o2 Sensor for 92 Camry V6 XLE

[ejramirez1]

I have a 92 Camry V6 XLE where the engine check light came on yesterday. Sometime in September 07 when my son had the car's oil changed at a Toyota dealership, the service advisor said that the cause of the engine check light is due to a bad o2 sensor and replacing it will cost around $500 (ouch). After being serviced the light went off and we didn't have the sensor replaced until the light came on again yesterday. Couple of questions, what happens if the o2 sensor is not replaced? Secondly, I read in another thread that there is more than 1 o2 sensor on a V6 engine. If I were to buy the sensor myself, how do I know which one is causing the check light to go on?

[marc780]

$500? You can find the O2 sensor cheaper elsewhere, much cheaper, and it just unscrews with a big wrench so there's probably no need to pay for the labor part. and yeah there just might be 2 sensors, but since the car is a 1992 i think i'd just change them both at the same time because the other one's surely not far behind the bad one.

If i knew i were going to be keeping this car a long time, i might spring for new ones. If i were gonna be keeping it for just a few more years, i think i'd take a chance with a couple sensors from a junkyard Camry. Try paying $5 instead of $500, to me it would be worth the risk - and the junkyards around here have a (replacement-only) return policy so you are not stuck with another bad 02 sensor.

[ejramirez1]

Thanks for the advise mark, i will consider my options of how long i'm going to keep the car. I've lived in Calif and I know there are a lot of junk yards where parts can be had for cheap but in Indiana, we don't have much of junk yards and even if there were, they're probably filled with old junk american cars.

If I don't replace the o2 and just leave the engine check light on, will anything serious happen to the engine?

[BMR]

The engine control computers will switch to a default mode, where the fuel/air mixture is intentionally rich to avoid damaging the motor. You might notice a bit of a decrease in fuel mileage, and if you let it go long enough, the catalytic converters can be damaged from the extra heat of combustion of the excess fuel. I haven't priced 'em for the Camry, but cats generally are not cheap.

I'd recommend you don't let it go very long. The O2 sensor in the front bank is a piece of cake to replace. The rear bank isn't as easy. The dealer didn't tell you which one?

BTW, California emissions equipped '92 V6's have a third O2 sensor; downstream from the cat I believe.

[renmike]

I just replaced both Oxygen sensors in my 93 v6 (same engine). If it's not a california emissions car, there are two sensors, one in each exhaust manifold. I went to sparkplugs.com and bought two universal Denso sensors for 30.00 each. Or, you could get the OEM w/ the connectors for about 80.00 each. The front one is very easy to change, and the rear one isn't too bad, just in a blind spot. Took me about 30 minutes max to change them both out.

If you need to replace just one, check for your trouble codes and see which one it is, there should be a code for front bank and one for rear bank.