a bit. Typically it occurs with v6 and larger foreign cars. Mitsubishi also has this problem.
I've had to replace a few faulty catalytic converters and I'll be the first to tell you they are NOT cheap..
There is a huge black market for these things. No one wants the cheap aftermarket ones, but the OEM domestic ones sell for $200-$300 EACH on the black market. I know guys who work at auto dealers in the big cities. I've heard first hand how they've seen 12-13 trucks come in all in the same day around Christmas time with their catalytic converters cut off.
This is what happens. Your typical lowlife gets himself a hacksaw and a creeper. Rolls under a bunch of trucks and steals the cats. He then sells them to companies who troll the country looking for OEM cats. Othen times buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of cats at a time. He then sells them to India and other developing or third world countries where they don't care about their health. They then melt them down, take the ery expensive precious metals out of them, turn them into jewelry and ship them back to the US to be sold. Most likely Toyota doesn't put as many of these essential "precious metels" into their cats.
There is another solution I've read about above. As stated the rear 02 (post cat) is just a "catalyst monitoring" sensor. It in NO WAY effects the drieability or fuel trims of the engine. The ONLY thing the cat does is rob power and remove o-zone depleting atoms or whatever from the exhaust. The ONLY thing the rear 02 does is monitor the cats efficiency. That being said as stated preiously the cat could be remoed and a rear 02 "simulator" can be installed. The cat being removed will take care of the smell and the 02 simulator will simply keep your SES light from turning on... That is unless of course you are required to do a emission test every year.
Another idea would be to go and get one of those el-cheapo cats from autozone installed. I'm not sure if they work good enough to keep the SES light off or if they have the sulfer smell though. You could then put your OEM cats on ebay and someone from the blackmarket would most likely buy them up. (This is if OEM Toyota cats are wanted in the black market.)
miggytalls
New member
Question for all w/this problem...when did you first experience this? Was it while you were driving and had your rear hatch glass down? Because personally I could care less what smell comes from my exhaust pipes and I don't particularly go around smelling other my exhaust gases. Somewhere in the owners manual it states that you shoudl not drive with the back window down for this same reason.
jpless
New member
i just got back from the dealership and they ordered the replacement parts. I took the toyota service bulletin i found on this board for my 06 and they checked it out. Once they confirmed it, they ordered the parts and gave me my truck back until they come in. best of all is it's going to be FREE!
I first noticed it the second day I had the truck. I bought it used with almost 21k miles on it in July. I thought I was going ot have to replace the cats but I had a bad experience with that on my 98 (the aftermarket cat died within a year so I gutted it and ended up selling it before I had to go to emissions again).
I'll report back on whether or not the smell goes away after they install the new parts.
I first noticed it the second day I had the truck. I bought it used with almost 21k miles on it in July. I thought I was going ot have to replace the cats but I had a bad experience with that on my 98 (the aftermarket cat died within a year so I gutted it and ended up selling it before I had to go to emissions again).
I'll report back on whether or not the smell goes away after they install the new parts.
trouttouter
New member
I know this thread is crazy old, but thanks to you guys I was able to get the parts swap done on my '04 V8 via TSB EG020-04. I was skeptical, but Toyota of Orlando came through for me. Now thanks to the replacement catalytic converter the smell is gone.
How many of you with 2007's have sucessfully had this done? With it getting warm it would be nice to be able to drive with the back window down. Also ive seen mention of some part numbers for the "good" catalytic converter. What numbers should i be sure they get on a 2007 V8?
Judging from how well they did my head unit replacement in not sure i want them cutting metal but atleast i wont have the sulfur smell. Is it too much to assume they would drop the exhaust to replace the converters and paint over the weld with high temp paint? I just have a mental picture of a crap weld that leaks and looks bad. If they did paint it they would probably paint it mounted where only the bottom part would get painted and get overspray on every label that was close.
Judging from how well they did my head unit replacement in not sure i want them cutting metal but atleast i wont have the sulfur smell. Is it too much to assume they would drop the exhaust to replace the converters and paint over the weld with high temp paint? I just have a mental picture of a crap weld that leaks and looks bad. If they did paint it they would probably paint it mounted where only the bottom part would get painted and get overspray on every label that was close.
I have recently bought a 2004 V8 4Runner and has the smell. I have no warranty on the car other than from the dealer I bought it from on drivetrain. I found TSB though and it says
"This repair is covered under the Toyota Specified Major Emission Control Component Warranty. This warranty is in effect for 96 months or 80,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle’s in-service date."
Any thoughts on if I can get it fixed under that? Not totally sure if that is just on any Toyota or not. I think I'm the 3rd owner of the vehicle and it has about 71K miles.
EDIT: Looks like I jumped the gun with this question and when I read through the whole thread other people are getting replacements without a problem. Going to Toyota with high hopes!
"This repair is covered under the Toyota Specified Major Emission Control Component Warranty. This warranty is in effect for 96 months or 80,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle’s in-service date."
Any thoughts on if I can get it fixed under that? Not totally sure if that is just on any Toyota or not. I think I'm the 3rd owner of the vehicle and it has about 71K miles.
EDIT: Looks like I jumped the gun with this question and when I read through the whole thread other people are getting replacements without a problem. Going to Toyota with high hopes!
Last edited:
Uneek
Super Moderator
You're right.
The 11th digit/character determines the assembly plant. 0 is Tahara, 8 or 9 is Hino.
Thx
So far the Toyota dealership I went to have been pretty rude about the whole thing. I guess I'll still call them and see if they'll try to work with Toyota for me or go to another dealership or call Toyota. Not sure if I'll have success or not =/
analogkidz
New member
That nasty sulfur smell has permeated the cabin on both my 2004 and 2008 V6 Sport 4Runners. Interestingly, it has only occured in one location in the 7 years that I have owned these vehicles. Although it only happens at this one location, I must take this route 50% of the time when I leave my neighborhood. The scenario: I accellerate up a hill, crest the hill and then decellerate to a stop at the bottom of the hill. There is a traffic light at the bottom of this hill and if I make the light, there is no smell. The smell only occurs when I decellerate to stop at the light.
My solution: As I reach that location, I close all windows and depress the cabin air recirculation button to keep the rotten egg smell on the outside.
My solution: As I reach that location, I close all windows and depress the cabin air recirculation button to keep the rotten egg smell on the outside.
stanleybb50
New member
Hello all,
Just a quick question on this whole CAT TSB discussion.
As some of you know, I just bought my '06 v8 Runner with 33.5k miles on it and want to drive it for a looooooong time. Obviously this thing is still under the 7 or 8 year emmissions warranty currently. I was driving in the nice weather with the back window down and punched it (not too awfully hard) and me and the wife noticed the distinct sulfer smell. It doesn't seem like the TSB was done on this Runner in the past.
So my question is 2 fold:
1.) Are there any long-term ill effects if I don't get the TSB done?
2.) If I get the TSB done (which could potentially be a challenge as I've been reading), are the new CATs as "long lasting" as the original factory CATs? I know that might sound like an odd question on the surface, but I'm wondering if there was a reason the factory chose to keep using the CATs with the part #'s that lead to the sulfer smell? Are the new CATs still stainless, and should expect to get as many years out of them as the original without the honeycomb degrading/cracking/etc?
Hopefully the question makes sense. I guess when it comes down to it, chances are that no one really knows for sure anyway. I just thought I'd ask and see if someone happens to know.
Thanks!
Just a quick question on this whole CAT TSB discussion.
As some of you know, I just bought my '06 v8 Runner with 33.5k miles on it and want to drive it for a looooooong time. Obviously this thing is still under the 7 or 8 year emmissions warranty currently. I was driving in the nice weather with the back window down and punched it (not too awfully hard) and me and the wife noticed the distinct sulfer smell. It doesn't seem like the TSB was done on this Runner in the past.
So my question is 2 fold:
1.) Are there any long-term ill effects if I don't get the TSB done?
2.) If I get the TSB done (which could potentially be a challenge as I've been reading), are the new CATs as "long lasting" as the original factory CATs? I know that might sound like an odd question on the surface, but I'm wondering if there was a reason the factory chose to keep using the CATs with the part #'s that lead to the sulfer smell? Are the new CATs still stainless, and should expect to get as many years out of them as the original without the honeycomb degrading/cracking/etc?
Hopefully the question makes sense. I guess when it comes down to it, chances are that no one really knows for sure anyway. I just thought I'd ask and see if someone happens to know.
Thanks!
jpless
New member
i've posted here before but have an update.
After performing two tsb's (one was for the passenger side, one was for both) I ended up having both cats replaced (once each). After the first replacement (passenger side) the smell got a little better but was still noticeable. After the second, it got worse but not as bad as it originally was.
Saturday I decided to Sea Foam my t4r and now the smell is gone! I can floor it with the back window down and NO SULFUR SMELL ANYMORE! So, if you've done the tsbs or not, try the sea foam if you have the smell.
Here's the thread with instructions and info on it:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/88205-seafoamd-4runner.html
After performing two tsb's (one was for the passenger side, one was for both) I ended up having both cats replaced (once each). After the first replacement (passenger side) the smell got a little better but was still noticeable. After the second, it got worse but not as bad as it originally was.
Saturday I decided to Sea Foam my t4r and now the smell is gone! I can floor it with the back window down and NO SULFUR SMELL ANYMORE! So, if you've done the tsbs or not, try the sea foam if you have the smell.
Here's the thread with instructions and info on it:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/88205-seafoamd-4runner.html
tacticalcustoms
New member
so probably 133,000 wouldn't qualify for the tsb. 2003 v8
Hello all,
Bought a 00' V6 with 165k miles on it 2 months ago. Everything has been running smooth but today while driving with my brother I noticed the rotten egg smell. Obviously I blamed it on my brother but he claims it was not him (farting). The strange thing is that being a smoker for 7 years I could smell it but his virgin nasal system couldn't detect the smell.
I don't think it is anything serious but I will give you the low down on the small repair I did this morning.
My truck had occasionally idled low and shaky since my last oil change. Finally got off my butt to take a look and found an unhooked intake hose between the filter/MAF and the manifold and whatever the hell that expansion box thing is. So far it has fixed the low idle but now I am getting rotten egg smell here and there.
I am sure they are not related, coincidently and this could be related to some sort of leaking exhaust/vaccum hose, no?
Bought a 00' V6 with 165k miles on it 2 months ago. Everything has been running smooth but today while driving with my brother I noticed the rotten egg smell. Obviously I blamed it on my brother but he claims it was not him (farting). The strange thing is that being a smoker for 7 years I could smell it but his virgin nasal system couldn't detect the smell.
I don't think it is anything serious but I will give you the low down on the small repair I did this morning.
My truck had occasionally idled low and shaky since my last oil change. Finally got off my butt to take a look and found an unhooked intake hose between the filter/MAF and the manifold and whatever the hell that expansion box thing is. So far it has fixed the low idle but now I am getting rotten egg smell here and there.
I am sure they are not related, coincidently and this could be related to some sort of leaking exhaust/vaccum hose, no?
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