Sulphur smell in 05 Mustang GT

I've got about 500 miles on my GT since Saturday--can't help it--and have begun to notice a rotton egg smell now and then in the cabin. I'm using regular gas. Our 2003 Honda Accord V6 is REALLY bad this way too, and the dealer says that's "normal". It mostly goes away in the Accord if you run midgrade fuel, but gas is going up again.

Anyone else notice this? Anyone running higher octane other than regular? Notice any difference? The folks in Mustang Enthusiest magazine mentioned a pretty substantial HP boost by simply changing octane and tuning the software a bit.

Reply to
JohnW
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Get a good gas from a decent large corp, not the bargain gas. Really, if the difference in price between regular and mid-level gas is 10 cents, then a 15 gallon fill-up is only going to cost $1.50 more.

Be careful with the 'tuning', it may void the warrenty; besides, 300 HP stock isn't good enough for you?

Reply to
Ralph Snart

I've heard this before, Ralph, but how do you know what's good? I normally use Citgo, followed by Exxon or BP (merged with Amoco??). I've never used a no name brand or the bargain stuff. My son uses bargain regular grade Wawa in his '04 and doesn't get the smell I've experienced. I've always assumed refining is refining and gas is gas. You raise an interesting point: has any independant agency ever rated gas 'quality' publically???

Regarding the price differential, you're absolutely right. I'll try midgrade on the next fill-up and see if that gets rid of the problem. I was just worried it was an emerging/known issue with the new Stang. Paranoid...

John

Reply to
JohnW

John, are there additives in the gas that's sold in your area? Maybe something that would produce the smell you're describing? I don't think octane has anything to do with the smell, especially if your cars don't ping on regular.

The R/T will run on weasel piss, and I have the LX tuned for 93. The Shoebox ('96 MPV) owner's manual calls for regular, but I have to put

89 in for it not to ping. Except for remnants of old McDonalds fries on the floor in the Shoebox, there's no smell in any of the vehicles.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

"JohnW" wrote in news:exsMd.2587$ snipped-for-privacy@mencken.net.nih.gov:

Reply to
Joe

Joe, I don't know, and I'm not sure where to inquire about the additives for my area (Carroll County Maryland). I'll start Googling--it shouldn't be hard to look up. No pinging at all.

Weasel piss?? My kinda truck!

Reply to
JohnW

"JohnW" wrote in news:J6tMd.2590$ snipped-for-privacy@mencken.net.nih.gov:

Rule of thumb says if it's not pinging, don't go up in octane. However, if your regular has additives that stink and the higer grades have either different additives that don't stink or no additives, then that could be an issue.

Try filling up at different stations with regular and see if the smell goes away for that tankful.

Yeah, the R/T rocks. The 360's a torquemonster and it runs great on the cheapest stuff I can find.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

Reply to
Joe

All I've smelled is new leather. I've been using regualar in mine with no problems. I love it!

I *do* use only major brands, like Mobil. I'm not sure what Crown and Hess, etc. might do.

John H

On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD, on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it." Rene Descartes

Reply to
JohnH

JohnW opined in news:exsMd.2587$ snipped-for-privacy@mencken.net.nih.gov:

WRONG!!!

I have only used Citgo once... and no telling where it really came from... but the next week i had to rod out what was left of my catalyst.

Citgo has long been an apologist for high-sulphur content..

read this.. go down some distance:

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Use BP..if it's popular in the area.. they have changed their formula and it's no longer the crap it was for years.

If Speedway is popular there, get it from a high-volume station.... never had a clogged injector, let alone fuel filter.

I wpould bet even money if you quit using Citgo it will go away.

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

I had the same problem with my 2001 GT when I left the windows open. Somehow, the exhaust is piped into the cabin, I don't know how, but it does happen. It even used to happen on the highway.

-Rich

Reply to
RichA

I've smelled it too on cars, usually newer cars. It's the cats doing their work. I'm not sure exactly what causes it (high sulphur in the gas ?) but I think it goes away over time. Try different brand of gas, don't think the octane rating has anything to do with it. Might even indicate a problem with the enigne management. Well, your have 3 years of warranty so..

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Reply to
Rein

The reduction section in your catalytic converter, the part that changes NOx (nitrous oxides) and some CO (carbon monoxide) back to N2 (nitrogen) and CO2 (carbon dioxide), also has the tendency to start absorbing SOx (sulfur oxides), when its internal temperature drops below about 500°C. As BYM inferred, sulfur is a natural contaminate in most fuels which, when burned, are emitted as oxides of sulphur.

When the engine is required to put out more power and the catalytic converter heats up over 600°C, the catalytic converter starts releasing the SOx as H2S and SO3. The SO3 has no odor but the H2S (Hydrogen Sulfide) gas does, which is what you smell. That usually means the reduction section of your converter IS working, regenerating itself, and purging the accumulated sulphur. The older your O2 sensor and catalytic converter is and the slower they react, the more H2S you'll tend to get.

Because sulfur reduces the catalytic converters efficiency in converting NOx, it's conentration in gasoline and motor oil is being reduced in the U.S. (eventually close to zero) by EPA and CARB pressures. Most standard U.S. emissions tests check for NOx emissions but don't (yet) check for SOx or H2S emissions.

Reply to
John

Soooo, the suggestion to find a fuel brand that doesn't generate a noticable smell means finding one with low sulfur contamination. Too bad you can't shop fuels and compare "ingredients" the way you can food in the grocery store. Ok, I'll try Mobil on the next fill up folks! That's an easy enough experiement!

John

Reply to
JohnW

Maybe and maybe not. On a very, very cold day or if you make a bunch of short trips, the cat will run cold and can accumulate SOx. Then, when the weather warms up or you are on a longer trip and the cat is really working hard and starts releasing the SOx as H2S and SO3 AND you get downwind of the exhaust, there it is! Until all of the SOx is out of the gasoline, it can happen.

The gas you got may or may not have been high in SOx. It could have been, or conditions were just right for the cat to adsorb more SOx then normal and then desorbed it as you caught a whiff.

Shit happens.

Reply to
John

[Following other replies.]

I moved from a pretty dusty area to a clean area--then noticed the same thing. I thought it was the heater core at first. It went away when I closed the outside vents. In the end I decided it was the exhaust from other cars.

I've been told it's worst when people mix brands of gas on a 1/2 full tank. I

-John

Reply to
Generic

Generic opined

I live in central Ohio and the ONLY time I have EVER smelled that rotten eggs was when I was behind an older GM car. At the time I enquired about that oddity, I was told it was because GM used a "bead" type catalyst rather than Ford's "honeycomb"

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

We used to have a carbureted car that had a cat, it would smell like sulphur when it was new. Went away the older it got.

I usually smell it on the freeway when driving behind newer cars that are driving spirited. This would match the description someone else gave, the heat is burning off the polution in the cats that accumulate under cold/slow driving.

Question is; why do you smell it in your own car ? That doesnt' sound healthy, it would mean there's somehow exhaust comign into the cabin. Maybe have the trunks closing mechasnism checked out ?

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Reply to
Rein

I like Chevron and BP/Amoco. The "big three" like Chevron, too.

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Also check out this site:
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-sw

Reply to
SeeingWhite

at 03 Feb 2005, Backyard Mechanic [ snipped-for-privacy@Yaywho.com] wrote in news:Xns95F298F00D5C4BkMch6d@207.115.63.158:

Yes and no. I have a buddy working at the port. If company A runs out, they'll call company B and have a few of their trucks load up there. Next week, the situation may be reversed. What makes the difference is the additives each brand puts in after the truck is loaded with gas.

Case in point about 6 months back here in the Tampa area a batch of gas was unloaded and sold that had way too much sulfur in it. Causing sensors in gas tanks to go bad. The gas all came from one refinery in the same tanker but was sold by at least two (Shell & BP) if not more brands. Shit hit the fan and the oil companies ended up paying for repairs on the cars affected.

I use either Citgo or Chevron and have had no issues whatsoever with any of our vehicles. Now if I use Racetrack, gas mileage goes down in any of our vehicles we put it in to.

I've tried BP and Shell but they are generally $0.05 to $0.10 per gallon higher than Citgo and Chevron. We are getting a BP down the street. Maybe that one will be at a par pricewise with the local Citgo and Chevron stations.

Reply to
Paul

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