1987 190E 2.6 Running Rich??
 

I recently decided that I'm going to keep my 1987 190E 2.6 benz. I really love driving it, although the wife drives it most of the time. I've been updating\replacing some of the basic tune-up parts and fixing problems. Car runs well, but needs some time and money to bring her back to running like new. Today I needed to replace the muffler, its been a long time coming. I didn't want to spend alot of money so I brought it to a local muffler shop. I'm not sure what brand the muffler that I just bought, but while the guy was replacing the muffler he noticed that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. He said the honeycomb inside was loose and rattling. I believe him because I've been hearing it rattle too. He said that the car was running too rich, which was why the catalytic converter was possibly damage. I'm not sure if his diagnose is correct and I'm no mechanic. I also haven't been smelling gas. How can you tell if your car is running too rich?

Added Info.
 

I forgot to mention that I just recently replaced my OVP relay. I was having problems with cold start with the car for quite sometime. Could this have cause the catalytic converter damage? If that's the case, then how can I tell if everything is OK and the car is not running rich? Hope someone can help?

I used to have a 2.6,and had rich running condition.
Symptoms that I experienced are:
Hard start when warm.
Rotten egg exhaust smell.
Carbon build up in exhaust tip.
Hesitation on accelaration.
Low gas mileage.
And the fix are:
OVP relay
EHA-(leaking)
Ignition coil
O2 sensor
Results:
:D :) ;) :cool: Till it was totalled!:mad: Good Luck!

Arnelrac-

You need to have your local shop put an exhaust gas 'sniffer' on it to properly determine the mixture. Clauser1 is right about the rotten egg smell, but at this point your cat sounds toast and you may no longer smell that. Black tips is a sign too, but I've seen that on cars running correctly too.

Assuming your car is running fine now, the cats already dead so don't fret too bad. If / when you put the new $$$ OE cat in, have the car metered.

Some suggestions, FWIW:

Unplug R16 resistor located near firewall, under intake manifold, coming out of wiring harness, wrapped in elec. tape. Allows ignition to advance a bit, providing about 25 horse when you also loose the precats up front. Very noticeable power increase, and may take advantage of your richer mixture if it's not too high. Also, you can adjust your mixture via the lambda adjusting screw located on the top front of the throttle body (assuming yours does not have the "BB" ball fused to the top of the tower the screw resides in, some do, mine doesn't). Car running, insert allen wrench, depress screw, carefully turn clockwise to enrich (slightly!).

But again, best bet is to have it metered. Good luck.