O2 Sensors
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technically speaking: you can't clean an O2 sensor.
Simply run it until it's lazy/broken/failed.
Q.
Simply run it until it's lazy/broken/failed.
Q.
Removal difficulty depends on three things: 1. Was anti-seize compound applied when installed. 2. How hard it is to get at. 3. Do you have the special socket to remove it.
I put new ones on my 2002 Stratus. I bought the socket and new sensors (sensors came with anti-seize already on them). They come off easily (except one was hard to get at. Good luck!
I put new ones on my 2002 Stratus. I bought the socket and new sensors (sensors came with anti-seize already on them). They come off easily (except one was hard to get at. Good luck!
Some places like AAP with loan out a socket set.
Hello, As useful as the correct socket can be, a 7/8" and/or a 15/16" combi wrench bent to accommodate close quarters, might be more helpful. Kira
My front O2 sensor was easy to remove with the special socket (it's a deep socket with a slot cut in one side for the cable to stick out).
The back one was impossible. Tried WD-40, PB Blaster, various wrenches and a breaker bar. Ended up having to get a new cat anyway, so it probably went to the scrap heap still stuck in the pipe
The back one was impossible. Tried WD-40, PB Blaster, various wrenches and a breaker bar. Ended up having to get a new cat anyway, so it probably went to the scrap heap still stuck in the pipe
O2 sensors are a maintenance item,i like replacing them around 100k or sooner.
I actually did the upstream sensor on my GP this evening. It was about a 20 minute process. It is a bit difficult to get to, but was not all that bad. I used an O2 sensor socket and it was a breeze, which is nice, as I will have to remove it again soon when I do the rear plug wires.
All four on the Burb are pretty each to get to, but I will have to use a wrench to get them off and on if I ever need to do so because there is not enough clearance to fit the O2 sensor socket.
If you do yours, make sure you don't over torque it/them, as mine only called for 31 ft-lb.
All four on the Burb are pretty each to get to, but I will have to use a wrench to get them off and on if I ever need to do so because there is not enough clearance to fit the O2 sensor socket.
If you do yours, make sure you don't over torque it/them, as mine only called for 31 ft-lb.
The difficulty factor is determined on how rusty the underside of your vehicle has gotten, if you have the right tools, and the sensor placement.
When I went to change the two pre-cat sensors on my 98 K3500 chevy truck, I could not get them out for anything and I had the right tools and they were easy to access. I ended up taking it to an exhaust shop. They got them out but had to weld in a new bung on one pipe because it got ruined. They ruined both of the original sensors getting them out.
The two rear ones have since been replaced and one wouldn't come out and was left in the original pipe that was replaced with a Flowmaster cat-back that had a new bung in place.
The two pre-cat ones on my 98 K1500 came out with no problem. I'm still running the original after cat ones.
I think the ones that come out the easiest are ones that are mounted closest to the exhaust manifolds. They don't seem to rust in.
When I went to change the two pre-cat sensors on my 98 K3500 chevy truck, I could not get them out for anything and I had the right tools and they were easy to access. I ended up taking it to an exhaust shop. They got them out but had to weld in a new bung on one pipe because it got ruined. They ruined both of the original sensors getting them out.
The two rear ones have since been replaced and one wouldn't come out and was left in the original pipe that was replaced with a Flowmaster cat-back that had a new bung in place.
The two pre-cat ones on my 98 K1500 came out with no problem. I'm still running the original after cat ones.
I think the ones that come out the easiest are ones that are mounted closest to the exhaust manifolds. They don't seem to rust in.
Originally Posted By: THE_TROTS
Cheap cut-away O2 sensor sockets will spread apart if the sensor is tight.
Yep, this is true. Some sensors require a real O2 socket for removal.
Cheap cut-away O2 sensor sockets will spread apart if the sensor is tight.
Yep, this is true. Some sensors require a real O2 socket for removal.
Originally Posted By: daman
O2 sensors are a maintenance item,i like replacing them around 100k or sooner.
Maybe at one time they were, at least that's what O2 sensor manufacturers wanted us to believe. I can't even begin to count the number of vehicles I've seen with way over 100,000 miles, even over 200,000 miles, that still had the original O2 sensors. And most aftermarket O2 sensors are nowhere near the quality and durability of original factory sensors. Think twice before replacing your perfectly good O2 sensors.
O2 sensors are a maintenance item,i like replacing them around 100k or sooner.
Maybe at one time they were, at least that's what O2 sensor manufacturers wanted us to believe. I can't even begin to count the number of vehicles I've seen with way over 100,000 miles, even over 200,000 miles, that still had the original O2 sensors. And most aftermarket O2 sensors are nowhere near the quality and durability of original factory sensors. Think twice before replacing your perfectly good O2 sensors.
Originally Posted By: KB2008X
Originally Posted By: daman
O2 sensors are a maintenance item,i like replacing them around 100k or sooner.
Maybe at one time they were, at least that's what O2 sensor manufacturers wanted us to believe. I can't even begin to count the number of vehicles I've seen with way over 100,000 miles, even over 200,000 miles, that still had the original O2 sensors. And most aftermarket O2 sensors are nowhere near the quality and durability of original factory sensors. Think twice before replacing your perfectly good O2 sensors.
they do get lazy
Originally Posted By: daman
O2 sensors are a maintenance item,i like replacing them around 100k or sooner.
Maybe at one time they were, at least that's what O2 sensor manufacturers wanted us to believe. I can't even begin to count the number of vehicles I've seen with way over 100,000 miles, even over 200,000 miles, that still had the original O2 sensors. And most aftermarket O2 sensors are nowhere near the quality and durability of original factory sensors. Think twice before replacing your perfectly good O2 sensors.
they do get lazy
Originally Posted By: daman
Originally Posted By: KB2008X
Originally Posted By: daman
O2 sensors are a maintenance item,i like replacing them around 100k or sooner.
Maybe at one time they were, at least that's what O2 sensor manufacturers wanted us to believe. I can't even begin to count the number of vehicles I've seen with way over 100,000 miles, even over 200,000 miles, that still had the original O2 sensors. And most aftermarket O2 sensors are nowhere near the quality and durability of original factory sensors. Think twice before replacing your perfectly good O2 sensors.
they do get lazy
That is true and when they begin to act up that's the time to consider what to do. Over the years I've observed that certain makes of vehicles tend to have far more O2 issues than others. Like GMs. I don't know why it is, but GMs seem to have O2s go bad far more frequently than others do, or at least they did. Fords on the other hand rarely need O2 sensors, unless some other malfunction has fouled them.
I think you'd be better served by spending your O2 money on a decent scanner that will allow you to periodically monitor your O2 sensors. Innova makes some nice ones that can do that for a few hundred dollars. You'd get the ability to diagnose all sorts of codes and performance issues, too. In a few years it'll pay for itself.
Originally Posted By: KB2008X
Originally Posted By: daman
O2 sensors are a maintenance item,i like replacing them around 100k or sooner.
Maybe at one time they were, at least that's what O2 sensor manufacturers wanted us to believe. I can't even begin to count the number of vehicles I've seen with way over 100,000 miles, even over 200,000 miles, that still had the original O2 sensors. And most aftermarket O2 sensors are nowhere near the quality and durability of original factory sensors. Think twice before replacing your perfectly good O2 sensors.
they do get lazy
That is true and when they begin to act up that's the time to consider what to do. Over the years I've observed that certain makes of vehicles tend to have far more O2 issues than others. Like GMs. I don't know why it is, but GMs seem to have O2s go bad far more frequently than others do, or at least they did. Fords on the other hand rarely need O2 sensors, unless some other malfunction has fouled them.
I think you'd be better served by spending your O2 money on a decent scanner that will allow you to periodically monitor your O2 sensors. Innova makes some nice ones that can do that for a few hundred dollars. You'd get the ability to diagnose all sorts of codes and performance issues, too. In a few years it'll pay for itself.
Originally Posted By: THE_TROTS
Cheap cut-away O2 sensor sockets will spread apart if the sensor is tight.
Sometimes a small worm clamp wrapped tight on the socket will prevent the spreading.
Cheap cut-away O2 sensor sockets will spread apart if the sensor is tight.
Sometimes a small worm clamp wrapped tight on the socket will prevent the spreading.
If you are absolutely sure that you are going to replace the O2 sensor and if you are sure that you have the room for it, use a closed-end of a wrench to do it. Cut off the wires to the old O2 sensor, hit the threads with just a little bit of heat from a cutting torch (careful here, we don't want to catch anything or fire or actually do any cutting), and then use a wrench to remove it. If you've got the room for a wrench, buying the special O2 socket might not be needed.
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