sulfur smell in my MK3

[DSV]

so today on the way back from Atlantic my 97 Jetta 2.0 broke down. as i was driving, the car started bucking and shuddering, and when i stepped on the gas, it actually slowed down even more. i turned the car off and tried to restart it while i was rolling, but nothing happened. i could smell sulfur pretty bad inside the car, and once i finally stopped the car on the side of the road and tried to restart it, it just kept cranking and wouldn't turn over.

anybody have any ideas?? Jeff?

[sml]

JEff - I already told them you would know, dont let me down:tu:

[DSV]

after thinking about it now, i'm really thinking its just some wet electrical stuff. the same thing happened to me once before, and this time everything in the engine bay was wet. i'll hafta to try and fire her up tomorrow and see how things go once everything dries up in there. hopefully its nothing more than that.

[05GLISU]

Woot first post! This is Stu btw, guy that came with TJ! I was glad the tow guy finally got there but at the same time I was a little disappointed cuz we had to leave the cheap beer :D

[sml]

lol -welcome stu!

[Loccusst]

Sulfur smell in the engine bay or in the cabin? Do you have a DMM? Wish you lived here in town so I could come over and help you out.

[sml]

smell was in the engine bay but VERY strong.

[iowaboostin]

well i hope it's an easy fix for ya.

remember it could be worse, a sulfur problem is small potatoes compared to getting rocked by a Ford!

[DSV]

Sulfur smell in the engine bay or in the cabin? Do you have a DMM? Wish you lived here in town so I could come over and help you out.

in April Stef and I will be moving down to Des Moines about 2 miles east of Merle Hay Rd on Douglas, so i'm sure there will be many late nights with cars.

i'm thinking its some wet electrical stuff, as that was the problem before (possibly the MAF), but i guess we'll find out more tomorrow when i try to fire up the car again.

[Hendo]

In my past experiences with older cars, sulfur in the engine bay usually meant a clogged or old catalytic converter that wasnt getting good flow, just my 2 cents.

[Head at JJperf]

Clogged up cat just a hendo said either replace or gut the cat on it and it should solve the issue

[DSV]

would that really cause my car to bog down and die? i guess i've heard about sulfur smells being related to the cat, but it just seems weird since it was an all of a sudden thing and the car has been driving fine otherwise.

[stollen]

If a clogged cat lead to killing an O2 sensor (or the O2 sensor may not have gotten good enough readings) that may explain the bucking. My buddy had really bad bucking going on in his Vette when an O2 sensor went bad... Of course I could be way off...

[Fast Charley]

go with jeff on this one, your o2 is prob shot too if its that bad...either ditch or replace...BOTH, dont waste your time doing one or other, how much is your time worth right?

jordan or beckley is the way to go....at least its got a gaurantee.

godspeed, cm

[cadwiz]

As i said before we got the same smell on our van , computer said maf sensor , ended up being fucked up valve .

[DSV]

well, the car fired up and drove around today, but a couple times it started surging a little bit like yesterday. and still, no CEL at all.

[Head at JJperf]

clogged catalysts will not always give you a CEL as long as the air is clean to the o2 it wont read out of spec just remove the cat and jab the shit out of it with a screwdriver until there is a large hole all the way through it sure it may not pass emissions but we don't have emissions testing here anyway

[Gee Tea Eye V]

good to hear it was running tho :tu:

[DSV]

clogged catalysts will not always give you a CEL as long as the air is clean to the o2 it wont read out of spec just remove the cat and jab the shit out of it with a screwdriver until there is a large hole all the way through it sure it may not pass emissions but we don't have emissions testing here anyway

i wish i had a garage where i could work on the car.

i could also hear something today, almost like something rattling in the exhaust area. it didn't sound like it was coming from the cat, but it seems like you guys all agree that the catalytic converter is the culprit. hopefully i can get something figured out soon before it gives me too much more trouble.

[Loccusst]

And that sir....would be the inerds of the cat rattling around. The shit clogs up your exhaust, which will bog the car down...even kill it. I know of a guy who had the issue and he blew all the shit out while going down the highway. It sounded like his exhaust exploded out the back. As said before just reem the cat and replpace the O2 sensor. I am not certain but I think we determined the last time you were down here that my Vag com will work on your car. That would be one way to tell what is going on. Is there anyone around there with one?

[DSV]

i don't think there is anybody up in Ames that has one. Depending on the rust factor of the catalytic converter bolts, i may just buy a new universal cat online and have the local muffler shop weld it up in there with some new connectors.

are you working at night at all this week? on tuesday and thursday i'm down in urbandale until 5. and tomorrow night i'm actually picking up some side skirts from glenlloyd.

[iowaboostin]

no emissions tests.. just weld in a test pipe :)

[iowaboostin]

glad to hear it's running again :D (read in shoutbox)

[DSV]

no emissions tests.. just weld in a test pipe :)

that could be in the cards as well, lol. i think i'm going to start pricing some cats online just in case.

[cadwiz]

If You Go In In Person, To Midwest Muffler In Ankeny
They Will Weld In A Straight Piece Of Pipe And Even Put An O2 Bung(funny Word Bung) And Take The Cat Out. When I Had My Rx7 Thats What I Did. Don't Tell Him You Heard It Here Though.

[iowaboostin]

ha, bung

[DSV]

If You Go In In Person, To Midwest Muffler In Ankeny
They Will Weld In A Straight Piece Of Pipe And Even Put An O2 Bung(funny Word Bung) And Take The Cat Out. When I Had My Rx7 Thats What I Did. Don't Tell Him You Heard It Here Though.

lol, alright.

after driving around more today, the MK3 continues trekking on. no stumbling or surging at all today. i'm blamely the breakdown on extremely wet electrical components.

the other thing is, if i'm going to replace the cat, i'd like to replace everything behind it as well, because my stock exhaust is NASS-TEE. maybe i'll just keep saving up and buy everything at once in another couple months. :tu:

thanks for everyone's help on this situation. :D

[iowaboostin]

the other thing is, if i'm going to replace the cat, i'd like to replace everything behind it as well, because my stock exhaust is NASS-TEE. maybe i'll just keep saving up and buy everything at once in another couple months. :tu:

Now you're talking :D

[mle]

I liked my car better with a cleared out cat... :cool: But emissions didn't like it too much..

Glad it's working again.. :tu: :beerglass:

[Loccusst]

I work till 5:30 on Thursday. But I am off on friday. My Mom is coming up some time in the afternoon so I can help her start an Ebay acount on friday. Other than that I am free on Friday or Thursday night.

[DSV]

I work till 5:30 on Thursday. But I am off on friday. My Mom is coming up some time in the afternoon so I can help her start an Ebay acount on friday. Other than that I am free on Friday or Thursday night.

well, the car is actually functioning normally again now, so no need for the VAG-COM at this point. once school actually calms down a bit we'll have to get together again though. :tu:

[Gee Tea Eye V]

woot for the trooper mk3

[Loccusst]

Glad it is running .....