Hello,
I know very little about the internal workings of cars so excuse me if I am asking a dumb question.

I looked under the hood the other day and noticed a problem with the component pictured below.


I noticed that the wire was disconnected and the plastic was melted at the top:


Initially I thought this was the O2 sensor, but when I followed the broken wire to where it plugged into something, it appeared that the wire plugged into an oxygen sensor.

So what is this thing, and is it necessary for the car to function? I should mention that the car in the picture was declared a salvage after an accident and I only need it to work for a few more months until I can get a new car.

Thanks,
Chris

 

yup that is your o2 sensor...

 

put lots of pb blaster on that thing before you try to get it out..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Outsane &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">put lots of pb blaster on that thing before you try to get it out..
</TD></TR></TABLE>

but not when the car is HOT. wait for it to cool a little.

 

Its not absolutly needed but you can get a universal one for around 10 bucks.