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Oxygen sensors

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:41 am
by wallyuwl
I'm trying to decide what oxygen sensors to purchase. I'm going to purchase them with a new catalytic converter.I'm looking at either Denso or Bosch. The Denso don't say anything about being heated, so presumably they won't "work right" as soon as the Bosch. Unless they are in fact heated and just don't say so? I've looked at several places on the internet but no mention of being heated. They ARE 4 wire, so it makes me THINK they are heated, but...The Denso are OEM, but I've seen on here one poster mention their Bosch had Denso marked on the part itself.The Denso model numbers are: 234-4800 and 234-4233. The Bosch are: 15290 and 13544Amazon is the best place for price for each (even after coupon codes I've found), and the Denso are surprisingly slightly cheaper.

Re: Oxygen sensors (wallyuwl)

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:48 am
by Mark
I've been thinking about replacing mine, I'm at 112k now. I just don't know if there's any reason to if it's not throwing codes, but maybe mileage and performance are impacted long before you get a code? I don't know, and just started looking at it in the last week or so and haven't really researched all that much yet.I was looking at $176 at Auto Zone for the two, it's only $114 on Amazon. Thanks for the tip on that, I just never think of parts from Amazon for some reason, but I buy lots of other stuff on there. Is there a suggested replacement interval for these? Or do you just wait till they fail?

Re: Oxygen sensors (Mark)

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:05 pm
by wallyuwl
Bosch suggests replacing O2 sensors at 100k, but they manufacturer them so it is sort of like when air filter companies tell you to change air filters every 12k or oil companies tell you 3k. I think I have an intake manifold problem even though it isn't throwing the p0133 code. I was getting the p0171 code that is sometimes thrown by the inake, though often cleaning or a new MAF sensor takes care of it (it did with this code in my situation). But from what I've been reading the p0420 code I have isn't necessarily just a bad cat, but something probably caused the cat to go bad, and from the looks of what I've read it might be the inake gasket (which can cause the upstream O2 sensor to go bad, too). The idling issues when cold also lead me to an intake manifold gasket issue. So I'm replacing both O2 sensors with the cat, and the manifold gasket, and the VVT "oil" filter. Then I'm going to tackle another problem with the blower motor electrical system, not sure exactly what way to go with that yet. But, to your question, I wouldn't just replace the O2 sensors to replace them. I'd wait until I had a reason to, since they do often go 150k or more without a hitch. So... any thoughts on Denso vs. Bosch?

Re: Oxygen sensors (wallyuwl)

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:20 am
by wallyuwl
I ended up getting the Denso from Amazon.

Re: Oxygen sensors (wallyuwl)

Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:20 am
by Water boy
On my older GM's I always used AcDelco. Anything else had a bad reputation from the good mechanics in my area. Just like plugs, I'd go with OEM.

Re: Oxygen sensors (wallyuwl)

Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 1:09 pm
by yyamad1
guess you already bought it.. but for others, another option is Advance Auto, I bought mine from there cause they have lifetime warranty... lol yeah on a O2 sensor.. we shall see..

Re: Oxygen sensors (yyamad1)

Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 2:12 am
by wallyuwl
Yeah, I looked at Advance. They were about $50 more expensive all together than Amazon. And that is after using coupon codes. But I go to Advance for things when it makes sense to, like when I got a new MAF sensor for $50 after coupon code, which was $20 cheaper than anywhere else (including Rock Auto). For the coupon codes, if you don't get them sent to your email, you can go to http://www.bobistheoilguy.com and go to forums. Then go toward the bottom and look in the "rebates, sales, and promotions" forum and look in there. There is always a thread in the first few pages with updated AAP coupon codes.

Re: Oxygen sensors (wallyuwl)

Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 4:47 pm
by yyamad1
thanks for the good tip. i do get emails from AA and I did use it for my O2 sensors.. Ive heard sometimes they go bad after a year.. so I just paid more for insurance basically...