Let me try this again.

If I understand it correctly, you feel the car is still not running as well as it should, even though your getting mid 50's in mileage. You have the oxygen sensor, but you couldn't get the old one out.

If you had trouble getting it out, but you only have 40 minutes for the mechanic to work on it, I wouldn't have him work on it. If he encounters a problem, for any reason, you could end up halfway between here and their, with no wheels.

Their are a couple of things you could try, to get it off. The special wrench is a standard size socket, but it has a slot cut in it for the oxygen sensor wires. You can get the old one off with a long socket, the correct size, by cutting off the wires and then use a box wrench to put the replacement in.

One thing you can try is rev the engine to about 4000 rpm and keep it their for about 5 minutes. The exhaust manifold will get really hot, which will generally make it so the oxygen sensor can be removed without to much difficulty. The other possibility is to use a propane torch with a hot tip, or a acetylene torch, to heat the exhaust manifold red hot, then remove the oxygen sensor.

On the ecu, I would expect that it will be either working or not, but it is unlikely that it is going to be failing on a very marginal level, only. Best of luck to you, in any case.

huh. Thanks for the advice. I thought about cutting the wires, but I don't want to because I don't know that my oxygen sensor is bad. And seeing as it's the most expensive part in the whole car, I'd rather not! Hopefully the mechanic will be able to do it in a few minutes without any problems. He has 40 minutes to do a 20 minute job. In any event, thanks for the input.

I never had a problem with removing an O2 sensor from a car, even one on a turbo car where the exhaust manifold can start to glow, but then again, I usually am using the right tools.

Jacinto -buy an O2 sensor socket and try to get it off. If you can't take it to the shop. If the sensor is not turning, try tightening it by turning clockwise, then remove it by turning it counterclockwise.
Good luck.
Gary

i actually was tightening it inadverntently at one point. But that was with an adjustable wrench. I think the mechanic will be able to do it this morning. Wombosi picked up an o2 sensor socket wrench just for the job, but it was $40 so I thought it best to return it since the mechanic can probably do it for less.

I do attempt to, but the last half tank of gas in my car was the first time I ever drove that way, so since I only cared about half of that tank, I don't think 48mpg was too bad. The first half I probably visited the upper end of the RPM gauge about 10 times a day....haha (I blame curvy roads and a stiff suspension....and me)

For this tank I did a lot of coasting/drafting on the highway, and have been pretty consistent about not going over 2k RPM while driving and I've kept it on or under the speed limit all the time. So if this tank isn't a bunch better than the last, I'm going to have to look to my motor as being something wrong with the lean-burn (something I am hoping I DO NOT have to do).;)

Nice. So you are getting good numbers too, then. I just installed my o2 sensor so if my numbers don't go up this tank I will be sad.

Thought I'd revive this thread rather than start a new one. But perhaps I should have started a new one? I dunno what the forum norms are on things like this. This thread has 26 posts which isn't that many.

Anyway, wanted to post that last fillup I seemed to have gotten even MORE gas into the fill neck or top off or whatever. 80+ miles and it's still above the line! Anyway, maybe this tank I will hit 60? Prolly not with the colder weather. Sub freezing nights will be the norm now.

How's the CEL?

It's the same. Stays off when engine is hot. But still comes on all other times and have to turn car off when it is hot to get it to stay off. Car is driving fine. I still get very small power "surges" from time to time--but I think at this point it's all normal lean burn behavior. car is nearly running flawlessly now. No more lurching either when I coast at < 1000 rpm in gear. Still haven't installed my ECU, tho, or fixed the high idle.

Using the "guage" to guess how many gallons you have used is the most innaccurate way to measure mpg. You need to run thru multiple tanks of fuel...at least 5-6...to get a baseline with a small margin of error. You are still over 22&#37; EPA so I would say that you are doing "Good".