Questions and Answers
Stinky, Smelly Rotten Eggs
Q. Hi, I have a 1987 Nissan Maxima, fuel injected, 215,000 km, V-6/3.0, A/C and cruise. Recently I noticed hesitation in the morning and it goes away after a couple of minutes. Additionally a bad smell (like a rotten egg) comes once in a while. I changed the air filter, spar plugs, fuel filter and distributer.
I noticed the cylinder head temperature sensor (CTS) switch is not in a good condition. I would appreciate if you could give me possible causes and remedies.
Thank you,
FulaeA. The 1987 Maxima had a tendency to get a sticky throttle plate. Removing the air intake hose at the intake manifold and cleaning the throttle plate and throat fixed that up.
Another thing that could cause this hesitation is the spark plugs. I would only use NGK BCPR6ES-11 spark plugs in that engine. For some reason it makes a big difference.
The rotten egg smell could be the result of a bad CTS. The smell is the result of an overly rich mixture. SO I would look at the CTS and the O2 sensor as well.
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