help please

[Medi.]

Looks like I really bummed out with trying to save a buck. My exhaust was leaking at the flex pipe, and I really didn't want to pay 170 bucks to fix it. After driving with the loud noise for about 2 months I finally decided to go through with it. The mechanic cut the pipe and welded a new piece. Within an hour or two I got a check engine light on my dashboard. Mechanic told me, two o2 sensors on the exhaust are not working and told me it's gonna be 500 to replace both sensors... With inspection past due this November I'm really in a bad spot.
Any idea if I'm being screwed and what's the cheapest way to do this? I was thinking of getting the sensors from the junk yard and try to install it myself but I think time has run out.. I'm getting ankle surgery this Monday...

[Zembonez]

Man it's really hard to say if they are both bad or not. I'd probably have another shop look at it first just to make sure.

[artbuc]

What year and engine? CA compliant? Was your check engine light on? What were your codes? Exactly which O2 (or A/F) )sensors are you talking about? Upstream or downstream? Did your mechanic destroy them doing the repair work?

[Medi.]

That's what I'm trying to figure out, could mechanic have damaged the sensors while replacing the flex pipe? It also seems strange that he had a box full of flex pipes. I'm thinking he made the hole on purpose when I was doing the oil change a few months back... and the other theory is i damaged the sensors because I didn't want to fix the flex pipe.
The car is a 99 model, non CA. The check engine engine light turned on right after the they changed the flex pipe.

[adu1982]

hmm....sounds fishy....first off ... i do not believe a hole in the pipe would cause the oxigen sensor to go bad.


Also it might not even be the sensor, maybe the catalytic converter.....and maybe he messed it up on purpose.

My 95 avy has 247k miles and I never replaced any of the sensors or the converter (we got it at 140k) but i doubt they ever replaced it so.....sounds very fishy.....


I second the double + friend check ideea.

also go to autozone/advanced and have a free code read.... see exactly what code throws....

[denverdog]

call a couple of other shops to see if his price is competitive.

and on another note, please put in the title of any thread the parts/systems/symptoms that you are talking about. it makes it a lot easier for others, and you, to do a search to see if the questions has already been answered. the search function is just about the most im[ortant one on the forum. let's all make it easier to use.