I agree with this, but it's not only that I don't think I can afford it, but I just refuse to pay good money for the crap they're building / selling today. Besides, there's something to be said for being able to take care of it yourself, becuase there are fewer and fewer these days who can, and that doesn't bode well in the world we live in today.

And yes Ralph, I agree, they can get lazy after many years of use, and I picked up a new one to install sometime this week when the rains get done.

Steve

 

Unfortunately, I am getting to the point that I simply don't WANT to have to do all the work myself any more...... I am getting old, and have other health issues piled on top of that...... (the health issues being the biggest issue.) I would LOVE to have something with a warranty, that I can just take to the dealer when I have a problem...... but, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

 

I have never owned a car or truck new enuf to still have warranty left... when I bought my 97 Wrangler in 2000 (remains closest thing to new I ever had, 19 years later I still have this Jeep) the sales idiot said that it still had 3 months of warranty left... went to my parts buddy at the Dodge dealer, he ran the VIN and said it was OUT by 3 months.... closest I ever had to a warranty. though I constantly get those 1-800 calls telling me "my warranty is about to run out... we want to renew it" so I then say "Oh, I didn't know I had a warranty on a 1992 (or a 1996) Dakota.... you serious???? " and then they hang up

 

It's 7/8 not 3/4.and PLEASE don't use a BOSCH O2, for some reason dodges don't like them. At best it won't last long, sometimes Bosch makes em run worse. IDK what the tech differences are between brands but there's definitely something.

 

Replaced the sensor, don't recall the brand but it was made in America IIRC, was direct fit, no soldering. It was a clearance on RA and may have been a Carter, can't recall. I will check to see what the box is when I'm in the garage today.

Drastically improved engine operation and fuel efficiency went up to 21 on the last big trip, that's a significant increase for me.

Steve

 

another good reason to replace the o2sens is that if it goes bad the engine may run rich and damage the catalytic converter. That alone is a good enough reason to replace the o2sens. It is called preventive maintenance. Frank

 

Yeah, I suppose you could call it preventative maintenance but I'm not sure there's a factory specification for when to replace.

The sensor I bought was a Walker, not a Carter, and on the box it says it's made of US and foreign parts assembled in the US.

Glad I did it but I wouldn't consider doing it again for quite a while.

Steve

 

For 1988, it was optional to replace them at 58,500 miles from the FSM.

For 1996, it was not listed.

RwP

 

58500 miles seems very strange, why not 55k or 60k?

I didn't remember seeing it in the 96 FSM but who knows.

It's with these sorts of higher mile maintenance items you don't usually see much for replacement. Typically they're replaced, like the EGR, when a code is thrown, even if that's not the best policy. I do find it hard to call it preventative maintenance when you really don't have a fixed time to replace it nor has it technically failed if the CEL isn't on.

I'm glad I replaced mine though, but I wouldn't probably replace it again for 4-5 years.

Steve

 

I've always heard 90,000 to 120,000 to replace one; they get "slow" and don't respond as fast as they should, even if they don't toss a code.

It's like spark plugs, you really should NOT wait until they're misfiring. Or wait on brakes until they quit stopping the vehicle ...

RwP