What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
Ford Ka - Manufacture parts? Which O2 sensor to replace? - VG101

Hello everyone,

I have a Ford Ka 2003, just under 60,000 miles with the Check Engine light on. Went to garage yesterday for diagnostic and they said that it was an exhaust sensor issue and the light had gone off but if it came back on then to come back and they'll sort it (liars, I turned the car on and it was still there, but they were closing in 20 minutes so no chance of getting a repair).

Thing is I'm a bit tight on money so my dad said he'd fix it for me as it looks pretty simple, I just need to find out with sensor needs replacing as the mechanic didn't actually tell me, and the part that my car was manufacured with.

How will I know with sensor needs replacing? My guess is the front, from googling but then the mechanic said exhaust so maybe the one by the catalyctic converter?? Not a clue to be honest.

And then how do I find out what part my car was manufactured with? I used Mick's Garage to get a list of viable parts, can I buy any one of these?

TIA

-Annie

Ford Ka - Manufacture parts? Which O2 sensor to replace? - hardway

"IF" it is the o2 sensor then it's most likely the front one.

But be warned they can be b***** tight to get un screwed.

Ford Ka - Manufacture parts? Which O2 sensor to replace? - jc2

OHV or OHC?-they changed in 2003.

Ford Ka - Manufacture parts? Which O2 sensor to replace? - Railroad.

Are you sure your fault lies with the O2 sensor? Any idiot can plug in a scantool, read a fault code. Just because O2 sensor is mentioned doesn't necessarily mean the sensor is the problem. If the sensor is open or short circuit then yes, it most likely needs replacing. But if it's an implausible signal or out of range fault, or if the issue is related to fuel trim being either too rich or too lean then changing the sensor may not solve anything.

O2 sensors can be checked quite easily. Your problem may lie elsewhere and a competent person will be able to carry out checks based on the information received from the O2 sensor. The cure could even be as simple as adding a bottle of injector cleaner and a good Italian tune up. The only sure thing playing parts darts achieves is emptying your bank account.