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Stinky rich cold idle, normal?


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Is it normal for the idle at cold to smell really rich? 97 leg 2.2 autoawd

I mean really, I caught whiff of it in the back hall this morning before leaving the house.

Could be the catalytic convertor failing at 140k miles, but no CEL yet.

I get good mileage, 30hiway 25city, so I assume it's running well, no strange noises or shakes.

 

Anybody make any changes to affect that?

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My '96 I can smell a little raw gasoline in the exhaust on startup. I'd guess if any of the sensors such as MAF/MAP/ECT is real inacurate maybe it might make it run extra rich? Or if there's a vacuum leak maybe making some cylinders run rich. I love the smell of gasoline in the morning....it smells like...victory.

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Our 95, 98 and 2001 ALL stink on cold mornings. I usually catch a wiff while backing out of the driveway.

 

You can try switching brands of gas but oxygenated winter mix and the blended gasoline are just a bit stinky until your cats warm up to temp. and the engine gets to operating teperature

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  • 3 weeks later...

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