mschafer71

Steve, Bruce, Walter, motronic DIY'ers...... My 88 3.2 is an "occasional" smoker, at various times/in a unpredictably manner it spews some "emissions" that I blamed worn valve guides for(74000mi.). But now I suspect it may be running rich more than letting oil slip by into the combustion chamber. It will start up perfectly smoke free and as it slowly warms up at idle it begins to put out a somewhat blueish-gray cloud after 2-3 minutes. The inner surfaces of the exhaust system were coated with carbon/soot when i removed the cat and gutted it. The plugs, cap, rotor and ignition wires(Magnecor) are all new since then. Oil usage is about 1 qt. per 600mi. Could you recommend any simple tests with voltmeter to rule out a suffocated sensor? I am leaning towards just replacing it because my manual says at 60,000 replace and have seen bosch 3-wire universal O2 sensors advertised for as low as $40 in excellence. And again it will not smoke at all sometimes on starting and warming, I can't see a consistent pattern with it's smoking habit. Otherwise the engine preforms superbly, never! fails to impress new riders who have never been for a test flight in a well running and handling 911.

Wil Ferch

Hi:
Wouldn't hurt to replace the sensor at this mileage, although it's been known to last a lot longer in some cases.
Look at the archives for a post made by me on O2 sensors ( some of it rather animated, due to controversial air-flow-under-insulation debate !)...and also for low cost Bosch Generic and/or Bosch Ford part number units that work.
--Wil Ferch