How often should this be changed? I know by running headers you would be shortening the life of the o2 sensor. I currently have MSD igniton but have removed the CAT. I am getting some black carbon deposit on my rear bumper and am pretty sure its from running too rich. A new o2 sensor should help shouldn't it??

 

I doubt the O2 is the issue. Lots of Honda's have that problem. I tried everything I could think of on mine. I replaced the O2 sensor, the temp sensor, plugs, wires, etc etc. It got worse over time. I finally went to a ZC motor (this was about 4 years ago) and when I pulled the head off of my old motor it appeard that the problem was the valves were so caked with carbon that the motor couldn't get enough air to match the fuel delivered when the ECU was running in its loop. The wouldn't even go all of the way back up in to the head and seat they were so bad.

Literally everyone I know with a Honda that they run hard has tiny black spots on the rear after the first year or so of driving it hard.

There are a billion reasons that could be causing the problem, but I honestly doubt its the O2. I hate to see you waste the money on a new one for nothing if you're tight on funds or whatever. I DON'T recommend getting anything other than a Honda 02 sensor though.

 

Running a header will not shorten the life of an O2 sensor, but it may run cooler than stock if relocated further downstream which may lead to increased deposits which would interfere with it's proper functioning. As for changing them out, you only need to do that when they get bad. My oriinal sensor went 175,000 miles before it got slow and lazy. You can test the putput to determine if it's working correctly. Do a search on the subject for some background on how to do it and how to interpret the readings. If it does require replacing, I also recommend the Honda sensor. I had no luck with the cheap generics on the market. Hit up manhonda.com or hparts.com for decent prices.

 

Perfectionist, Really? I was thinking of replacing mine as it has 118,000 miles on it. My car, a '95 DX Coupe, has been pinging a bit lately. I last replaced the cap and rotor and wires at 70,000 miles so I don't really suspect them. Plugs are due for replacement in another couple months and are OEM NGK. Again, I checked the gap on all of them, cleaned them but it made no difference.

Any thoughts? I took the O2 sensor out this morning. I could not believe how EASY it was to remove. I've heard horror stories but with PB blaster, it came out as easy as a spark plug. Figuring out the plastic connector actually took longer.

Anyway I gave it a pointless visual inspection: ("Yep, it's an O2 sensor, alright!") and then reinstalled it with a little never-seize on the threads. It had a light grey coating on the whole thing, if that means anything. If I get a new one, I'll get an OEM Honda sensor with all three wires.

Is it worth replacing at this point?

--- Bror Jace

 

Anybody? Anybody?

Bueller? Bueller?

 

runnig with no Cat can make this problem too,
your CAT is suppost to "catch" un-burned fuel and oil and will keep the air cleaner and your car not deposist this **** o your bumper..If this is a problem try and putting on a CAT and cleaning your bumper and see what happens.