elnido

My mpg seems OK, 17-18 on a good day, could be better. Thought I'd clean the 02 sensor today, this is after minimal cleaning w/ denatured alcohol. Replace?

tomrunner

I'm not sure if you got the Idea of "cleaning the O2 sensor from my early post in this thread...Replaced Front O2 Sensor but I also cleaned my O2 sensor with denatured alchohol(and acetone) with a similar looking appearence as yours.
I haven't posted my results yet because I haven't burned a full tank but I am VERY certain that an increase in MPG is taking place.

--I would test the cleaned o2 sensor before buying a new one and see what results you get as mine are going to be good--

my .02 cents
Tom

**P.S. You may want to try something more powerful and effective like acetone which is what I used with which lots of stuff came out of the sensor. I also took an old tooth brush and lightly put the bristles in the small holes of the 02 sensor just to get as much gunk out.

Steveh29

I've got 180K on the single 02 sensor in my 1995 V6 5 speed. My gas mileage has always been around 17 mpg and I bought the truck brand new. Unless I see a weird decrease I wasn't planning on changing it. Maybe I should clean it out and see if something happens.

elnido

tom, Im the guy who PM'd you earlier bout this. I ended up cleaning it while it was dangleing from the connection (couldn't get it unclipped without thinking I was going to really screw something up). Once it's off, did you submerge the sensor in acetone, or just brush it on? I wasn't sure how crazy to get on it since I haven't gotten a replacement yet.
thanks

tomrunner

Hehe-Forgot about the PM

I left mine connected and "lifted" the solvent up to the sensor in something equivalent to a cereal bowl and soaked the sensor(part that goes into exhaust) for a few seconds. I then used the brush to loosen any grime and repeated the previous steps a few times util no more grime was coming out.

***UPDATE- After cleaning my O2 sensor I increased my MGP from 15.5 to 17.6

Cheers
Tom

dibble9012

i definately need to do this then, i get about 15.5 too, just dont want to ruin my o2 sensor somehow, they are more expensive than i feel like paying for right now, especially since I have the CA version 4runner, hahaha. So just soak it for a few seconds in denatured alcohol, then acetone? and do this a couple of times until no more gunk comes out? Something to do over the weekend

tomrunner

Yep that is what I did and have had great success. Acetone is the most important solvent to use as it removes the most grime from the sensor.

Good luck
Tom

dibble9012

how did you guys take off the nuts? mine are on there really tight, and are really corroded, just put some wd40 on there the day before? Anyone know what type of nut it takes? i need to replace all of the nuts.

midiwall

Head to a autoparts store and look for PB Blaster, I've had better luck using it than WD40 for getting bolts unstuck. Soak the nuts with it, wait 10 minutes and try to get them loose. Wait, try, wait, try, soak, wait, try... They'll eventually come free.

dibble9012

ok, what size nuts are they on an 00? i need to replace all of them

tomrunner

My 96 3RD generation has 12mm 02 sensor bolts...

Tom

dibble9012

ok, finally did it, it will be interesting as my sensors were not that dirty, not much came out, although i did just dip them in acetone and brush them for a couple minutes, not too long. Took forever to get the bolts off, but i finally got them off using wd40, the old bolts were awful! Now i have nice new shiny bolts on there protected from too much rust with wd40. BTW the bolts on my 2000 were 8mm, got them at lowes. (I was so proud, I completely eyeballed the size. hahaha) Hope my gas mileage improves a little, not expecting dramatic results as I do like to use the ect button a lot and accelerate faster than i should from stop lights

EDIT: also hope i didnt somehow fry my o2 sensors, but i think thats a far out chance