Been reading through a lot of threads about replacing 02 sensors and see folks have been correcting issues or Improving fuel mileage or making the engine run better.

My question is, would it make sense to pull and clean them somehow as a maintenance thing, or is it better to let them be.

If cleaning, what do you use to clean them and how.

 

The sensor is too easily damaged by cleaning. It's best just to replace them. From my experience, every time I've tried cleaning them, I've ended up having to replace it.

 

Not a seneor you would want to clean.
When they go bad, they go for 3 reasons:
1)old age as the materials are designed to last 100kmi of high temperatures
2)internal failure of electronics
3)Contamination
None of the above would benefit from cleaning. If it gets contaminated, there is a problem elsewhere's that needs to be addressed before replacement occurs.

If you want to "clean" your 02 sensors as regular maintenance....
Make sure your plugs are gapped properly, make sure you change your oil regularly, make sure you flush your coolant as needed, and don't use ANY leaded gasoline or MMT fuel additives and THAT will clean and keep your 02 sensors clean!..haha
Seriously, it's what makes them last the longest, just regular maintenance!

If your not throwing codes, a replacement will just be a preventative measure against failure. You won't see any increase in MPG, certainly not enough to justify spending over $100 on them. You gain mpg's when the 02 sensors are faulty which provides terrible mpg's. You'd know it too, not talking about 1-2mpg. Speaking of a 3-5mpg loss, sluggish performance and DTC codes out the wazoo!

 

I tried to clean both of mine, ordered new ones the next day.

 

The only way to clean an Oxygen sensor is to use Gasoline....

What you do is fill a can (i like to use glass mason jars) just enough to submerge the filter of the Oxygen sensor.

Put a hole in the top of the jar big enough to fit the electrical connector through it.

Feed the electrical connector through the hole you just made so the oxygen sensor can be put inside the jar and the jar can be closed.

Then close the jar (w/ O2 sensor in there) then let it sit for 1-2 minutes.

After it has sat, GENTLY Swirl the jar around but do not bang the sensor around... (to make this easier you can fill the jar up towards the top and hold the electrical connector so that the top of the sensor is touching the lid of the jar)

Remove the sensor from the jar.

Let it air dry (DO NOT TOUCH THE FILTER ON THE SENSOR!), you can gently shake it to get the gas out of the filter area.

Usually they take about 30min. to an hour to completely dry... (gas will evaporate)

Then you can re-install the sensor (with the truck COLD!) and see how it worked.

Most of the time you cannot clean the sensors, specially newer type sensors, but every once in awhile you get lucky... Also I wouldn't even attempt this with a wideband oxygen sensor...

 

Not a bad trick. And since gas does evaporate makes you feel better about the electrical componets

 

well you can't submerge the electrical portion, just the little filter on the tip of the oxygen sensor.

 

Obvisouly, then you would jeapradize the sensor from the start.

 

Ok good info, thanks. Never hurts to ask.