On most all gasoline powered cars and trucks manufactured since the late 1970's there is a very small yet very important part that is located in the exhaust stream, known as the Oxygen Sensor. It is commonly referred to by automotive technicians as the O2 Sensor. This little part looks like a spark plug in a way, as it is threaded on one end, but it has a wire with a connector on the end opposite the threaded end. The threaded end is screwed directly into the exhaust stream on the engine side of the catalytic converter.
This little component is the most neglected part on most vehicles, and is responsible for a myriad of engine performance and drivability issues, as well as poor gas mileage when it goes bad. If you own a gasoline powered vehicle and you know that this little gem has not been changed in the last 40,000 miles, no matter what make or model you have, just change it. You'll be glad you did.
The Oxygen Sensor is the heart and soul of all computerized fuel delivery systems. The Oxygen Sensor does just what its name states, it senses the oxygen content in your engines exhaust. It measures the oxygen level coming out of the exhaust and sends a signal to the vehicles computer that will in turn send a signal to the fuel injectors, telling them to pulse more fuel to go richer, or to pulse less fuel and go leaner. It simply makes sure that your engine is attaining complete combustion of the fuel by maintaining a 14.7:1 air to fuel ratio. When this happens the only thing that should come out of your tailpipe is Oxygen and Water, which are the only byproducts of complete combustion.
Whether you are a novice mechanic that likes to change your own parts, or you're the type of person that has a mechanic that takes care of your issues, do not overlook this inexpensive part. And if your gas mileage isn't what it used to be, or your engine surges and hesitates, change the O2 Sensor whether your think it's bad or not before you do any other expensive diagnostic testing, because 9 times out of 10 it will fix your problem. Be sure to change the oil right after installing a new O2 Sensor, as if the sensor was bad and the engine was running rich, then your crankcase will surely have a lot of fuel mixed with the oil.
About the Author:Make sure your vehicle gets regular service and don't drive around with a bad oxygen sensor. Stay on top of things with a little insight form the authors Blog Site - http://autorepairripoffs.blogspot.com/.
Article Source: Bad Oxygen Sensors
Buy Best Price Oxygen Sensors
Posts
