quick question for those in the know....Figure my pre-cat O2 sensor is on it's way out (dies after warm-up, yada yada) and of course being -17 what better time to crawl under the truck after work?

So, WI salt makes this stupid thing impossible to remove with out serious help. No torch setup and I know little propane will NOT do the trick.

Ya think the little Benzomatic Oxy-fuel torches will get things hot enough to bust thru the rust, or just wasting my time and money?

If you soak it with mouse milk, PB Blaster, ect, won't the exhaust temps play havoc on the loosening properties of the stuff? Or will the combination of spraying and driving for a few days do some good??

Thanks ALL.

ALSO...my O2 sensor is right next to the cat so access is pretty good, push comes to shove I might be able to use small pipe wrench and breaker bar, but I DON'T want to bust the thing off and be stuck replacing a section of pipe just to replace the sensor.

Thanks.

 

The heat will help the chems break down the rust. I would hit it a couple times over the course of a few days to let it work.

Since you don't care if you destroy the old sensor on removal, just put a pipe wrench on it, and then smack the end of the wrench with a big hammer to get it to break loose. Only took like three whacks on mine, and out it came.

 

Mine had to be rethreaded after we got it out in a similar fashion...just a caution

 

Thanks fellas. I'll spray the thing for a few days. Maybe it'll warm up a bit in the process.

 

Learned to have better spray control today. Went a little crazy with the can... Sputtered, jerked and died for thirty miles this morning.

 

About 4 or 5 days of twice daily spraying with PB Blaster and the thing popped out pretty easily! Threads were a bit iffy, but used old sensor to work any gunk out and the new Sensor went in with out much difficulty.

Turns out the double crank starting issue was due to a poor positive battery connection. It's bizarre how temperamental these trucks are when the battery connections are slightly off. Wouldn't have known it, except when I put on the charger the cable moved.

Needs to be replaced...soon. Removed the lead shim, folded it in half jammed back onto post, tightened and now start first crank.

Note to others, if you're having issues starting or keeping it running when you let off the gas, double check battery connections. Had the same thing last year, wouldn't idle worth crap, that's why I put post shims on. Hope to see some marginal improvement as soon as the PCM re-learns the new O2 sensor.

 

I thought I saw another thread with similar issues, but can't find it. Have replaced the following:
Up stream O2 sensor
IAC
TPS
battery cable connectors (soldered on)
Cleaned the living **** out of the throttle body.

I probably have a bad plenum, bit I'm doubtful a bad plenum would cause crappy idle when ever temps drop into single digits. Idles fine for 5 min and then dies and will not stay running until engine temps are above X and then no problems. When it dies it tasks a bit to start... Kind of acts like it's flooded.

 

If you have a scanner, or some way of reading real-time data, (theres an app for that.....) see what the temp sensor has to say when it starts giving you problems.