From o2 sensor to engine replacement in 10 days?

HA! It's also going to be about 20° on Wed, gloves seem like the best way to go.

 

Well, today was the first day that I wasn't subject to subfreezing temps, and was able to get outside to try to change this sensor. I had a heck of a time removing the bolts from the service grip club, and then discovered that my liquid transfer pump doesn't fit in the coolant tank. Having already disconnect the batteries, there's no way to get it up on ramps without reconnecting everything. I still don't own a floor jack, and even if I pick one up, the snow/ice layer around the car (still chipping away and throwing down layers of ice melt) won't allow for the use of one. The car's not on complete level ground anyway. At this point, I know that the ramps are the best option in order to drain the coolant and continue the job, so I started to put everything back together. And I didn't get far past started because I can't get the 2 bolts I removed when disconnecting the service grip plug back in. I cannot see, and I spent over an hour, blindly trying to get them in the right spot to put them back in. There's not enough room for my fingers and the bolt to set it in place. No matter what tool I used, I couldn't get either bolt to line up. Any tips on how to get them back in?

I ended up placing blankets in the back and pulled one of them through the hook so the hatch wouldn't close all the way and left it for the night. It's supposed to be better tomorrow, weather wise, and I can get back to it. But I can't move forward until I find a way under this car, and I need to get those bolts back in regardless of how I accomplish that.

 

The grip is out, and I can't get them back in. I was following the instructions in the repair manual. Are there any other steps for this replacement that I should be ignoring?

 

Thank you, I believe that I can put them back in with the help of a magnetic nutsetter. Thank you for the torque specs, I have them, but not having to dig for them for this is helpful.

I know how dangerous this job is, and I don't want to be the one to do it. It's why I've paid experienced professionals to do the job. Twice.

Thank you for this.


I am concerned, however, that the first dealership could have messed up putting the inverter back together. Can the problem lie with a misconnection in there? I really don't know. I just know that I want my car back. I don't live in an area where you can get by without one.

 

The inverter is the part of the job that I really don't want take on. I'm sure I can learn automotive repair, but would prefer to learn small jobs and work my way up to the larger ones. Geeze, it took me quite some time to think about a magnetic tool for fasteners (which I have in phillips and flat heads, but of course not for bolts -_- ). I'd like to get it to my friends shop, but things keep happening to prevent it. Last week it was the weather, this week it's my inability to get home once I get it there (still working on a solution there).

I have a thread chaser, but hadn't considered the plug connection being a problem. The only way I'll know is to look, but if that's the issue then I won't dare touch it. Those wires serve far too great a purpose to be messed with by someone at my skill level. I only do very minor electric work (had to reattach a light fixture last week).

I know precisely what you mean here as far as having the knack for things you can only get from experience. I previously mentioned that I am very handy in other areas. Before I encountered this sensor nightmare, I had begun to work on my sons' room (stay with me here). I had a leak in the roof (fixed by a roofer) that had ruined part of their ceiling. It was always my intention to redo this room, the paint job was terrible (not just the color, but they painted over the outlets as well), there were nail holes and dents all over the place, you could see the tape through the stippling on the joists and on all of the butt joints, and there wasn't any baseboard installed at all. I'm going to fast forward to the baseboard installation. I don't have a miter saw, and the work was done with a circular saw. The floors are uneven, which requires level mounting, scribing, unmounting, then cutting that uneven line a 5° bevel (shoe moulding would have avoided me this task, and I'll probably install it anyway as it does serve a practical purpose), but the 45° bevel cuts required for the corners are very tricky with a circular saw and shouldn't be done by an untrained individual. The potential for kickback increases significantly when using this saw for that cut. The point being, it's not something you can "just do" it takes a lot of experience and even then, it doesn't always come out right. I wouldn't tell anyone they couldn't do it, but I would strongly suggest a miter box and to avoid coping without any help.

 

I will take a look, unless I sort out getting it to the shop in the meantime.

The grip has been out the entire time. As previously mentioned, I was following steps in the repair manual, which include removing the grip before removing the bolts. Patrick was kind enough to explain why that unnecessary step is in there, but I don't think it incredibly unreasonable to do precisely as the official repair manual has instructed. Now that I know I will encounter unnecessary steps for this task in the manual, I will be more careful to avoid them. That's if I can't get it to a mechanic or have a mechanic get to it.

 

Okay, I have it back in place, and the car started. It took a good 10-15 seconds* for the ICE to actually run, but it did run.

I heard clicking coming from the HV battery, on the drivers side, upon start up. I started it 3 times and each time there were 2 clicks, and then I turned the car on without starting the ICE and heard another click. If that connector clamp wasn't properly installed/was damaged, would that cause the clicking? Or could this simply be the relay that I'm hearing, and I may not have heard it before because I usually have everything in its place? Tonight, I didn't put the floor boards or the rear deck floor box back, and I also had the seats down.

*this happened all 3 times I started the car

 

No, but I'll be en route to my friends garage very shortly.

 

I test drove the car to determine if it would be okay enough to take the 30 mile trip. I opted for the tow truck and decided against force charging it every few miles. But it's getting to the garage tonight (FINALLY!).

I ran techstream after I drove for about 15 minutes, and code P0A0D 350 came up. Last night, after I put everything back together, I (like many before me) forgot to press the grip down after inserting and flipping it up. I didn't realize it until I went to start it. I suspect that is they this code is appearing. Is that a safe assumption?