Don't solder Oxygen sensor Wire????

im finding this VERY hard to believe.

i can understand air getting in the gap between the body and the wire.

in fact, that would explain how my O2 sensor crapped out, with 46k miles
on it, less than a week after pressure washing the engine. i always
THOUGHT that was a contributing factor.

(side note-

YES! i pressure wash my engine! probably once a year, avoiding the dist
cap, electrical connections, etc. i usually just hit up the inner
fenders quickly, the inner top of the hood, blow the leaves out the A/C
trough, and go to town on the head, intake, block, tranny, and lower
pieces.

it never gets that dirty, and it never STAYS dirty. my engine bay looks
just about as new as the day i bought the car 8 years ago. i am aware of
the potential hazards. im probably going to add the O2 sensor to the
list of "avoid full pressure" areas to clean. )

i can NOT understand how air would get through the stranded wire covered
with a vinyl coating. it doesnt appear to be a special wire... just
regular wire thats stranded and coated with the outer cover. its not
magikal wire.

if anyone has a link to a MANUFACTURER site that says the wire
"breathes", ill eat my words. somehow.

 

Curly, how hot does an oxygen sensor run? Think, now...

 

My oxygen sensor gets pressure washed regularly. Not on purpose, but as a
consequence of normal driving. It's located immediately behind the rad, so
when I drive in heavy rain in heavy traffic (like today), it gets
absolutely blasted with water, for an hour at a time. Never a problem.

It can and does. Very little molecular transfer is required for proper
operation.

Curly, Google the terms:
pvc oxygen permeability

 

yes. PVC membranes, plastic meat wrap, and healthcare products. your point?

 

That vinyl *can* be formulated to be oxygen-permeable.

 

the membranes tend to be extremely thin, like meat wrap. one .pdf file i
read from bosch.com said the outside O2 comes through "the sensor body
or the wire"

i could understand how some unwanted water on a cold engine could do
what it did to mine... short out the primary heater circuit so it read 0
ohms.