Solving The Subie Problems One Sensor At A Time...

I can fix the car again! And why not? 

Replacing "Cheap O2 sensor" with New

I just finished installing a new Oxygen Sensor in the Subaru.   And for the first time in YEARS....  the Check engine light has gone off.   Even after installing a new O2 sensor a year ago,  the check engine light did not stay off for very long.  I was informed that the Heater in the sensor was always going to fail...even on the new ones.   And that it was not that big of a deal.  What can I say,  I'm no mechanic.  I'll defer to their judgement.

I guess Subie's Prefer this brand.

But then we read that Subaru is pretty specific in his O2 Sensor brands.  Cheryl thought that it was time to finally see if that was one of the reasons the strange idle was happening.  And if we could finally fix that annoying Check Engine light... all the better.

Hmm,  Kinda Dirty. 

It was not to bad to remove.   It was nice having done it before, so I had a running understanding of the job.   And I knew that I had put the anti-seize on the threads last time, allowing for easy removal.

Say goodbye to the Check Engine Light.

Upon pulling it out I could see that it was, indeed, dirty.  I'm not sure if that was because of the heater element not working or something else.   However, I tested the sensor on my desk and discovered that it was not offering any resistance!   I wonder how long it had been really broke?

My New Subaru Toy.

Swap out the old with the new and start it up.   Things are working as they should and the check engine light is finally off!   In addition, I also hooked up a cheap car reader to see if there were any other problems.   So far... so good.

We shall see for how long...

I'm not sure how long the check engine light will stay off.  Or if the new brand of O2 sensor will continue to last.  But for the moment,  the idle, steering, front head light and check engine light are fixed.  (Or at least running better than they were...)

Replacing Burned out Console lights

And while I'm on the subject,  Cheryl told me I had to confess to all my transgressions while dealing with the car problems.  Like a doctor who dropped a junior mint into a patient,   I always end up doing something "bad" while operating on the Subie.   Case in point,  I had to replace a console light in the dash. (It ended up being two lights that were burned out.)

To get there, I have to remove all this stuff!

Careful not to drop any fasteners... DOH!

I still manage to screw things up though.

 In the process of taking the dash apart,  I cracked one of the panels.   Nothing big,  but I was being so careful....  I also always lose a screw or a clip whenever I work on body parts.  No matter how careful I am,  a screw or clip fall into the abyss behind the dash.  Grrr!

Where did I put that thing? 

Also,,  I purchased a special tool to help get that O2 sensor off last time.  And would you guess it,  I managed to "misplace" it before I had a chance to use it again.   So yesterday we bought another "O2 Removal Tool" and that is when I found the old one.  It figures that I would tear the house apart looking for it, only to find it after I had already spent $13 on a new one.

Maybe after all parts are in. 

So we shall see how things go.  Cheryl has some additional sensors arriving in a few days, so that will another opportunity to fix or break things further.

Subaru Secret Handshake. I feel so special...

  I'll hold off on the "Secret Subie Handshake"  until all of the parts are on and assembled.  I love secret handshakes.   It makes me feel like I'm part of a secret Subaru society that set us apart from Ford and Chevy people. 
 Like a silent form of snobbery that I normally can't display in public.