Tierce

Well, I took my 2000 Boxster S to the dealer today to get it checked out. They replaced the oil dipstick tube for a vaccuum leak. I knew it was broken, and I was waiting for the part to come in anyway, but I didn't think it would cause this much trouble. So it's running really, really rough, the CEL is on, and I couldn't find the problem myself. Now their telling me it needs all 4 O2 sensors and I'm not about to pay their price for the sensors. I've found several prices online and the best one so far is $134.95 each.

Does anyone know where they might be cheaper. I'm trying to save as much as possible, since I'm buying 4 of them. Thanks in advance for the help.

blinkwatt

AutohausAZ,$104.95 each,OEM.

You could but universal 4 wire ones and connect them yourself,$100 D.I.Y. for all four.

99firehawk

i dont say this very often,................................ take the car out of there or post the faults
o2 sensor dont usually fail on these cars, very very rare for one to fail let alone 4

deliriousga

It's most likely a regular maintenance suggestion. They are designed to last about 60K miles then their performance deteriorates. You don't "need" to replace them until you get a CEL telling you one is reporting improperly, but it is good to do it before they fail. It's best to replace them all at once rather than one at a time.

I did the DIY with universal sensors for about $160 (all four). I have an OBDII reader that records while driving and the universals all give the same signals as the stock O2s at the various engine loads/rpm.

Tierce

i can look the codes up tomorrow, but I got the car back from the dealer today and they told me that the mass air flow burned up the o2 sensors because of a vaccuum leak. The manager is a friend of mine, so I do trust him, and he said that none of the sensors were responding. I'm going to take them out and see if I can clean them before I go buy new ones anyway. Thanks for the info though.

Tierce

i can look the codes up tomorrow, but I got the car back from the dealer today and they told me that the mass air flow burned up the o2 sensors because of a vaccuum leak. The manager is a friend of mine, so I do trust him, and he said that none of the sensors were responding. I'm going to take them out and see if I can clean them before I go buy new ones anyway. Thanks for the info though.

Turboflyer

I wouldnt waste time trying to clean them. If they are out of range you should have a CEL for sure. THe 4 wire generic is you best and quickest route, IMHO.

99firehawk

alot of times people like to replace o2 sensors for faults for o2 sensor adaptaion. o2 sensor adaptation faults have acutlay nothign to do with the o2 sensors but with the fuel trim of the engine due to rich or lean mixtures.
Porsche 02s seem to last longer then the o2s in american or jap cars. I Have replaced very few and almost always with a fault for o2 sensor delay. the tolerance for a slow respong sesnor is very slim and a falut would be registered as soon as the sneor was deemed slow responng

Tierce

my OBD2 scanner said that multiple sensors were slow to respond, and the codes kept coming back. I also had the dealer tell me the same thing. I'm pretty sure that's what I need to do.

opass

deliriousga.........It is time for me to change 02 sensor as well at Bank 1 sensor 1. Could you tell me more about the universal sensors? I have no ideal what is it about. Sure sounds saving for me

deliriousga

Here's what I posted on another forum about the universals:

I know I brought this up about 8 months ago and I finally got around to doing it. I went to Parts Train and ordered 4 US Auto Parts Network 4 wire universal sensors for $156 including shipping and I picked up two 8-pair packs of weather proof connectors. I pulled the old sensors out and cut the plug ends off about 6" down the wire. I put the connectors on the wires and plugged them together and plugged the sensors back into the car. Since I put the weatherproof connectors on, next time I only have to put female connectors on a new sensor and plug it in. It took me about 2 hours to pull the sensors, re-wire them and put them back in.

They have been running beautifully for the past 2K miles and I'll report back as they age. It sure was nice to replace all 4 sensors for the price of 1 of the exact replacement sensors.

I followed up with this:

For the wiring, it's very easy since the universal sensor has the same wiring colors as the old sensor. I just wired black to black, gray to gray and the two whites to the two whites. The two white wires are interchangable so it doesn't matter which way you wire those two. Use the weather tight connectors (blade type with a plastic cover) and heat shrink behind them.

VERY IMPORTANT: Don't solder the wires into the connectors. By just crimping and putting heat shrink around the ends, you keep the air passage open. Some sensors "breathe" through the wire sheathing so if you solder the wire in you block the airway since it's so small to begin with.

I also used some of the plastic wire shielding to wrap around the weather tight connectos to protect them from the heat. It's the tubing that looks corrogated with a slit down the side that is used to bundle wires together.

Btw, you can't search for the Porsche Boxster O2 sensor and find it. The part number is USOS-4000 and you will usually find it listed under Lexus and Audi vehicles. I found them Speedy Auto Parts for $34.64 each so it's even better.

opass

This is awesome. Just other 4 universal sensors for $176 including shipping. Thanks for the tips.

You guys are great.

Turboflyer

The Porsche parts numbers are different for pre and post O2 sensors. So how will one PN work for all four. What is the difference? I want to make sure before I learn an expensive lesson.

mickf

The difference is the length of the wire. The sensor itself is the same. So if you are splicing onto the original wire...

opass

Received and installed all 4 universal sensors. Cleared the fault code and ran 200 miles in one day. So far so good. Will report after longer driving.