Hi, My daughter's car is calling for a new oxygen sensor(p0130) and like everyone else these days money is tight. I have found a Walker sensor at a good price(everything is relative I guess) and was wondering if anyone has had experience with these. This particular one is a direct fit... no splicing of wires. Also, just out of curiousity, has anyone had any experience, good or bad, with the splice type sensors... these can be had very cheaply.

Thanks in advance,

Dan

Followup to o2 sensor question, Although the idea of grabbing a used sensor(cheap) out of the p'n'p was very tempting, I just bought a new 1 off Amazon(cheapest @$90.05 + free ship). When
I took the old 1 out the metal cap on the top was just floating around and the terminals underneath were exposed to the elements. New is installed and so far so good... I erased code and so far no return or any pending. Fingers crossed! This car has been killing me... So far have pulled all door panels to repair 3 inoperable windows, replaced 3 door lock actuators(thank you p'n'p) and struggled with a check engine lite for the evap system... then the o2 code showed up. I hope i'm done.

For the EVAP system on a 1998, I thought I should clue you in on what I found on mine:

Behind the right rear wheel is a vacuum line about 4-5 inches long, a connector of some sort. Mine cracked resulting in a 'small leak'. I replaced it with a left over vacuum line from my bench. No codes since.

Klaus
--
Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

Hi Klaus, That line you mentioned sounds like the 1 I replaced last year when Her car had a small leak... this time it was a large leak. I replaced the infamous "j" hose since it was original and also the evap purge valve mounted on the shroud since it is a common cause of the code i had. So far so good... now for the monitors to reset.


Dan

Hi, few years ago I was able to clean the old (-94) sensor by:
first applying some carbon cleaning liquid and then burning it clean in grill flame at no cost. but take care if you try this out. after this the ave mpg went also up.
br tapsa

Wow I'm glad I posted! Another great idea... I gotta take the old out anyway to change it out. Nothing to lose but everything to gain by trying the cleanup route. This will give me a chance to take a close look at the wiring too as discussed with tmannian. Thanks for the ideas Tapsa. Take care and I will post my ultimate results.



Thanks,

Dan

Cleaning with a torch and cleaning fluid can be done, with limited success. But, do NOT rub anything on the sensor itself. Cleaning usually works when the sensor is slow to respond error message.

Check the wiring and the plug for corrosion, melted insulation, etc.

Klaus
--
Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

Thanks for the input Klaus, will give cleaning a try and report back.

Dan

The consensus is the non OEM sensors don't work nearly as well. That doesn't mean you can try it, but usually they breakdown much faster. The other issue is that you have to make sure you wire it correctly, and I can't remember if there is a guide posted somewhere on that or not.

If I were you, I'd go to the junkyard and pull a couple (the one out here charges about $10 for a sensor) and try and see what you get. The code you got is for the front sensor, which is good. That means you can try BOTH front and rear sensors (as the only difference between the two is the length of wire) so whatever you find that looks in decent shape (covered in grime/oil=don't even try it). The 850's sensor is the same as the '98 s70's (and '98 c70's and v70's)
--
If you're not driving it "like its stolen," are you really driving?

Hi tmannian, Thanks for the quick response. Someone on another board agrees with you about the quality of non-Bosch sensors also... so I'm not going to go in that direction. I may however take a ride to the p'n'p and see what they may have... great idea I didn't even think of. Also found the correct sensor on Amazon for under $100 with free ship.



Thanks,

Dan

Most p'n'p's will let you exchange 'defective' parts for 30 days, so if you go and buy two (dropping 20) and neither works (pretty unlikely) you can bring them back and switch them out. The best part is how accessible these sensors are, on some of the models you have to drop the CAT (or more) to get at them (usually the rear though..)

It is possible, though unlikely, that your wire is to blame, somewhere (either in the sensor or in the wire) is a short, so if you do a visual of your wire and notice that a section is melted and bare wires touch, then there's the problem (high temp electrical tape will fix ya for some time) though it might be easier to just replace and be done...

--
If you're not driving it "like its stolen," are you really driving?

Hi again, Yeah I may actually try this route.. i have a p'n'p that I am a regular at... they don't know me by name but have had many long talks with one of the owners. In fact, I once had some wheels and tires for an old 4x4 I had and just asked if I could dump them there.. he not only let me bring them in but also gave me a credit to use on future purchases. Good guys.


Thanks again,

Dan