92 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3l- O2 sensor stuck!

When they're really stuck, about all you can do is heat O2 sensor fitting with an oxy-acetylene torch.

Neil Nelson wrote in :

how about a propane torch? i can't get access to an OA torch for at least a week.

carl

Yeah Tom thats it. From stone cold let it run a couple of minutes, not long at all, then try. I have never had a major problem with this method.

A standard propane torch probably won't get things hot enough, a "whirlwind" type propane torch *might*.

Ya gotta have a back-up plan...

yes- on top of the exhuast manifold, just in front of the exhuast pipe. it can be reached from above and from below. it's hard to get good leverage from above, so i crawled underneath. it is very accesible- just stuck.

at the top of each cylinder...

yup, no problem reaching it, just a problem breaking it out.

carl

The 3.3 does not have points.. My 1975 318 doesn't even have points. My ma's '74 LeSaber did though... Perhaps you are mistaken with your terminology? I haven't seen a set of points in about.... 13 years, and they haven't been used in automobiles in about 30 years. I can't even think of what you may be talking about either.... at the top of each cylinder is a set of points? It's a 1992?

But anyway... about the topic at hand. Extreme heat may be the only hope for getting your O2 sensor out. Put anti-seize compound on the threads to prevent this from happening again. (As well as to your spark plug threads).

I have heard that if you wrap a frozen shop rag around the o2 sensor then warm the car up to almost normal, then the sensor will stay small while the manifold expands. Then the o2 sensor should come out easier. Also try some wd-40!

Uh, caterbro, are you not in the USA/Canada by chance? Those ignition devices installed at the top of each cylinder are called 'spark plugs' or 'plugs' for short. Unless you're somewhere with a different local lexicon, you've got the wrong terminology.

'Points' were used in the distributor during pre-electronic ignition days.

--Geoff

that must be it. always called spark plugs "points" and the little diguses in the distributor "contacts"

carl

i didn't need the hair on my arms anyway...:)

i will try this- thanks for the tips, everyone, and i'll let you know how it goes.

carl

sorry- i guess i meant spark plugs. are points the contacts in a distributor cap? cause i've put those in my 81 chevy and my 85 toyrot.

thanks for the advice. if i can't get it out tomorrow with heat and etc, i give up and i'll have to have the shop drill it out. it is in there pretty fin tight. maybe i'll pull the manifold and drill it myself...

carl

Points are the ol' fashioned way to tell the coil when to fire... located inside the distributor under the cap. Today's distributors have a stator or hall-effect sensor (or even optical sensors) to tell the coil when to fire.

But I don't think they're the contacts you are referring to, although they are contacts (actually a set of 2 contacts, hence "a set of points").

The 3.3 has a distributorless ignition system. It has a set of coil packs controlled by the computer, which will fire the coils according to the sensor readings it (the computer) is getting from the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors (and others for timing advance).