Cannot Remove 02 Sensor

[Boddie]

Hello,

Been throwing CELs recently for my O2 sensor, and I noticed the voltage was stuck at 0.03 V after warmed up. There is no fluctuation whatsoever. I have a new Denso sensor, and I would like to put it in. The problem is that the one in there will not come out. I have tried soaking it overnight in PB Blaster, using the special O2 removing socket with ratchet+extension+breaker bar, and I have also tried taking the car for a hard drive to get it all nice and hot at the same time. It has not budged at all. Luckily I have not rounded the the O2 sensor at all, so I keep feeling there is some kind of hope to get it out.

Would it be better just to replace the whole damn O2 housing and cut the wire off while not bothering to get the sensor out? I have an after market O2 housing lying around, but was waiting to put it on once I ordered the rest of the exhaust parts with it. I have near completely given up on removing this sensor, and I have to drive this car several hours a day with a bad O2 until I can get it replaced for it is my only car, and I have to get to work.

 

[grothe3297venge]

If you have an air compressor and a air hammer, friend of mine used this on his scubie, worked great! Lisle 43900 Oxygen Sensor Remover for use with Air Hammer/Chisel I know it says out of stock, but find one similar somewhere!

Oh shit just noticed you were in Iowa! Sad it's in Ames

 

[Boddie]

I am thinking about calling some local shops and seeing if one will just loosen it for me, but I hope they would not charge much. Honestly, for the price I paid for the sensor and the tools already (not counting putting in several hours in removal attempts) I feel it would have been more cost and time effective to just have a shop do it.

 

[grothe3297venge]

I guess that would work to, wouldn't think a shop would charge that much. Guess it depends what they do to also get it out if its as stuck as you say it is.

 

[Nasty Dream]

Hey. I ordered a "Titan" brand 32" breaker bar. The bar was $20 or $30, and it's a really good tool to have.
rented the o2 socket set from Advance Auto Parts for $30, which they reimburse when I return the kit.

And attached them with a Craftsman socket adapter 1/2" to 5/8" or whatever
(FYI: I didn't trust the Stanley - it seemed like it would slide off and my radiator or me would be injured)

The bar was flexing quite a bit, but it was pretty easy with that much leverage.

 

[Boddie]

I called the local shops and they all wanted to charge about an hour of labor for loosening it for me, which that turns out to be $80 at the cheapest... Did not realize how expensive and time consuming of a job an O2 sensor is...

 

[lasthope05]

Take it off hot after letting the car run for a bit or use a propane torch will make things much easier.

 

[Boddie]

I tried it after the car is fully warmed up and did not help as said in my first post. I feel the cost of a propane torch setup will be more than the cost of having someone else do it.

UPDATE: After looking I guess there are some cheap ones

 

[MITSUMURDOK]

Try using a piece of longer pipe over the breaker bar to give you more leverage. I have done this many times with stubborn bolts and it usually works, unless they are completely rust welded. Good luck.

 

[ICM_MikeLago]

Have you tried soaking it with anti-seize? Since the sensor is no good anymore I would cut the wire, grab a deep socket, and use an impact. If you dont have a good impact gun you can use a breaker bar like the other posters are recommending.

 

[edged1g]

I would cut the wire, grab a deep socket, and use an impact.

This is the only way i have found to guarantee removing them. Do you have a friend with an air gun?

 

[99gst_racer]

If I already had a new sensor and housing, I'd just swap those in together rather than struggle with a stuck sensor.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Agreed. ^^^
Having had the 02 sensor stump me more than once I've done a few things to get it out. One was to go to my local (friendly) shop. I just rolled in and my guy hopped right over and broke it loose for me. No charge, was only 3 minutes of work. I did buy him beer though.
Another couples times later it was so stuck that I resorted to removing the 02 housing itself. Popped that bad boy into the bench vice and was able to unscrew the housing from the sensor with my hands.

Use this:

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And not this:

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The right tool makes all the difference, I have no issue now that I use the correct socket. Good luck.

 

[Chad1993]

I broke my front O2 inside the housing.. So I had to take the turbo off and drill it out and tap new threads. Worst 8 hours working on a car.

 

[Bud92gsx]

Take the o2 housing off,buy one from the classifieds and get a new sensor swap that all on.

Thats what I would do, work smarter not harder right?

 

[johnmel]

I have an after market O2 housing lying around, but was waiting to put it on once I ordered the rest of the exhaust parts with it. I have near completely given up on removing this sensor, and I have to drive this car several hours a day with a bad O2 until I can get it replaced for it is my only car, and I have to get to work.

If you have a o2 housing what are you doing all this for, just get it over with already

 

[Zack Huffman]

Take it for a drive, get it hot, then immediately after you shut it off, turn a can of air duster upside down to release the nitrogen propellant and shoot it into the little opening the wires exit from. That should thermal shock it enough for it to break free. Also, when you install the next one, liberally use a quality high temp anti-seize on the threads like you should on all your exhaust fasteners.

 

[squid267]

Had same issue. Bring it to a shop. Done in 5 mins. charged me an half hour of labor but it was worth it.

 

[IrishBeatdown]

I chopped the o2 after rounding off the bolt with a o2 socket and a breaker bar. The o2 socket was so cheap it actually bowed outward. So much for autozone sockets. It lives on my back porch now, the thing is so evil i gave it a chance to trip people up on the way to the pool.

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[vince6756]

Get yourself some PB Blaster and go to town.

 

[Boddie]

Well right after I got to work this morning I let the car cool down and soaked in some PB Blaster again in the garage here. Then tried to hit it with an impact wrench at 100 PSI and did not budge. Took it for a ten minute drive while it is like 90 degrees outside 10 minutes ago, came back and tried it again. Still did not budge a bit. Squid267 I asked the local shops and all would charge me an hour of labor minimum. Cheapest was $80, and there is no guarantee they would get it off in an hour.

I may just try to get the O2 housing off, but not looking forward to the upcoming problems there... I may just have to drive it with no O2 sensor for a few weeks...

 

[Boddie]

Well this coming Monday I was planning on getting the new O2 sensor and a lot of the new exhaust parts put in, but until then I still needed the car to get back and forth from work. It was driving alright just burning up a lot of fuel so far since last week until this morning. I went to start the car, and it will start -> rev to about 1200 RPMs -> drop to about 400 RPMS -> Oscillate 2 or 3 times then die... It started throwing new CELs this morning when it did this. Suddenly it threw not only code 11 for the O2 sensor, but also threw 12 and 25 for the maf and baro sensor.

I noticed the some of the wire insulation on the O2 sensor is a little tore up from trying to remove it. If some of these wires crossed would that of caused other sensors to get killed in the process? It is a shame that the O2 sensor would not come out by any reasonable means, but I still need to get to work somehow, so any advice would be grand. Thank you!

Well I just found this, and it says it could cause a trace to blow. When I go home I will disconnect the sensor completely and then take out the ECU and see if any damage was done in case there was a short. Is there any fuse related to the O2 sensor that could have blown?

So I went out there to check the ECU, but went to disconnect the battery first. When I grabbed the terminal it just popped out!

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I went and put a new terminal in, and car ran again. O2 sensor is still bad though, so I disconnected it entirely... actually ran better that way. Will have a new one in Monday for sure.

 

[Boddie]

BTW I never got it out of the O2 housing... When the exhaust was replaced just put the O2 in the new housing. No longer runs rich.

 

[LarryJoe]

I had this same issue. An o2 socket, snap-on 1/2" drive extension, and a snap-on breaker bar solved it for me.

 

[CanadianTalonTC]

FWIW when I did my 02 sensor that was EXTREMELY stuck and stripped. I hammered a 12pt 21 mm socket onto it after breaking off the end and then used a large breaker bar. Came right out.

Joel