Today my check engine light came on and I am told the problem is my 02 sensor bank 1 sensor 1. Where is this 02 sensor, the guy at the auto part store said its on the driver side, is this true? also how hard is it to replace and is there anything special I need to know about changing it ?

Thanks for the help.

Bank 1 is the passenger side.

wrong bank 1 is the drivers side. and sensor 1 is the one before the converter sensor 2 is after the converter.

Where do you think that cylinder #1 is? bank 1 is the same side that cylinder #1 is.

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I know your just trying to help but you could cost someone time and money with wrong information.

I just learned something myself. I had three people tell me the other way so thanks for the info as I have a bank 2 sensor 2 malfunction myself

ovsims how many miles on your car? The downstream O2 sensors are actually catalyst monitors. They don't switch like a normal O2 sensor,and very seldom do they go bad. If they do start switching like a normal O2 sensor then that means that your catalytic converters are bad. What code did you have? Catalytic converters are covered under emissions warranty for I believe 8/80. Just trying to save you some $$.

one other thing to consider. When you check/test 02 sensors, you can't have the car running idle. You have to have the RPM's between 2000-2500 rpms.
If a CEL code throws 02 sensor than fine, but if you are monitoring the sinusodial wave (ex. W/ the Autoenginuity Scantool) anything below those RPMS will make it look like bad 02 sensor
Just thought I'd through that out there.

Just because you're getting an O2 sensor code doesn't mean the sensor is bad...it means it's not reading where it's supposed to be. There could be several reasons for that...including a bad sensor. Check your cross counts. Also manually lean and richen the car and see if it responds. (pull a vacuum line for lean and choke off the air supply for rich) If it acts slow...or not at all, replace it. Otherwise, look for a problem elsewhere such as a vacuum leak, etc. (common on V6 with the PCV hoses)

one other thing to consider. When you check/test 02 sensors, you can't have the car running idle. You have to have the RPM's between 2000-2500 rpms.
If a CEL code throws 02 sensor than fine, but if you are monitoring the sinusodial wave (ex. W/ the Autoenginuity Scantool) anything below those RPMS will make it look like bad 02 sensor
Just thought I'd through that out there.

That's interesting. I've never seen or experienced that with OTC Monitors or the NGS tester. Is this Autoenginuity software only? Or have you run across this with other tools too?

ovsims how many miles on your car? The downstream O2 sensors are actually catalyst monitors. They don't switch like a normal O2 sensor,and very seldom do they go bad. If they do start switching like a normal O2 sensor then that means that your catalytic converters are bad. What code did you have? Catalytic converters are covered under emissions warranty for I believe 8/80. Just trying to save you some $$.

about 130,000 miles and none of my sensors have every been changed

about 130,000 miles and none of my sensors have every been changed

Ughh...it's time then...regardless of the cause of the fault.

what was the code?

and yes bank 1 is passenger side, sensor 1 upstream, not to bad to change, if thats the problem.

not sure about the code. I went to autozone and they just said bank 2 sensor 2 malfunctioning

That is the rear sensor on the driver's side. That sensor is there for one reason only...and that is to measure the efficiency of the cats. With that many miles it wouldn't hurt to change the sensor and see if it fixes the problem. You should probably change them all anyway. If it doesn't fix the problem, you could have a cat gone bad...which also wouldn't surprise me with that many miles.

does the 02 Sensor control the air bag light and check oil light too? when i start up my car (00 V8) they come on and stay on the whole ride. it did receive an oil change recently so it's probably just a sensor or two gone bad.

derr, meant engine light not oil light.

does the 02 Sensor control the air bag light and check oil light too? when i start up my car (00 V8) they come on and stay on the whole ride. it did receive an oil change recently so it's probably just a sensor or two gone bad.

The O2 sensor sends information to the ECM...which in turn will turn on the Check Engine Light if it falls out of the programmed parameters...for whatever reason. The O2 sensor has nothing to do with the ABS. That has it's own set of sensors and controller. But the same principal applies. If a sensor falls outside programmed parameters, the ABS Controller will turn on the ABS light.

true, there could be multiple reasons for the sensor falling out of range. but does that usually mean the sensor itself is bad? i have 52,000 miles on my LS so i dont believe there are any cat issues. id like to do this switch myself, is there someone here with the part #s for these two sensors and any replacement steps?

Do you need any special tools to change the O2 sensor. I know I should have changed them long time ago just been lazy. oh btw found out whats wrong, one of the four wires on sensor 2 broke so I'm going to try and put it back together

cool, let us know the results

Do you need any special tools to change the O2 sensor. I know I should have changed them long time ago just been lazy. oh btw found out whats wrong, one of the four wires on sensor 2 broke so I'm going to try and put it back together

Be careful what you're doing here. An O2 sensor does not use input from the ECM. It generates it's own power source that the ECM reads. That is an extremely low voltage source (less than 1 volt) and any resistance at all in that line can raise hell with the readings. You also have wire feeds to the sensor for the heater too. These are used to get the O2 sensor hot faster to get the car into closed loop asap. Regardless of what wire is broken, you are probably better off replacing the harness that's damaged if it's one that's easily removed and replaced. If it's part of the main harness though, that would be prohibitively expensive and a repair is in order. Just make good and sure you use proper electrical repair techniques. The proper repair procedure is outlined in the ford wiring diagram manual if you're in doubt. Just be sure you use a connector designed for a solder connection, solder it, and shrink wrap it to protect it from the elements.

put the wire back together and drove around. The MIL or CEL went out for the first time in about two months