Uh-oh...it's not looking good for my motor!
12-20-2014, 07:41 PM
#51
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A year ago I looked at a STAR DAS loaded on a drive offered on eBay...the price was remarkably reasonable. I'm Mac though, so it didn't seem to be worth the trouble or expense, especially now as the next car won't be a Merc. I was scheduled for 02 sensor replacements in 5k miles anyway so it made sense to replace them regardless when this issue came up. I see the the threads on the new sensors come pre-slathered with anti-seize.
12-22-2014, 03:57 PM
#52
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2017 Mini Cooper S Clubman ALL4 - British Racing Green
I am familiar with a dead blow 
I have one as well, actually 2, 1 has sand inside it, the other has buck shot. I was just saying, be careful, not due to the tool, or tools used, but if the part is truly seized onto exhaust, you can still damage it with a dead blow
I have one as well, actually 2, 1 has sand inside it, the other has buck shot. I was just saying, be careful, not due to the tool, or tools used, but if the part is truly seized onto exhaust, you can still damage it with a dead blow
Have you ever used a hammer like this? I have this (now, just came today) plus two hammers with double urethane and hard rubber faces, one on each side. I only use a steel hammer for driving nails now. Aside from the obvious benefit of no surface marring to the tool you're striking, IMO it's the best tool for separating joints like this, especially when you have little room for a large-arc hit. It's very easy to "feed in the power" of multiple hits when you don't have room for much of a swing as in this case. A dead blow hammer functions like an utterly safe impact driver if you have any feel at all for doing your own wrenching. I think I'd snap the body of an 02 sensor with a high-effort two-handed pull on a wrench long before a controlled strike with a dead blow hammer. BTW, I think it's clear that I shouldn't/can't drive the car in this condition, not even around the block a few times.
12-23-2014, 03:26 AM
#53
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Understood and thanks. I'm going use some Liquid Wrench on the sensors tomorrow and probably go at it for real on Wed. For some reason I'm not incredibly motivated to work on the car right now.
12-25-2014, 07:01 PM
#55
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OK, the new 02 sensors are in. While I was at it I popped the downstream pair out also to clean them with MAFS cleaner. All but one of the four broke loose with little effort from the dead blow, so no real drama there. The post- pair were sooty as expected but cleaned up immediately after a good shot of cleaner. The Bank 2 pre- was whitish and clean, the Bank 1 pre- was lightly blackish, again as expected. It feels good to have saved what, a minimum of $1,300 over what a dealer would have nicked me for so far. That said, I'm going to do the front brakes before dropping the car and starting it though I may get impatient and start it up tonight to see what happens even if I don't get around to the brakes later today.
edit: I couldn't resist starting the car up. First odd happenstance - this was the first-ever cold start (it was the first start in maybe six days) I've ever experienced without the usual bark - it was eerily quiet which was quite unsettling. I let it run at high idle for 30 seconds and then blipped the throttle some before shutting it down. It's definitely better than before and feels almost normal on the blips but I can't say it's all the way back yet. I'll try to have everything buttoned up by tomorrow night so I can take it out for a normal drive to really gauge the improvement. Getting it hot will let me get a handle on the coolant issue too.
edit: I couldn't resist starting the car up. First odd happenstance - this was the first-ever cold start (it was the first start in maybe six days) I've ever experienced without the usual bark - it was eerily quiet which was quite unsettling. I let it run at high idle for 30 seconds and then blipped the throttle some before shutting it down. It's definitely better than before and feels almost normal on the blips but I can't say it's all the way back yet. I'll try to have everything buttoned up by tomorrow night so I can take it out for a normal drive to really gauge the improvement. Getting it hot will let me get a handle on the coolant issue too.
Last edited by bhamg; 12-25-2014 at 11:26 PM.
12-26-2014, 01:51 AM
#56
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2011 C63 AMG P31
A year ago I looked at a STAR DAS loaded on a drive offered on eBay...the price was remarkably reasonable. I'm Mac though, so it didn't seem to be worth the trouble or expense, especially now as the next car won't be a Merc. I was scheduled for 02 sensor replacements in 5k miles anyway so it made sense to replace them regardless when this issue came up. I see the the threads on the new sensors come pre-slathered with anti-seize.
12-27-2014, 06:54 PM
#58
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Thanks. All done and buttoned up. Will head out in three hours for the first test drive since the O2 sensors and plugs installation, and to bed in the new brake pads while I'm at it. Wish me luck...
12-28-2014, 12:40 AM
#59
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Thanks again to all who weighed in on this matter. The verdict is in. I'm rarely nervous about anything but tonight was an exception. I started the car up, heard the usual bark, let it idle until I was sure it sounded and felt normal and then pulled out of the garage. Almost immediately upon acceleration I could tell the motor was "off" and I felt a succession of alarming jolts from the transmission, as if it were hunting for the right gear and not finding it. I almost pulled over but figured as long as I didn't get a CEL I would keep going. I just put it in D3 and ran up and down between 40 and 70 for a while. I'd say by ten minutes of driving it felt markedly better so I took off to bed my pads in and through it all the car felt very strong and totally normal. Twice I pulled over to check coolant levels and they were just where I expected them to be. After driving 44 miles I think I'm out of the woods.
While the car was up stands I dropped all of the undertrays to triple check everything and everywhere for signs of a coolant leak. I could find nothing whatsoever to suggest there was/is an external coolant leak. So the coolant issue is still a puzzle in progress but as of now I'm not worrying about it.
While the car was up stands I dropped all of the undertrays to triple check everything and everywhere for signs of a coolant leak. I could find nothing whatsoever to suggest there was/is an external coolant leak. So the coolant issue is still a puzzle in progress but as of now I'm not worrying about it.
