Check engine light came on in my 2006 Dakota.. Get the computer out hook it up. Bad up stream O2 sensor, ok I can figure that out.. Right? $34.00 at O'Reilly's which for me is literally across the street. Walked over got the part.
Well what ever engineer genius decided where they were putting that thing was not a mechanic. Stuffed in the exhaust pipe just behind the ring bolts pipe to manifold and above the catalytic converter..
Take front wheel off remove plastic wheel well liner it's right there..Kinda.. So of course my truck don't have little plastic clips holding wheel well liner. Been riveted. Not big deal my truck so get sawsall cut a hole in the wheel well liner and heat shield be hind it. Then proceed to try every wrench made or not made to remove the O2 sensor..Tried 4-5 different wrenches supposed to be just for taking out the O2 sensor. Couple I could not even get on the sensor. Wouldn't slide in between sensor and ring on manifold to thick a wall..Then the ones that would fit there was no room left to turn the wrench..
Now I'm kinda left thinking on it. I can drop the cross over pipe may give me enough room to pop the sensor loose? But pretty sure that would end up maybe breaking couple bolts and needing to buy new doughnut gasket??
I did go to harbor freight buy a couple different style 7/8 box end wrenches. Thinking with little cutting bending maybe some welding I can make one them work??
If I had a full blown shop to work in instead of trying to do this laying on drive way.. I'd un-bolt that manifold ring, cut the pipe below catalytic converter pull it out. Remove the old sensor, rotate the pipe either 1/4 turn up or down bolt it back to manifold. Weld the pipe back together below converter be done.. Just a 1/4 turn up or down and I believe I could put a wrench right on that sensor and remove it..
So I have to ask?? Why these people who design these things don't do that? I know enough about that sensor that it can work in any position in that pipe.
No wonder when you take something like this to the shop for fix. Part cost $40.00 and shop time is couple hours and extra parts they break to remove the bad part. My guess is dealer may have special wrench? Or drops the cross over pipe to make room pull that sensor?
My brother suggested drilling my own hole and screwing it in that?? If this truck was older and truly what I think of as one my beaters..I'd probably do that. I got about 5 hours of knuckle scrapping and swearing in it already. Not sure how much more I want to bleed on it..
Had to stop and just breath walk away..
Worst part is it was so nice yesterday I should have been out in boat fishing. Figure instead nice enough to do that sensor I can fish during week when no crowd..Wrong!

Leaving here in a bit to go check Elk trail cams with my sister, kill few hours..Also get another lesson from her on operating the fancy digital camera she loaned me..
Get all whoosaaaed and unwind, before come home maybe beat that O2 senor with maul..wait can't do that either ain't enough room to swing maul..
May have to just put tape over check engine light.
That's my rant for the day..


Mac

put a little piece of black tape over the light

Makes me wish hadn't sold my Pig Castrator on E-Bay.

Mac

I absolutely hate those trucks. Run into that problem on all trucks and cars. You just want to knock the crap out of those engineers. It came to the point several years ago I just don't work on Dakotas period. I tell them to go somewhere else.

Russ

They don't want you working on your own truck anymore.

Dealer pays a tech 18 an hour, dealers charge 125+ per hour of labor, that is exactly why it is so hard to work on anything anymore.

It's made to be easy to put together on an assembly line not fix once put together.

What Bruce said! The engineers NEVER have to work on these things either.

Want some real exasperation? Try replacing a heater core they now make of plastic. I spent hours on replacing a power steering hose on my old F 250 diesel. Almost got out the sawzall before was done.

Yep them heater cores are an engineering marvel! I replaced my '87 F250 heater core in about 1.5 hours, if that. My 97 F150 I took it to a mechanic who has done many cores, well it took him 7.5 hours.

Proper tools.

A crows foot and flex-head ratchet makes most those easy.

Try to change the starter on a 7.3 ford diesel.

Curious about the 7.3 starter change. I changed mine it was pretty simple with no issues. Eric

Mac, heat the 02 sensor base (the mounting attachment to the exhaust) with an acetylene torch until red. It will come out. (there is an 02 sensor socket, it's a 7/8", 3/8 drive with a slit down the side for the wires). Don't worry about that. Break the top off the old sensor and use a 7/8" shallow well socket with swivel head to remove after you heat it. Install the new sensor and you're on your way.

Good luck!

I had a 93 that would of changed your mind ABeardedTrapper. Had an 86 with a 6.9 that wasn't much fun either and of course they wait until the coldest day of the year to croak.

I hear you drifter it was one of the coldest days of the year when mine gave it up. Mine is a 97 the one bolt on the top was a little tricky but I had a long extension so it made it pretty easy to get to. Eric

Well I had couple different socket and flex head and that was no good. No mechanic so not sure what you mean by crow foot?

Mac

Crows foot wrenches

The real problem is car manufacturers and their designers/engineers make cars with one main goal , cost. If they can figure out how to make a part cheaper and faster to install on the assembly line , they do it. Save $1 or 1 minute on the assembly line X amount of units produced it can easily make millions more in profits. They do care how hard it is going to be for the technician to service that part as long as it lasts past warranty.
Technicians spend lots of money on fancy tools like crow foots wrenches as a work around. I have several sets , SAE and metric , normal open end & flare end. This is not an attempt to make it so your average Joe cannot work on a car because they don't have an extensive tool collection. It is cost and time saving in car production.

Some of our older members remember those nice triangular vent windows cars used to have up until the mid '70's. Rumor has that some engineer or bean counter figured out they could save $1 per car. Poof !! They dissapeared. The car manufacturers would tell you they removed them because of people breaking into cars.
Remember cast iron intake manifolds? Then they went to aluminum. Now plastic. Car manufacturers will tell you it saves weight. Which it does but the main reason they went to plastic intake manifolds was plastic is way cheaper than aluminum to manufacture.

Yep Cragar I get that always about a dollar..learned that way back when had brand new 78 Volare and the brakes locked up. Was still under warranty front brake caliper locked up. took to deal they rebuilt them.. Said had some type new fiber pistons.. I said so just going to lock up again.. they said no rebuilt with steel pistons.. All about weight and money was why used fiber at factory when cars in production.

I'll probably buy try one them crow foot, might be room to turn it a bit in by that manifold ring clamp??

Mac

Besides a crow's foot, there are dedicated O2 sensor sockets. Spray the sensor down with PB blaster a few times and let it soak in. They can rust in tight and tear the threads out when you try to remove them. Then you are replacing pipes.

In addition to heat, a few firm whacks on the base of the sensor will help break rust loose.

I remember some of the Fords half tons you were supposed to raise the cab to replace one O2 sensor. What a joke.

I always hated replacing O2 sensors. No matter what, some were going to be a pain.