Car Sensors – Page 2

It is a great idea to know how to remove 02 sensor without a socket if you own a car with a gasoline engine. Gasoline engines require a precise ratio of gasoline and air before the combustion that drives the engine occurs. An imbalance in this ratio can lead to situations known as rich or lean mixtures. A rich mixture happens when there’s less air than the required amount needed for combustion. Conversely, the lean mixture occurs when there is excess oxygen. Both situations lead to pollution and poor engine performance. So, where do oxygen(O2) sensors come in? O2 sensors are vital car sensors that are designed to monitor the fuel/air mix in your vehicle's engine. They send their readings to the car's engine management system so that your vehicle runs efficiently. However, like all mechanical devices, they fail at one point in time and need to be replaced. This article will show you some o2 sensor removal tricks and will walk you through the process of removing your car’s O2 sensor by yourself without using an o2 sensor socket. How to Remove O2 Sensor without Socket Step-By-Step Guide Before you start removing the O2 sensor, you must understand when and where to go about it. The thing is that O2 sensors are situated in parts of the vehicle that get hot when you use the car, the O2 sensors will be hot and quite a handful to manage if you just finished driving. Some professional mechanics can remove o2 sensor hot or cold. If you don't have the mastery level or the right gear like a heat-resistant glove, it's best to let the vehicle cool down before proceeding. Once that’s settled, you can begin the process. Detect Bad O2Sensor. This is the first step in the process of removing your vehicle's oxygen sensors without o2 sensor socket. Some vehicles come with more than one O2 sensor, so you need to detect which (if not all) of the O2 sensors have failed. To do this, you might have to use an OBD code scanner that is plugged into a port beneath your car's dashboard to enable you to extract error codes from the onboard computer. This allows you to detect the O2 sensor to be removed. It will also let you in on to the location of the faulty sensor too. You can get OBD code scanners from both online and offline stores. The alternative is to visit the local mechanic or auto parts stores that you patronize to get the readings. Whatever you do, you must get this step right to avoid removing a functional O2 sensor. Raise Your Vehicle(Optional) Once you have ascertained that the faulty O2 sensor's existence and the location are underneath, the next step is to raise your vehicle to a height that allows you to easily access the O2 sensors. To ensure that the vehicle is parked on a flat, hard surface, you then keep the wheels from rolling using wedging chocks. To avoid any accidents, ensure that you secure the vehicle with jack stands. Ensure that the vehicle is stable and safe before you start looking for the O2 sensors underneath it. Remember that this step is wholly dependent on the location of the O2 sensor. So in some instances, you may not need to raise the vehicle. Locate The Oxygen Sensor. This should not be too difficult to handle once you are sure of the location of the O2 sensor. Proceed to the site and start looking for the sensor. You are looking for a device that resembles your regular spark plug with some cable attached to it. Once you have discovered this, trace the cable until you get to the plug attached to it. The plug is usually attached to the exhaust pipe. Once this is done, you then proceed to disconnect the wiring harness connector. You can get tips on how to disconnect the o2 sensor harness and how to remove the oxygen sensor below. Use Some Penetrating Oil A premium penetrating oil should be in your tools box because you should expect the O2 sensor to be challenging to remove after all this while. Thankfully, some premium penetrating oil can work wonders once you apply it correctly. How to do that? Simply add the lubricant to the area where the sensor plugs into the exhaust pipe. Be sure to apply the oil to the area around the sensor because that is the part that is most likely difficult to loosen. After generously applying the oil, give it some time(approximately 10 minutes)to allow the oil to relax the sensor before trying to get the O2 sensor out. Remove the oxygen sensor. Here’s the fun part. The first step is to unplug or cut off the cable attached to the O2 sensor because it makes it a lot easier to manage the sensor when trying to remove it. It is not a critical step, but it might make it easier for you to get the tool around the sensor. Besides, what’s the point in keeping the cable intact since you won’t be needing the sensor anymore? Proceed to use your tools. One of the best tools to use here is a standard 7/8(2.2cm) box-end o2 sensor wrench, which should be about the average o2 sensor socket size. Use a hammer to move the wrench. If you don’t have a wrench, you can use your flat-combination spanner. It is usually 22 mm. Since you added the penetrating oil a while ago, the sensor should be a lot easier to remove by now. If the sensor does not come out easily after that specified time, try using a heat gun to heat the area around the sensor. You have to do this sparingly because some penetrating oils can be flammable. While doing this, ensure that you avoid heating the sensor directly. After heating things up, fit the wrench on the sensor and use the hammer to drive the wrench counterclockwise again. If you used the oil and the heat right, the sensor should come off a lot easier. Do You Need A Special Tool To Remove O2 Sensor? No, you don't need a special tool like the stripped o2 sensor removal tool to remove your vehicle’s O2 sensor. Although nothing beats using the right tools for the right job, you could easily remove it without a special tool. Here are some of the standard tools that you could use to remove your vehicle's O2 sensor. Wrench set (you will need a 22-mm or a 7/8-inch size wrench for this job) Some Towels Some penetrating oil(the anti-rust kind would be great) A hammer A wire Brush A work light These tools must be from a quality tools brand. That way, you are sure that the tools will deliver. Can I Just Unplug My O2 Sensor? No. It is not a good idea to unplug your O2 sensors because they regulate the vehicle’s air-fuel mix. While unplugging the 02 sensors will not stop the engine, the vehicle will run in an open loop, and you are most likely to have a rich mixture situation. That’s the situation where your vehicle’s engine is flooded with fuel. Now you don’t want that, do you? What Size Socket Is An O2 Sensor That's easy; the nut on the O2 sensor is 22mm so the o2 sensor socket size is 22mm and can easily be removed using a 7/8 wrench. How Much Does It Cost To Fix Oxygen Sensor? What it costs to fix your vehicle's oxygen sensor is mostly dependent on your car. The service you opt for also plays a large role in determining the costs. Different auto repair shops offer various services and different costs. On average, most dealerships charge $80 per hour for service. So, you shouldn’t spend more than $100 on service fees. Whatever the price offerings at the repair shops, none of them is as affordable as the DIY route. With the latter option, you don't get to pay for labor, so all you will be spending money on are the replacement sensors and probably a tool or two. The costs of the replacement sensors and the tools are mostly location-specific, so what you pay for them will depend on where you got them from. Can I Replace the Oxygen Sensor Myself? Absolutely! The only caveat is that you might have to research to get the right kind of info needed. The amount of research you have to do is also largely dependent on the type of vehicle you drive. This is because both online and offline resources will mostly deal with the more popular brands and models. However, once you are willing and able to do some research and put in the time and effort, it is perfectly possible to replace your vehicle’s oxygen sensor yourself. Hell, once you get the hang of it, you might be able to complete the job in about an hour! Final Words O2 sensors are an essential part of your vehicle’s engine management system. That means that regardless of its size, the oxygen sensor is crucial to your vehicle's engine's performance and longevity. Given that it is a mechanical device, it is prone to damage. That is why it is always important to replace your O2 sensor once you suspect it is faulty. One of the signs of a failing 02 sensor is black smoke, although there are better ways to find out for sure. You could save yourself some car maintenance costs by removing the 02 sensors yourself. All you need to do is to learn how to remove the o2 sensor without a socket if you don’t have one.