My '86 22RE exhaust smells like gunpowder(?)

'86 4Runner, 22RE, 180Kmi.

Under acceleration with the tailgate window open, I get a strong whiff of sulfer(?) that smells like the shooting range. I did lose the tailpipe aft of the muffler a few months ago, which resides just above the axle, but WTF?

A year or so prior to the exhaust failure/loss, I replaced the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor, and checked the timing per the Toyota manual. Passed Wisconsin emissions prior to tail pipe ejection and tail pipe loss and never noticed sulfer odor.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Reply to
KaiS.
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The FAQ section at toyota.com has this answer regarding sulfur odor from the exhaust:

*** A sulfur odor emitted from the vehicle's tailpipe does not necessarily indicate that there is an issue with the engine's running condition. It is most likely directly related to the fuel. Sulfur is a natural component of crude oil from which gasoline is refined, and the amount of sulfur can be decreased through the refining process. While the amount of sulfur in fuel sold in California is regulated, gasoline sold in other states can have substantially higher sulfur content. Sulfur content may vary between gasoline brands and locations; switching gasoline brands may help. The more sulfur present in the gasoline, the stronger the sulfur odor can be.

In order to properly assess your vehicle, we recommend you contact the Customer Relations Manager at your local Toyota dealership.

***

The sulfur smell tends to be stronger if you back up or drive with the rear tailgate window open because the exhaust is drawn into the passenger compartment.

Reply to
Ray O

Reply to
Bill Hall

The rotten egg smell is not an indicator of a defective catalytic converter, and the loss of the tailpipe has no effect on the catalytic converter.

Reply to
Ray O

Reply to
Stugots

Reply to
Bill Hall

Bill,

You are not differing with me, you are differing with the product engineers I used to work with at Toyota Motor Sales. Since their jobs are to design and analyze short and long term servicability of the cars, and they seem to be designing pretty good cars, I assume that the information they provided to the district service managers like me was good.

Reply to
Ray O

Ray:

Reply to
Bill Hall

OOOPS! That should have read "O.P.". Gotta use spell check all the time !

Reply to
Bill Hall

Intelligent and civil discussions are the best kind!

I'm no rocket scientist, I just pass on what I was told.

BTW, I bet that the OP's complaint will go away after switching fuel brands.

Reply to
Ray O

Usually when the tailpipe is intact, all the fumes exit to the rear of the vehicle. If part of the tailpipe is missing then fumes can and will enter the bed under a shell, or enter the rear window at the back of the cab. You've gotten some good advice on the cause of the smell, but don't forget there is carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and etc., which can kill you. I suggest you get the tailpipe fixed immediately. HTH, Dave

Reply to
davidj92

I had a similar problem on my '93 T100 4X4. The exhaust really started to stink. One common cause of this on a vehicle this age is the cat not getting hot enough. Since you've already had your rear pipe fall off it suggests corrosion is rampant in the exhaust pipe. Mine did the exact same thing. I replaced from cat back and still got the smell. Upon further examination it was discovered that the flange from the front downpipe connecting to the cat was almost completely separated, allowing both hot exhaust gas to escape before passing through the cat and cold external air to be drawn into the cat. The combination of the two lowered the internal temp of the cat enough under normal running to create that awful smell. Once I replaced the front downpipe (no exhaust places around here would sleeve it) the smell went away.

Reply to
Matt

I too have that smell and I too have been told it was my cat. Hmmm, I need to rethink this, cause I was abotu to buy a new one

Searcher

Reply to
Shopdog

The only indication here is a fuel quality problem. THe sulpher is in the fuel not the CAT and it will not smell like that unless there is a source for the sulpher, ie the fuel. If engine is a bit over rich it can aggrevate it some.

----------------- The SnoMan

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Reply to
SnoMan

Change where you buy your fuel at.

----------------- The SnoMan

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Reply to
SnoMan

I use a variety of fuel brands, usually Hess but occasionally Sunoco or Sheetz. Maybe due to the gas/oil situation and the less restrictive EPA regs the gas is less refined and or less additives. BTW, I did notice that when I ran a fuel injector cleaner/octane booster through a tank there was no smell.

Searcher

Reply to
Shopdog

you dont say that you repaired the exhaust system, is the tail pipe back on and in the same position as before? The pipe may be placing the exhaust in a different air flow stream and you are noticing it now. However you shouldn't be driving around with the tailgate open as exhaust gases in the cab can kill you! The sulphur smell is normally there but not too strong, the fuel batch in your area might be the reason. Joe

Reply to
Joe

What you are smelling is sulpher in the fuel and even if you change to low sulpher fuel breifly it will still stick for a while. THe injector cleaner compound must modified the sulpher content of fuel in a way that it does not react/burn the same way.

----------------- The SnoMan

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Reply to
SnoMan

Another possible source of sulphur smell is the battery.

I once had a voltage regulator go bad. The function it has of stopping the alternator from overcharging the battery quit working. So it was constantly overcharging and overheating the battery, and boy did it stink when the battery really started to get toasted.

GC

Reply to
Chips

Picky detail alert! CO is dangerous as it will pick the oxygen out of your blood, becoming dangerous above about 50ppm.

CO2 is harmless unless you believe in human powered global warming, or drink too much Coke etc...

But your senior point, watch out for unwanted gases coming in the back, is valid. Headaches are a first warning sign.

Richard Harper Morgan Hill, Ca

Reply to
rdhrdh

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