RE: Craig's O2 sensor

["Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>]

> Chris, as a professional, I wouldn't do it. Just because a spark plug will
> go in
> the hole, is it right for the application? You can use recycled oil too,
> or DOT 2
> brake fluid, coolant containing phosphates, and gyppo distributor rotors
> and
> caps, but why would you?
> You're driving cars that were pretty expensive when new, and probably
> represent a
> pretty substantial investment on your part. You belong to a pretty
> exclusive
> interest group on the 'net, and exhibit a measure of  interest and pride
> in your
> ride. It makes sense to me to use the utmost care for your investment. VAG
> and
> Bosch R&D worked together at no small expense to develop the fuel/ignition
> systems on these cars, and you and I have little or no knowledge of the
> fine
> subtleties of either system, nor of those of the Ford for which the sensor
> of
> which you speak was intended. I, personally and professionally, am
> sticking with
> the specified product until Bosch comes out with a substitute. They make
> some for
> the single wire system, and they'd probably make one for the multi wire
> system
> 
... as I said in my earlier post, Bosch does have 3 wire replacements
available.  Given the fact that splicing 3 wires is more difficult than one,
and the possibility of a short circuit in the heater section is: 1 - more
likely, and 2 - could have more serious consequences, than for the single
splice on the one wire unit may be why you don't see them around in many
places.  The reason that the specific app units are so expensive is that
each individual unit has a specified length of wire attached ... if a lot of
cars use the same lengths your's does the price will be cheaper.  You can
tell by the fact that the "universal" units are so cheap in comparison that
the actual cost of the sensor itself is quite moderate.  The only deciding
factor is whether or not the exhaust gasses are hot enough to bring the OXS
to operating temp to tell whether you need a self heated unit or not ...

An OXS is not at all as complex as a spark plug or even coolant ... all it
is doing is comparing the amount of oxygen in the exhaust with that in the
ambient air and providing a signal back.  It is true now that there are more
sophisticated wide range sensors, but AFAIK with the possible exception of
the latest model years the characteristics of the OXS are exactly like those
shown in the Bosch Automotive Handbook ... and used to tell what the A/F
ratio is in a narrow band near stoichiometric ...

Don't get me wrong ... if you believe that there is a valid reason to pay
2-4x the cost of the "universal" than please feel free to continue to use
them.  I will continue to use the universals in my cars with no qualms at
all!

Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)