Volvo: Smoking Exhaust on 1996 Volvo 850 (non-turbo), piston rings, highway trip

Question
I was recently told that the smoke from my exhaust and the STRONG fumes (smells like sulfer) that I smell when I drive may be due to a failed valve seal.  My first question is if this is on track for what might be the problem and secondly, what is the estimated cost for such work.  Thanks.

Answer
Keisha,
The sulfer smell is the cat converter, and that most likely means it is working but getting weak. Maybe too much oil has seeped passed the valve guides or seals and is now in the cat. Sometimes a good highway trip clears out the cat. The valve guide or seals could in fact be the oil leak. That is a pretty big job about $1200.00, depending on the labor rate in your area. Before any repairs have a compression and cylinder leakage test done to see if the engine is getting weak, possibily allowing oil to bypass the piston rings.