“mechanic” SECRET to removing oxygen sensor (stuck or seized) O2 

Gotta love these guys that show a top mounted O2 sensor above the engine rather than one tucked up under the car in a tight area and NO LIFT! This video depicts less than 5% of the combinations out there. And doesn't acknowledge the other 95% or any helpful tips with those that don't have clearance. Nor disconnecting the O2 sensor at the junction, up wire, so not to stress, if reusing it!

What about cutting the wire and using deep well if it’s being replaced anyway

Ya going to be tough to do when I am on the ground under my car trying to remove the down stream sensors, but like the clamp idea.

What most of these tips and tricks videos have is either a breaker bar or plenty of room to manuver, or usually both. I do not have that. There's no way to get a breaker bar into it. The sensor is extremly siezed.

Just asking... Could you cut the wires and then use a regular deep socket?

Sure it works great all I have to do is turn my motor down so I can get to it this video helps not one bit when you're lying on your back underneath your vehicle with your hands tied in knots up in the chassis

Complicate this a little by changing an O2 sensor that's on the rear of the engine where arms can't fit with a cm of clearance between itself and the bulk head... A top mounted is a dream but in reality the bastard isn't this simple...

Never push a break over bar/ratchet away from you. Always find a way to pull, pull, pull. Great other than that.

I had one stuck and the completely rounded out the hex nut on the sensor using the O2 sensor socket. I had to resort to a pipe wrench cause it has some excellent grip

Yeh, works Great...Except for when it doesnt..

Why not just snip the wires at the at the O2 sensor and use a box wrench

I used that exact method and from the ground with no lift so didnt have much room for leverage. I was soo surprised when it worked. Ty for this help

Been working on mine for 3 days now. I tried that trick over and over the first 2. Ive never seen a sensor so embedded into something like this.

If I'm pulling a a O2 sensor off it's getting replaced so anymore I just cut the wire and throw a socket on it

it is impossible to unscrew it. The edges are already starting to break down😭

Wish I had all that room around mine in our Buick Lacrosse. That almost looks easy compared to what I'm fighting.

I miss the simplicity of older cars , when you could lift the bonnet and see everything, and didn't have to remove a ton of plastic covers or pipes , before they had sensor things that look like spark plugs etc etc.. I used to do my own basic maintenance at home . I didn't know what thst sensor thing was until looking on utube, I thought it was a spark plug & just wondered why it had a spark plug sticking out of an aluminium cover around the manifold, I can't even see that part of the exhaust & see where the blowing noise is actually coming from...

Thanks for taking the time to produce & share this enlightenment vid' . Now if I can find the location of the 'sensor that the RockAuto sys identified & sold me (x2) for my '82 F-100 V6 3.8L M3oT !

i wish mine was that easy to access. nice trick!

Try that in the "rust belt" that flimsy socket is only any good for installing a new sensor.

All wrenches and sockets stretch with age... They can be off as much as 10, th. new from one to the other. Sockets should fit tight so use several layers of aluminum foil as a shim....

This is a great idea if there is a good amount of clearance. LOL , the simplest and most sensible is to bring the exhaust to running temp, this will cause the metal to expand turn your vehicle off get under there with a wrench or an adjustable and loosen the o2 sensor with ease. Just watch the exhaust it is very hot. This works well if you do not have a set of torches.

The idea is to turn it smoothly without side loading and binding the threads. If you can, use a socket, extension, and a cheater bar or impact to preserve the bung threads. You want to turn the sensor evenly on its axis.

Now..a trick for the sensors with the guard around it.

That would work. But ive got a different one that doesn't need help, it's just thicker metal.

Nice. Ill try this on my audi A6 3.0T.. they are seize and hard to remove. Do you know the torque specs for them?

Thanks but no good for me. I had the tool and went out and bought a breaker bar. It is so tight in my engine, I could not move the breaker bar into a position that will allow me to get a good grip on. Now I can go and get ripped off blind by a mechanic

Just cut the cable and put a regular 22 socket on it 🤣 youre changing the sensor

I modified an old bearing race to be a knock-on fit to do the same thing. Same principle. It really is the best way.

Using an imperial socket on a metric bolt. That's why it's slipping 😂 It's 22mm NOT 7/8"

The O2 sensors that are the most tough to remove are the ones that are downstream and only accessible from underneath. There's such a limited amount of space to make most tools useless to get the leverage needed. A torch was required, and I still needed a thread chaser to install the new replacement sensor properly, and for the next time, there's a similar issue again.

Rolled a corner of the sensor with a long handled wrench. Got a socket like the one depicted. Small cutout, not the ones missing a whole side. Clamped down a 7/8 and it worked perfectly. Thanks!

Plumbers wrench works great Used it plenty of times

Never understood why people just don’t cut the wire if you’re replacing it and put a regular socket on it…

Unfortunately, when I did this, the O2 sensor came out complete the stripped out there was a little bit of thread on the exhaust pipe on the bung hole so I had to replace the O2 sensor and the bunghole

Tried this. The sensor was stuck so hard that I ended up putting so much torque on the socket that even the hose broke...

Those socets aren't worth crap even on the most rusted 02 sensors. I bought 2 brands of 02 sockets and none of them worked.

i hate how easy ppl make this look. like bruh your doing this from up top i got like 2 inches of space for my breaker bar

Protip, before spinning those sensors out, unplug them from the harness so you don't have to worry about fighting with that wire.

Disconnect the pig tail cut the wire use regular socket to put back on a closed end wrench trough the disconnected wire

Or you can just cut off the cord since its getting replaced anyway.

I hate when people have room to get a socket, wrench, or anything else on their O2 sensors.

Just use a blue wrench (propane was enough for me last week) on the exhaust side of the threads (not the sensor itself). Things will start expanding and eventually release. Make sure you use anti seize when reinstalling. Don't let the car body get too hot, I've seen videos of people catching the carpet on fire when playing with fire or welding under the car.

Wow I had save problem yr the man today sir thanks you 😅

That didn’t work. All it did was snap the screw clamp.

I have a Mazda 3 and will need a mechanically inclined weasel to attach the hose clamp.

Yas! I think you just saved me hours of heart ache!

Now this is a great tip thanks for the help keep it up

That hose clamp did absolutely nothing

I sawsall the sensor so i can use an impact socket. Then use a sensor install tool

I like this. I can not get mine off and I am afraid its going to strip.

Thank you I thought I wasted a bucks

The oxygen sensor socket is for installing the new sensor. If you are replacing the sensor you can just cut the wire off and use a normal socket for removal, no rigging required.

That bullshit does not work dude try again

This video save my life Needs to gets more views

Use the lower profile one 👍. Simples

you're lucky....you can get at that one.......

What do I do if this didn't work. Have been trying to avoid using a torch

The socket is meant for installing a "New" sensor. For removing? Where possible? A combination wrench works for me. Think its a 7/8's or cut the wire and put a full socket over it. Also theres nothing wrong with putting a LiL heat on it. Or doing it, a few/several minutes. After you turn off the engine, warm not hot! Not right after. CAUTION: touching hot exhaust, will give you an instant blister. Even a test touch, DONT!

Who uses a pipe wrench 😅😂 to remove a O2 sensor 😂😂

That wasn't stuck or seized, it was just tight. That cheap socket and hose clamp won't work on a sensor that's truly stuck or seized. A thicker O2 socket works in many cases, but sometimes even that won't work. At that point, The sensor isn't going to survive. Just break off the sensor body above the hex, and use a 6-point socket on what's left. That will remove the sensor if it wasn't rounded by the previous attempts.

This is got to be the best video I have seen on o2 sensor removal . Thank you this works .

O2 sensors should not be too tight it's the rust that makes the sensor too tight, I use heating and shrinking method and use the correct tool oe wrench to remove the sensor, I don't know about this hose clamp stuff.

Made one of those years ago.

Damn. I love how these vids are made with vehicles that have room for luxuries like breaker bars and deep sockets. Mini coopers FML.

did nothing but get in way

A good video. Straightforward and no annoying music in the background. Innovative approach to a common problem. Thanks for posting.

I just cut off the wire harness and use a half inch 22mm long impact socket and rachet. Never had a problem.

I have a lot of questions because I have been stuck taking out this o2 sensor for months ( over 6 months ago probably longer). That angle you were showing I don't have that option. I have to jack that care up and do it under the car. You make it look so easy when I have been trying to do it myself I have been failing a lot of times. I have no leverage from the ground are you removing that from the top?

WOW, THANK YOU

1, disconnect connector 2 use either 7/8 or 22mm box end wrench 3 if you are not reusing O2, cut its pigtail & use an impact socket. 4, if all else fails heat up pipe not the sensor with a torch to loosen Wear real leather gloves

I've been taking the exhaust system off but once l removed the cab and got a 3 dolla wrench on it eazy as pie

My comment was to the fact that appears it will work very well where ya can get in there like that on top of the engine. Under a car its lucky if U can get that socket in there on the damn thing.

The design of the socket is lacking and the solution is simple.

my favourite for O2 sensors and nox sensors is,...lots of penetrant then i use a heat gun for 5min than a crows foot works everytime

Since you replace the O2 sensor, why not just cut the wire? There are also another tools to undo them.

Or you just get the socket that comes with a spring steel ring that you slide the socket down into as you put it on the O2 sensor and slips around the outside to stop the socket from stretching open...

Gotta love that no BS kind of video that gets straight to the point, fantastic high def visual, and actually gives you information you can use. Thank you!

Thanks, Live Free! 🙂 Remember that God loves ❤️ you!

Good tip but in my 40 plus years as a mechanic I never seen or thought about this as an issue. Yes , O2 sensors do seize in but if your removing it , it’s for a reason that you suspect it’s bad and replacing it. I usually cut the wire off so i don’t have to use the special socket ( I have a few variations of them) , make sure your 7/8 deep sockets bore is all the way up. Take a die grinder to do this if yours isn’t. I found a cheaper one that luckily was already deep enough and no grinding needed. The reason for using the $10 cheap one is so I didn’t have to bore out a $50 snap on socket

@ kinggook- did you get the job done? I use a long 1/2 extension and keep a lot of downward pressure on the tool as I break it free. If that tool rocks you get complications.

Great tips!!! If replacing anyway why would it matter to spin the wire?

or you spray some rust penetrant on it for an hour, then start the engine and run it for 5 minutes then remove the sensor when hot.

You rock!

Good , that's exactly what I was going to try as a second option

Very smart

Very Nice, Smart, Improvised!!!!!!!! 👍

I was ready to weld more metal to the bottom of the socket to stiffen it. This is an easier idea for everyone.

Nice!

Very Nice, Thanks so much, worked like a charm...

Thanks

Genius!

If I’d only seen this before I utterly destroyed the hex

Mine has a metal heat shield around it pipe wrench will not work for me

I’m just getting ready to dive into the O2 removal project now you probably saved me about two hours worth of time lol thank you very much and God bless you🙏✝️

where you get the tool from

That socket sucks , theres literally a wrench built for your 02 sensors

This is an excellent idea and methodology! Thank you!

i used the similar trick to get my inner tie rod out.

👍🏼