Oxygen Sensor

[ROBS]

I'm doing a tune up on my "new to me" car (93 Camry V6 LE - 3VZFE). Now, one of the things I read is to replace the oxygen sensor in order to improve fuel economy. So, I bought a Bosch Premium Oxygen Sensor from Lordco (local auto parts store) for $50 with my discount. The OEM one was about double the $$. This is the one that goes on the exhaust manifold before the Cat.

Before I install this expensive part and its too late to return for a refund, I want to make sure this is actually going to make a significant difference in the fuel economy to justify spending $50 just after x-mas when money is tight.

Is this really something that you replace just because its old? Or, is this only going to make a difference if the one currently on the car is malfunctioning (which i'm sure it isn't, because my mileage isn't too bad at all)? And isnt there more than one O2 sensor, one after the cat as well? I would think it would only make a difference if you change both.

So, what do you think? Return it and save $50? Or is it really going to make a difference?

[Spartan0536]

Well do you know if the O2 senor(S) were ever repalced to begine with, if not then it is reccommened to replace them. you can alost go to a diagnostic repair shop and have them examine your car to tell you if you need to or not, the bosch platinum series stuff is really good and usually better quality than OEM. I would do some tests and a litte more research before making your decision. In my personal Opinion you would at least be doing preventative maintainence and may see a slight inprovement in gas mileage.

[ghettosled]

what number are you getting for your MPG now? i think a new o2 sensors will only improve mileage if they are going bad, not if only because the are old. plus on the v6, i believe there are 3. one for each bank of cylinders that adjusts the air/fuel ratio, and one after the cat to monitor the cats performance.

if i were you, i would check other things first to improve fuel economy. check tire pressure, extra junk in the car, air filter, condition of the plugs, dont accelerate or brake quickly, dont speed...

[Venom_5]

Ive heard from tons of people that Bosch sensors are worthless ... They get poor reviews from all sorts of car forums, as well

[ROBS]

Originally Posted by ghettosled

what number are you getting for your MPG now? i think a new o2 sensors will only improve mileage if they are going bad, not if only because the are old. plus on the v6, i believe there are 3. one for each bank of cylinders that adjusts the air/fuel ratio, and one after the cat to monitor the cats performance.

if i were you, i would check other things first to improve fuel economy. check tire pressure, extra junk in the car, air filter, condition of the plugs, dont accelerate or brake quickly, dont speed...

I'm not sure what MPG i'm getting quite yet, but it doesn't seem bad. I've only had the car for about a week or so and i'm on the first tank of gas (haven't driven it much yet).

So far i've replaced the air filter with a K&N, the fuel filter, cap, rotor, changed oil and filter, changed tranny fluid and filter, changed diff fluid and I picked up a set of NGK Iridium plugs, but haven't gotten around to changing them yet. Oh, and no junk in the car...cant stand that.

I was just sitting there trying to think where I could reduce some of the cost. I know I'm not up to spending the money on the other 2 sensors, so there would probably be no point replacing just the 1, huh?

Thanks guys. I guess it would probably be wiser to put this $$ towards the timing belt that is about due and wait till I have some more $$ and do all 3 sensors with OEM parts.

[thaharlequin]

If they ain't broke don't fix 'em. Even if they are broke, w/ info from the other two one can go out and the mpgs won't drop IME. For best mileage adjust the nut behind the wheel

Originally Posted by JJJJJJ

3 wideband oxygen sensors in CA emission cars, one on each v6 bank, one post main cat, as the car has 2 pre-cats also.

Wideband?

[dc_98_cam]

Just curious ... when you replaced the transmission fluid did you have to use the Toyota T-IV fluid?... The end of the trans dip stick will say Type T-IV, if this is the case.

[ROBS]

No, it said Dexron-II on the dipstick, so I used Dexron-III.

[dc_98_cam]

Originally Posted by ROBS

No, it said Dexron-II on the dipstick, so I used Dexron-III.

[Kep]

There is a lot of interesting reading in the engine section of the gen-3 manual in this forum's sticky section about the oxygen sensors and how they work with the ECM. I use the 3SFE section but I expect the same info is available for the six cylinder engine. Check out EG1-233 and EG1-352. There are also long troubleshooting scenarios if you do want to check your O2 sensors before you pay to change them out.

Kep