Twood

My car has been hesitating when accelating from idle, rough idle, running rich and generally underperforming.
I replaced the O2 sensor with a Bosch LS 02 Universal Lambda Sensor on Saturday.
The unit included a joining kit so you need to save the plug from your orginal sensor. It was relatively easy to install except that with the joining kit installed it would not fit through the existing hole between the exhaust and the engine bay. I had to join the wires between the plug and the O2 sensor "in" the engine bay which was a pain but not really difficult.
One thing I did learn is that the O2 sensor has a life of 4-6 years. After that there is a good chance that it will not be working or at least not working as well as it should. We do not have emission testing here so there is not a real "legal" need to regulary change the sensor.
I now have my old car back-crisp throttle response, no hestitation, smooth idle, no stalling
Aahhh life is good.

swmic

Twood, I also changed my O2 sensor on Saturday with the Bosch universal specified for our cars. Although, Downunder it was already well into Sunday. I ended up splicing mine to the factory plug and concealing the joints under the protective covering. The splice was above the rubber plug so they are out of the elements. I soldered the splices and put a little heat shrink over the joints. A nice factory looking install for half the price.

Twood

Swmic
Did your car noticably improve in general running after you did the install?
One thing that the Bosch installation instructions did say was "DO NOT SOLDER". The wires I believe are stainless steel and my last O2 sensor install the wires were soldered to the old plug. It lasted about 18 months but that could have had nothing to do with the install.
I was probably out testing the car on the Sunday morning through the roads of Mt Glorious and Mt Nebo in a "safe and sensible way" when you were doing your install.

deep_uv

I installed the OEM sensor a few months ago when I was adding a cat bypass and it comes with the plug. No splicing required.

swmic

Yes, the stainless wires are not easy to solder and, no, I did not see the note about not soldering. I've soldered them many times in the past with no apparent issues. The car does seem to run smoother and the throttle response seems better. I'll also have to watch the fuel mileage to see if there are any gains. I don't know if my old one was bad. I installed a cat bypass and destroyed the threads on the old 02 sensor removing it from the old cat. I had to heat it up the thread area cherry red to get it to turn. My throttle response improvement may be due to the new bypass.

964russ

I have no o2 sensor, and mines ok!

fast951

You should never solder a O2 sensor wire. The sensor "will breathe" through the cable. When splicing & fixing a O2 harness, use crimp connectors (as close to the end of the O2 harness as possible).
Older style O2 sensors used "vent hole", however newer style O2 sensors do not use a vent hole. Instead they use the wire itself to vent. The space between the wire insulation and the wire allows enough air to seep into the sensor. Soldering the wires will clog the "vent".

mjshira

Ask me how I know this

Twood

Okay - I started the thread so I will ask. How do you know this?

JasonAndreas

This started with the "plunge proof" O2 sensor that Porsche used on the 964 and was documented in (i believe -- i just moved and don't have my docs with me) a TSB for the 993.

BGLeduc

Out of curiosity, was there a big price difference between the factory sensor and generic? Seems like there were a lot of hoops to jump through to make this work.

I am not at all mechanically competent, but I was able to replace my aftermarket O2 sensor installed by my mechanic, with the factory unit. I was getting some severe misfiring and throttle issues in heavy rain, and I believe it was Adrian that suggested that the factory unit was immune to this.

In any event, it was simple to do (with a proper O2 sensor socket), no splicing was required, and it appears to have solved my problem.

Brian

swmic

Brian, the price difference is not that much $140 vs. $60. I guess it's how familiar you are with working with wiring. I spent my first 12 professional years designing prototype electronics, so splicing three wires is no big deal to me. The first 3 years were in ABQ at SNLA.

The thing I don't understand about this is, if the new vent-less sensors get their 02 supply through the wires. Why can't they still get it if the wire is soldered? The soldered connection does not seal the wire to insulation interface at the splice. I could see it it one covered the joint in some type of grease or silicone. It's an interesting discussion. I guess I have to learn about the physics of vent-less O2 sensors.

mjshira

I attempted to splice the wrong sensor which had a different harness side connection to the car. It didn't work!

Indycam

"if the new vent-less sensors get their 02 supply through the wires."
My wild guess , the O2 supply is in between the strands of wires , not between the wires and the insulation . Soldering fills the space between the strands .

Changing the vent from where it was to the end of the wire , sounds like a great idea to me and a very good reason to buy the factory O2 sensor .

BGLeduc

That entire concept is alluding me. I do have a background in control systems (non-automotive), and if this is true, it is a first for me. I suspect that somewhere along the line, something is being misunderstood.

The O2 sensor needs to measure the O2 in the exhaust stream. What possible technology exists to somehow measure the O2 through the wiring????

Unless there is something magic going on here, I suspect that O2 sensor wiring is simply some combination of power, ground, and signal.

But, I stand ready to be educated.

Brian