92 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3l- O2 sensor stuck!

hi- any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm just done a bunch of tune up stuff on my 92 dodge gr. caravan with
the 3.3l engine, to get rid of the "losing power-no it's not"
phenomenon. new points, wires, filters, vacum valves; all went fine
and the van is running well. except:

the O2 sensor on the exhuast manifold is jammed in there so tight i am
afraid i'm going to have to remove the manifold and drill it out. I
have an O2 socket, i tried lquid wrench, you name it- now all i have
is the bolt of the O2(body snapped off) which is a 7/8 hex. it won't
come out at all. not even a budge. i thought i heard it give way- it
was the shocks creaking as i lay under there swearing.

does anyone have any advice? runs fine without the sensor, BTW.

carl

 

When they're really stuck, about all you can do is heat O2 sensor
fitting with an oxy-acetylene torch.

 

how about a propane torch? i can't get access to an OA torch for at least a week.

carl

 

Try getting it out after you get the manifold hot by running engine(just
a guess)Tom

 

<SNIP>
Yeah Tom thats it.
From stone cold let it run a couple of minutes, not long at all, then try. I
have never had a major problem with this method.

 

Are you SURE where you're finding this? You've stated you put points in this
motor. I'd like to know where you put them. The O2 on this vehicle is way
low and simple enought to reach with a standard box end wrench. Are you sure
you have a 92 not an 02? Those are very hard to reach.
Larry

 

A standard propane torch probably won't get things hot enough, a
"whirlwind" type propane torch *might*.

Ya gotta have a back-up plan...

 

yes- on top of the exhuast manifold, just in front of the exhuast
pipe. it can be reached from above and from below. it's hard to get
good leverage from above, so i crawled underneath. it is very
accesible- just stuck.

at the top of each cylinder...

yup, no problem reaching it, just a problem breaking it out.


carl

 

The 3.3 does not have points.. My 1975 318 doesn't even have points. My
ma's '74 LeSaber did though... Perhaps you are mistaken with your
terminology? I haven't seen a set of points in about.... 13 years, and they
haven't been used in automobiles in about 30 years. I can't even think of
what you may be talking about either.... at the top of each cylinder is a
set of points? It's a 1992?

But anyway... about the topic at hand. Extreme heat may be the only hope for
getting your O2 sensor out. Put anti-seize compound on the threads to
prevent this from happening again. (As well as to your spark plug threads).

 

I have heard that if you wrap a frozen shop rag around the o2 sensor then warm
the car up to almost normal, then the sensor will stay small while the manifold
expands. Then the o2 sensor should come out easier. Also try some wd-40!

 

You've stated you put points in this

Uh, caterbro, are you not in the USA/Canada by chance? Those ignition
devices installed at the top of each cylinder are called 'spark plugs' or
'plugs' for short. Unless you're somewhere with a different local lexicon,
you've got the wrong terminology.

'Points' were used in the distributor during pre-electronic ignition days.

--Geoff

 

that must be it. always called spark plugs "points" and the little
diguses in the distributor "contacts"

carl

 

i didn't need the hair on my arms anyway...

i will try this- thanks for the tips, everyone, and i'll let you know how it goes.

carl

 

sorry- i guess i meant spark plugs. are points the contacts in a
distributor cap? cause i've put those in my 81 chevy and my 85 toyrot.

thanks for the advice. if i can't get it out tomorrow with heat and
etc, i give up and i'll have to have the shop drill it out. it is in
there pretty fin tight. maybe i'll pull the manifold and drill it
myself...

carl

 

Points are the ol' fashioned way to tell the coil when to fire... located
inside the distributor under the cap. Today's distributors have a stator or
hall-effect sensor (or even optical sensors) to tell the coil when to fire.

But I don't think they're the contacts you are referring to, although they
are contacts (actually a set of 2 contacts, hence "a set of points").

The 3.3 has a distributorless ignition system. It has a set of coil packs
controlled by the computer, which will fire the coils according to the
sensor readings it (the computer) is getting from the camshaft and
crankshaft position sensors (and others for timing advance).