318ti Oxygen sensor

[Lunatik]

hi guys i need some advice

according to my mac he says the oxygen sensor on my car needs too be replaced.

he got a price from bmw and it costs R3600 .......kind of ridiculous for just a sensor.

i have a motorite waarranty on the car but they not sure if the warranty covers the oxygen sensor..... i just hope it does but if the warranty doesnt cover it is it possible to get a aftermarket sensor

 

[Major]

What's wrong with the car?

 

[Lunatik]

What's wrong with the car?

the idle is really low on the car it sits just above 500rpm
sometimes when accelerate the is a slight miss around 3000-4000rpm

when the guys at the workshop did a diagnostics check on the car they said a problem with the oxygen sensor came up...

 

[Mike1]

Have you tried a basic air flow sensor cleaner?

Mike

 

[Lunatik]

Have you tried a basic air flow sensor cleaner?

Mike

thats the same thing that i asked the mac.... he says it has to be replaced but he didnt even try to clean it:cursin:

i honestly dont know much bout beemers this is my first one if it was any of my other cars i would of tried to fix it myelf....

is it difficult to clean the sensor?

 

[Mike1]

Im not so sure on where to clean it or how difficult it is... But we have a Air Flow Sensor cleaner that the Ford ST guys are very fond of... Maybe suggest to your mac that he tries that first as dirt on the sensor can throw the readings off completely....

Mike

 

[Lunatik]

thanks for the advice

i'm going to ask him to try that but i'm also going to get a second opinion from another mac

 

[zaleonardz]

And a manual swap wont help for this problem... dammit I am out of advice :excited:


Seriously, Clean it first, if that does not work, take a drive out to the scrap yards, you will probably find one there, and they will allow you to fit it to your car before you leave, takes a few minutes to fit, not a hectic job.

Autofever has been quite helpful in the past to a few of their customers while I was standing at the counter with MAF sensors..

 

[Lunatik]

And a manual swap wont help for this problem... dammit I am out of advice :excited:


Seriously, Clean it first, if that does not work, take a drive out to the scrap yards, you will probably find one there, and they will allow you to fit it to your car before you leave, takes a few minutes to fit, not a hectic job.

Autofever has been quite helpful in the past to a few of their customers while I was standing at the counter with MAF sensors..

i'm in durban... do you know where the sensor is situated?

 

[zaleonardz]

Dont know anyone in Durban

Look at the airbox to where the airfliter is, you should see where there are wires connected close on in it,

Some of the other guys may be able to help you more.

And a manual swap wont help for this problem... dammit I am out of advice :excited:


Seriously, Clean it first, if that does not work, take a drive out to the scrap yards, you will probably find one there, and they will allow you to fit it to your car before you leave, takes a few minutes to fit, not a hectic job.

Autofever has been quite helpful in the past to a few of their customers while I was standing at the counter with MAF sensors..

i'm in durban... do you know where the sensor is situated?

 

[Lunatik]

i found this article on the net it was quite helpful.

atleast now i know where to start looking

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-O2_Sensor/E36-O2_Sensor.htm

 

[Major]

There seems to be some confusion here. Either it's the airflow sensor (what zaleonardz is talking about) or the oxygen sensor (which is in your exhaust headers). I had no idea oxygen sensors went for that much! :dropjaw:

 

[Lunatik]

There seems to be some confusion here. Either it's the airflow sensor (what zaleonardz is talking about) or the oxygen sensor (which is in your exhaust headers). I had no idea oxygen sensors went for that much! :dropjaw:

its the oxygen sensor that goes on the exhaust.


believe i was more than shocked when i heard the price.....

 

[Mike1]

Aaah ok... Nevermind..

 

[zaleonardz]

Yep, when you mentioned the price of 3200 I assumed it was the MAF,

Actually never heard of the oxygen sensor in the exhaust going poof.... its usually the MAF, oh well you learn something new every day..

 

[Lunatik]

Yep, when you mentioned the price of 3200 I assumed it was the MAF,

Actually never heard of the oxygen sensor in the exhaust going poof.... its usually the MAF, oh well you learn something new every day..

i'm pretty sure that this sensor needs to be cleaned....

its probably getting an error because of the carbon build up around it or something but if i'm wrong then its going to cost me 3.6k to replace:bawling:

 

[Tlvivo]

have u called BMW yourself to double check the price... Just my 2c I always call for parts myself. Another suggestion would be to get together with a fellow fanatic driving the same car and test the sensor on his car and his on yours, if of course it wont cause any interference with their car...

 

[Lunatik]

have u called BMW yourself to double check the price... Just my 2c I always call for parts myself. Another suggestion would be to get together with a fellow fanatic driving the same car and test the sensor on his car and his on yours, if of course it wont cause any interference with their car...

i called a bmw they gave me the same price...

unfortunately i dont know anybody that has a car like mine....

but i will try to see if i can get a replacement because i know bosch makes these sensors so most probably i can get it direct from them

 

[koos12]

Yes, try Bosch. I paid a whole R1500 cheaper for a MAF than what the agents charged me.( Mechanic friend bought it and got special discount) Sure the O2 sensors will be much cheaper as well. Try cleaning the pre cat sensor. Remember this is going into the exhaust so there's a lot of contaminants and build up on the sensor. It can be clean with a good electrical cleaner. Give it some time to dry completely. Don't worry to much about the post cat sensor as it only read the emissions that come out of the cats and it doesn't interfere with fuel economy or performance.

 

[STREETRACER]

You get two tipes of oxigen sensors! narrow band and wide band!! narow band has 4 wires and wide band has 8.. narrows go for R600 @ bosch and wide R1200..
I see them pop alot!!! cheap octane boosters, leaded fuels incl avgas!!! even the lamda sensor we use in a probe to measure your AFR when we tune!!! the AVgas cars chows the sensors!!!

Your arflow sensor is easy to clean!! either unscrew it from your airbox, keep it atatched to the intake pipe!! Take Carburator cleaner!! start your car while it idles!!! rev it up a little and then spray the electrode or fin or what ever that litle copper thing is called quite a bit from all posible angles but if you dont rev it up your car will stall!!!

Option two is remove it completely and spray the living shit out of it with carb cleaner!! make sure u shake it dry befor putting it back an please ive seen people drop it while shacking it dry.. then its f...cked!!

option 3 is on the very top part of your air flow sensor there is 2x alenkey tipe screws but the are that flower shape not alenkey! remove them two and just pull the electrode part out!!! and clean it with carb cleaner!!

Electro cleaner also works well!! just dont use penetrating oil!! that just causes even more shit and then dust sticks to it like shit to a wool blanket!!

hope you get it sorted dude!! keep us updated!!