what o2 sensor to buy

Hello,
I want to replace the oxygen sensor in my 98 civic (EX). I want to
buy a reliable sensor that's not very expensive. If you know of any
please recommend. Thanks

 

-------------------------

Which sensor are you wanting to replace, and why ? What's your mileage /
history ?

'Curly'

 

https://www.automedicsupply.com/ has the best prices for
OEM sensors I have found. I bought one from them for my 91
Civic a few years ago. Perfect service. No problems with
sensor.

Do not buy a non-OEM sensor. Too many reports of poor
performance...

 

Hello Curly,
I want to replace my oxygen sensor because my car failed the smog
test. According to the diagnosis I should replace o2 sensor as well
as rotor, cap, plug wires and plugs. My car has 115k miles and gives
decent mileage. The car's been great so far, never gave me any
problems. Thanks for any advice.

 

Thanks very much for your help. I will look into it. Also , just out
of curiosity did you replace the part on your own. if so did you have
any problems. Thanks .

 

Yes, I replaced it on my own on my 91 Civic. No problems.
It's a pretty easy job to do, assuming the O2 sensor is not
bound in place, and I am not the most sophisticated home
mechanic on the group either. Plenty of amateurs report here
doing it on their own.

The sensor usually is not bound. Buy a can of the
penetrating oil "PB Blaster" at Autozone, WalMart, or
similar, and soak the sensor's threads as best you can a few
hours before trying to loosen it. Have an O2 sensor wrench,
borrowed (no charge) from Autozone. Remove the exhaust
manifold heat shield and possibly a bit more interference.
Apply the wrench and see if the sensor comes free.

You might want to change the plugs, wires, rotor, and cap,
first and see if this fixes the problem. Definitely use only
OEM parts for these, too. They pay for themselves in
longevity and performance.

On the third hand, pre-emptively replacing the O2 sensor is
a good idea for a car this age.

 

did it fail because of a code? if so, what was it? among other things,
you need it to know which of the two sensors present is out of spec.

personally, i'd do the ignition stuff first, then see if the sensors are
ok. use oem for cap and rotor, ngk or denso for plugs, and oem or ngk
for plug leads*. you should also check the valve lash at this mileage -
if it wasn't done at the last timing belt change.


* regarding plug leads, oem are generally good, but i've not had a lot
of luck with them at high mileage. the best overall quality and
performance are ngk coiled core leads. they're about double normal
price, but last forever and perform great.

 

In that case I will work on the ignition part first. Any
recommendations for the brands of the parts, rotor, cap, wires, and
plugs. Thanks.

 

Speaking of O2 sensors:

I have an '03 Accord sedan, I4 & 5AT, 48,000 miles, twice in the past
few months my Engine light has come on twice. First time was right after
I bought gas and noticed the gas guy (this is NJ, we can't pump our own
gas here) didn't turn the cap so it clicked. I opened the gas cap and
replaced it making sure I heard several clicks. The Engine light went
off after 3 ON/OFF cycles.

The 2nd time was about 10 days ago, not immediately after buying gas. I
went thru the same drill and the Engine light went off after 3 ON/OFF
cycles. This time, however, I hooked up my OBD II Data Recorder & laptop
computer, which told me my last DTC P0141, which says "O2 Sensor Heater
Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 2)" (the one after the cat). So I
guess I'm looking at replacing the sensor. My inclination is to buy an
OEM sensor instead of the various ones I see online, e.g., with 2/3/4
leads (and no connector).

Any opinions/advice?