1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Or: "Another Fascinating Use for the Versatile Garden Weasel."
Well, folks, I did it. Finally got my O2 sensor changed out. It was a rough battle, but the Forces of Good won out in the end.
Last installment, as you recall, I had removed the exhaust elbow, buggered up the threads on a couple of mounting studs, and broken one stud in two trying to free a rusty nut. This morning, using the bribe of my wife's special French toast with peaches and smoked sausages, I coerced a good friend to come over with his wife and kid and give me a hand. I figured we'd either fix the thing or have fun breaking it.
He came to the rescue with a metric tap that fit the studs, and we cleaned up the threads on the ones that were bad. As for the busted one on the exhaust flange, we threaded on two nuts, locked them together, then used a wrench to extract it. A trip to the nearest NAPA auto parts store (open on Sunday, yet!) got me a new one for $1.21 and a matching nut for 19 cents. With tax, a buck and a half. Not bad. So the fastener problems were resolved. That was a relief.
Then came the fun part. We still hadn't wrestled the old O2 sensor out. The elbow is cast aluminum, which I know to have different heat expansion characteristics than whatever metal that sensor is made out of. So the easiest method would have been to put the part into the oven, cook it at about 300 degrees for 15 minutes or so, and then take it out and loosen the sensor. Torches are really tricky because they heat the part unevenly and you can crack one that way. I thought for a few seconds about what my wife would say about having dirty Saab parts in the oven, and then decided maybe we'd try some brute force first.
If there's a car mechanic Kama Sutra, my buddy and I probably acheived about four or five of the more esoteric positions while we tried various wrenches, pry bars, and our hands and feet to gain leverage on the stubborn device. We were sitting on the garage floor with the part between us when he looked at me and said, "Hey, you don't care about this old sensor, do you?" With big grins on our faces, we carried it over to the bench vise. "Let's mash it!"
Crunch. A few gorilla turns of the vise on the old O2 sensor and it was decidedly non-cylindrical! We really wanted to break the top part of it off so we could get a socket on the lower (remaining) part of it.
So then I said, "Wait a minnit! Maybe we can turn the elbow now!?" and I inserted a prybar into the end of the elbow. With my buddy and I both pushing, it still didn't budge. More leverage needed!
"Got a big old pipe or something we can put over the end of this?" I looked around my garage. Some wood... nah, wouldn't fit. Hmmmm. Then my eyes fell upon the wife's gardening tools. Aha!
I inserted the handle of the Garden Weasel into the end of the elbow, and with nearly a 5 foot lever arm, we applied some horrific torque. Crunch! The sensor started to twist, though the threads hadn't broken loose. The wooden handle of the Garden Weasel wasn't looking like new, either. "More torque!" I cried. Crack! Zowie! (and other Batman sound effects!) There was movement! And cheering! We broke it free. I carefully hung the Garden Weasel with its splintered handle back on its rack, making a mental note to buy my wife some new gardening gloves. I should also write to the makers and let them know, hey, there's one thousand and TWO uses for the Garden Weasel....
The threads inside the elbow were fine. I cleaned out the rust, installed the new sensor (judiciously spreading anti-seize compound on the threads first!), bolted the elbow back into the Beastie, and crimped the wires together with butt connector insulators. Done deal!
I think I'm gonna save the old sensor (what's left of it!) as a memento.
Guess my best advice for anyone considering doing this (Wes!) is to get a friend to give you a hand. It's a lot more fun and a lot less work than trying to go it alone. I never got to try Brett's suggestion of hacksawing off the top of the sensor and using a socket on the remaining stub, but that might have worked. As much torque as it took to break free, though, I think it's really best to take the elbow out of the car and get the sensor out where you've got some room to swing some big gardening tools. Just be careful with the six nuts holding that elbow on... soak them in penetrant overnight before you try breaking them free.
Thanks for all the moral support, guys. I'm in love with my Beastie again. Stay tuned for further adventures... I'm about to do some SPG9 performance upgrades. This could get interesting!
- = M O N S T E R = -
87 900T ...and too much time on my hands
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