Just been quoted £40 + vat (good price) to fit my Scoobysport Downpipe when it arrives at a trustworthy garage I know and they have warned me that when taking the lambda sensor off, occasionally (1 out of 10) the thread breaks because of the heat that it has been exposed to, corrodes it. He said they take the whole downpipe off and soak it in something to loosen the sensor, so it sounds like they are as careful as possible.

Has anyone had this happen to them because he said the sensor may cost £140 ish.

J

 

no but heard of it... dont like the idea of soaking the lambda... it will either come out or it wont... they are 80 from dealer... 50 from halfords...

David

 

Yep, this happened to mine.

Luckily the sensor was buggered anyway, but it did mean that I had to get a new downpipe sooner than I expected. I wasn't gonna pay the Dealer to fix my downpipe.

My Dealer told me that they use a pressure washer to cool-down the downpipe and sensor, then they apply "lots" of lubricator before removing it. The mechanic was bragging that he's never stripped one yet - of course, he's sh!tting himself now he's said that

It's the thread in the downpipe that get's stripped and not the lambda sensor. Obviously, once the DP threads are stripped, it's gonna rip the thread on the sensor as it's removed.

Stefan

 

Thanks guys. £50 isn't so bad if the worst comes to the worst. I will be leaving it with them all day so I'll get them to do it when the exhaust has completely cooled down.

J

 

J,

The Halfords one isn't a specific scooby one and doesn't have the correct electrical connector, so you need to modify it i.e. remove the connector from the OEM one and re-wire it to the Halfords job.

Some people report problems, but others have had no whatsoever.

Your car can run with the Lambda disconnected without it blowing-up. You'd get a 32 Oxygen Sensor ECU code, but as long as the sensor hole in the DP is filled, it would be driveable.

Stefan

 

I'll let the garage know that if the worst comes to the worst and they can't get hold of one.

J

 

£40 doesnt sound too bad... Hope if some bolts seize, and have to be removed by force etc, he sticks to his price. Threads wrecked etc etc...
Curious about the lambda sensors. If you look at the Graham Goode site, prices range fro about £180 to a massive £280 What the f*ck are they making them from....Titanium/Gold??? Surely they must be mad. Most other stuff on the site is more reasonably priced, although no bargains...