02 sensr help!

[craig1980]

Looking for some advice on replacing both 02 sensors in my 03 pathfinder. Any tips? Can they be removed in place? Looks like there are coolant hoses on both sides that need to be removed but access still seems almost impossible. Has anyone done these? Please help!

[atraudes]

I haven't done it yet, though I'm planning on it this summer. The piece of advice I can give you is to get an O2 sensor offset socket, like the one below. It will give you some extra leverage and will make accessing them a bit easier. Sorry I can't be of more help; I'm interested to hear what other people suggest and how it goes!

[craig1980]

A little disappointed I didn't get any help, so I figured my reply may help someone in the future. I was able to use a standard 7/8" 02 sensor socket (the one with the slit cut out). The one that looks like a crow foot could not get deep enough given the heat shield is in the way. I borrowed a set of three from Advance Auto. They had a set as part of their loaner tool. Anyway, I have been spraying PB Blaster on both sensors for about a week. A long vacuum hose will help get the PB down there because there is no way to fit the can in such a small space. I have driven the vehicle here and there in between, but I always sprayed it at night. I started out on the driver side. I was able to move the coolant hose to the side and snake my hand and attach the socket with a 3/8 drive craftsman universal joint. I then attached a long extension to it with a 3/8 drive ratchet. It came out very easy. I was able to hand thread the new one in and then torque it to 30 FT. LBS. I did the exact same thing for the passenger side but access is extremely tight. I have a fairly small hand so besides getting bruised from squeezing my hand in and out it went well. A couple of side notes:
The driver side has an inaccessible zip tie that holds the wire. I simply cut the wire and pulled the remaining wire out. No need to connect it again. I used NTK sensors. I bought them on Ebay for around $34 shipped. They both were exactly what Nissan used from the factory. Same brand and everything. No coolant hoses needed to come off so no need to refill and bleed the system. If you get a different 02 sensor socket make sure it is thin wall. The original one I had was twice as thick and had trouble fitting on.

[atraudes]

Thanks for the follow up and tips! You've given me some confidence about what's in store for me. How did you know NTK was OEM? I figured it would be Bosch. That's an excellent price, regardless.

In fact, based on this I'm not sure why the shop near me quoted me $700+ for the job...

[craig1980]

Actually I didn't know NTK was OEM. I bought those just because I knew they had a good reputation and they were a great price. After pulling one from my pathfinder I realized they were identical (part numbers stamped on them and all) The only difference in the two is the factory one had a small Nissan logo stamped on it.

[atraudes]

Ah, nice! That's good to know