O2 sensors

Opinion: if the ends match and the manufacturer indicates that it fits your vehicle for that application, does it matter which brand it is??

50/50 shot in my experience. IF it's import, probably less. Sensors are so picky with certain makes and I'm picky because I'm not going to do it twice. 

I buy OEM (or their supplier), I had some issues with Bosch sensors on a Dodge that led me to the OEM or bust conclusion.

I’ve had a completely different experience. O2 sensors are fundamentally the same as long as they are narrowband. They read out “1”&”0”. I’ve put o2’s from vw’s on my 22re Toyota. Didn’t even blink. Put Mitsubishi o2’s on various other cars. Never had a problem. Now as far as aftermarket goes, I suppose there could be issues. But I’ve just taken old o2’s from the JYnand put them in anything and it worked. 

Same here.  I had a car that just would not stop throwing a CEL after I replaced the downstream O2.

I did buy Bosch to replace a pair on my high mileage 2013  F150. A CEL P-0131  pops up on a regular basis. I haven't done the swap yet so I'll see if they work out.

In reply to Trackmouse :

OBD1, absolutley no problems with whatever you want to use. OBD11, get the OE. I would say ~90% of the aftermarket O2's we put on used cars failed in a week after install. 

Ntk is usually adequate for narrow band, but oe or equivalent is a guarantee.  Wide band, it gets the name printed on the original one.  

dj06482 said:

I buy OEM (or their supplier), I had some issues with Bosch sensors on a Dodge that led me to the OEM or bust conclusion.

The magic word is ..."or their supplier."  The supplier for my Toyota is Nippondenso.  It's a Pep Boys regular stock item in my area.  So I get the same sensor as the OEM at a good price.

Speaking of sensors.... the last 2 sensors I had to purchase for the wife's last couple of Korean Twins I got from NAPA. Inside the Echlin box was a brand new Hyundai or Kia sensor in the original Hyundai or Kia packaging. (one crank, one TPS)It was half price of the OE parts. Funny as hell to me. 

I've had good luck with the Bosch ones on my Toyotas.  Narrow band and late 90's.

I had to replace them on my Dodge Dakota and the Bosch catalog had half of them incorrect.  The Dodge uses some funky 2.7V sensors rather than 1v narrow or 5v wide.  I ended up with Denso's from Advanced Auto.  

It seems like Mopars and Porsches are picky, in my experience.  I just had to replace a Bosch sensor in the 2005 Chrysler minivan, brand-new, out of the box it was throwing codes.  Replaced it with a Denso and all was well.

Denso seems to always be a good brand. For any sensor. It’s the primary brand sensor for all sensors on Toyota’s, and we all know how reliable they are. 

So Denso o2 sensors are kinda like What NGK is to spark plugs?

all I can tell you, on my disco, the front two O2 sensors came from Atlantic British and they worked fine. The rears, not so much. I had to hand over a few hundred to my local LR dealer to get a set of genuine LR O2 sensors and then my truck was happy

Just to show off useless knowledge, that is a Carter BBD.  Even more useless, BBD stands for ball ball dual.  Two check balls in the accelerator pump circuit, dual throat throttle.

Don't you feel better knowing that?

So, just stick with Bosch on my 996 or denso?

As with any aftermarket part, its kind of a crap shoot.  In the case of O2 sensors, it seems to show up in terms of longevity.

The way they work is two layers of platinum with zirconium dioxide in between.  The difference in ionic oxygen in the atmosphere versus the oxygen in the exhaust causes a voltage potential across the barrier.  Less oxygen in the exhaust means rich and makes a larger voltage potential, lean means the opposite or less voltage.

If you pull apart a quality sensor, you would see relatively thick platinum and highly compacted ZrO2.  Cheap sensors use foil and some cheap zirc.  They work fine until they don't.  In the punishing atmosphere of exhaust vibes and heat, they will all likely work beautifully when first installed, but a Bosch might last 100k while an AutoZone special might last a couple years.

And as always, I say "might."  Its also possible that the AutoZone sensor is a Bosch unit stuffed in an AZ box with a lower price and shorter warranty.

The whole idea of "brand X works best with this car" is one of those things that people like me can't really understand because its not really possible, but it's so true.  Ever put a Champion spark plug in a Nissan?  If you did, chances are you swapped them out for Denso or NGK the next day.  Those sensors are all calibrated to within 0.02v so it shouldn't matter what sensor you use, but it sometimes makes a difference.

Sensors is sensors with one caveat:  Don't install Bosch sensors in anything unless that happened to be the OE application.  And don't install a "universal" Bosch sensor in anything at all.

No, I can't explain it either, you'd think something as simple an output as an oxygen sensor would be fine to play musical parts with, but no.

Having seen some recent data, there is a pretty nice shift depending on who makes it. And the monitor is far more sensitive based on what's left to detect post catalyst. 

Personally, I prefer Bosch sensors. But it's just that they are easier to work with for my specific role. 

Anyone think I can use Denso in the 996?

You probably can, but not sure why.  Is there a big price difference?  Porsche would have used a Bosch as OEM.  If there isn't much price difference I'd go Bosch.  We are talking about German electronics here.  Most German cars you can't even use aftermarket bulbs for brake lights or it will think they aren't there.  That sounds like a joke, but its not.

So, honestly, use what you want and it will likely be OK, but don't be surprised if you suddenly have a SES/CEL or your MPGs change significantly.  I really hate to think of it that way, but its often true with your application.

Bosch is about $40 more than denso for all 4. Doing a 120k service so I'll be spending a bundle on the old girl.

Gotcha.  I would personally pony up for Bosch, but I understand the reasoning.  40 bucks is 40 bucks.

I would say weigh the options.  In my mind it seems like you either spend the extra cash and have an excellent chance of it being right, or save the extra 40 knowing that there is a small chance you'll have to do it again.  Make sure you can return the Densos if they don't work.  Sometimes there is a strict no-return policy on things like O2s

Edit:  Actually, there is a third option that I would personally probably do... don't replace them unless they're failing.  I'm all for scheduled maintenance, but O2s are something that tend to either work or don't.  They do fall out of spec; develop cracks in the electrolyte, etc, at which point they'll throw a code.  When it comes to O2s, I wait until they're a problem.  Put it this way:  Given how much could go wrong when replacing them, O2s are something that I say "if it ain't broke..."

I have a CEL that won't let me pass emissions. Says the variable between the sensors. So I'm guessing sensors. Praying not cat.