OK, my check engine light hyas been on for about a month now. i went to Advance auto parts and they checked the code for me. Its the o2 sensor behing the Cat Converter..$225. I have noticed a slight decrease in performance and gas mileage. I have also noticed the tranny shifting a little funny; mainly from 1st to 2nd. So, I have three questions for you experts.....

1. Will it cause any long term damage to continue driving for a little while?

2. Can the o2 sensor affect the tranny?

3. How hard is it to install an o2 sensor? the guy at Advance made it seem pretty simple

Thanks in advance for your help,

J

 

The o2 sensor is very easy to do yourself, you just take one out, and put the other one in. (assuming no wires are pinched or anything like that.) If your tranny is sluggish, it shouldn't be from the o2, but your ecu coudl be screwin it up, but chances are that your tranny is starting to slip and is on it's way out.

 

Mine was the other way around, first the tranny went then the o2 sensors...but either way hun, looks like the tranny might be going. Before you get a new one or whatnot, check the solenoids and see if they're acting up any, that could make it slip a little too.

 

if your cat is clogged it will throw a code "catlyst below thresh hold" it will cause the tranny to shift different because the ammount of effort the engine is putting out to expell the exhaust gases. i would bet you have a bad cat. i would get it fixed asap, cause you can burn valves that way. if they get scorched youre out of an engine. oh yea the rear o2 sensor has absolutly nothing to do with the emmissions or dirveability of the car. it just throws the code for the cat being bad. however it throws the same code for the cat as it does when the o2 sensor is bad.

 

it is easy i had the same problem. except mine was b4 the cat. however, either way it is really easy to do. and just so u kno i dont think that part is suppose to cost that much, the o2 b4 cat is more expensive beacuse its primary and i paid 170 for that

 

they should be the same price cause they are exactly the same. infact they are interchangeable.

 

 

denso makes a universal one for 70.00 . auto zone
dont know if universal is any good.

 

You sound like you have been through this before.
Is there anyway to tell for sure before I go to the dealership?