Which Oxygen Sensor do I need? Topic is solved

[Crito]

2003 S80 2.9L naturally aspirated (non-turbo)
ECM-271A is the code
adaptive lambda control, bank 2

I have no idea what bank 2 is supposed to mean. Is that front or back? And any way to figure out if it's driver's or passenger's side? IPD doesn't sell them for the S80 and eEuroParts only has the front passenger's side one for some reason. And lastly, can I just cut and splice the wires together without going under the car. The sado-masochists at Volvo couldn't have found a more inconvenient spot to put the !@#$in' connector.

Also FYI for the googlers, whenever I get "flare" or "surging" in my transmission this code always pops up right afterwards. Has absolutely nothing to do with the tranny but that's what it feels like. Clearing the code makes it go away for a couple thousand miles.

EDIT: I guess what I'm hoping I can do, most likely tomorrow, is buy some generic Bosch O2 sensors somewhere like Advance Auto and splice them on. Figure I'd just do the two front ones and see if the code came back again. The rear ones are beyond my ability with the tools at my disposal, and since I don't have my own garage I can't justify investing in things like a floor jack. I'd just give myself a hernia moving all that !@#$ around. So, in short, I'ma hand tools and shade trees kinda mechanic.

Anywho, I think that's about all the info I have. Any and all advice appreciated.

[Crito]

I'm convinced 90% of the problems I've had with this car are due to that stupid frickin' oil trap that keeps burping up sludge into my intake manifold. When the oil rolls one way it fouls my plugs and O2 sensors. When the oil rolls the other way it screws up the ETM and MAF. I really hate that thing.

[vegasjetskier]

I have no idea what bank 2 is supposed to mean. Is that front or back? And any way to figure out if it's driver's or passenger's side? IPD doesn't sell them for the S80 and eEuroParts only has the front passenger's side one for some reason. And lastly, can I just cut and splice the wires together without going under the car. The sado-masochists at Volvo couldn't have found a more inconvenient spot to put the !@#$in' connector.

Also FYI for the googlers, whenever I get "flare" or "surging" in my transmission this code always pops up right afterwards. Has absolutely nothing to do with the tranny but that's what it feels like. Clearing the code makes it go away for a couple thousand miles.

EDIT: I guess what I'm hoping I can do, most likely tomorrow, is buy some generic Bosch O2 sensors somewhere like Advance Auto and splice them on. Figure I'd just do the two front ones and see if the code came back again. The rear ones are beyond my ability with the tools at my disposal, and since I don't have my own garage I can't justify investing in things like a floor jack. I'd just give myself a hernia moving all that !@#$ around. So, in short, I'ma hand tools and shade trees kinda mechanic.

Many people have reported problems with spliced-in generic sensors. I'd go with the OEM sensor with the correct plug already on it. You can get them from http://www.myswedishparts.com, http://www.tascafordparts.com, http://www.swedishautoparts.com, or Darrell Waltrip Volvo 1-800-689-0021 ask for Jamie or Don. Someone also reported getting them on Ebay.

Yeah, the rear sensors are a real pain to change - you have to drop the exhaust pipes. Why not get a cheap floor jack from Harbor Freight or similar - they're easy to move since they're on wheels.

Bank refers to left or right side - I'm not sure which side is Bank 2.

[Crito]

For the price I thought I'd try a generic and see. If there's a problem I'll clean the old one with CRC QD and put it back in. So far I've replaced six Volvo plugs with Bosch generics, six Volvo coils with Bosch generics, a Volvo battery with a Bosch generic, a Volvo fuel filter with a Bosch generic, and ONLY difference has been the logo on the item. They're literally identical in every other way and come off the exact same assembly line. Well, there is one more difference, the 33%-50% I save on price. I don't mind paying for value added but I'm not rewarding corporate crooks for painting logos on items other people make.

Anywho, I dunno if that's the case with O2 sensors too but thought I try and find out. Bought some generic radiator hoses from IPD and regretted it though so ya never know.

Thanks for reply...

[Crito]

bank 1 is next to cylinder 1, which is passenger's side I believe. So I pulled out the driver's side sensor and it was indeed a Bosch Wideband Planar type. I cleaned it with CRC QD and put it back in for now.

http://www.boschautoparts.com/Products/ ... anarO2.htm

Bosch website says service interval is 100,000 miles so I'm 34K overdue.

Looked up prices online. Volvo branded were around $250 each. Bosch direct fit were about $150 each. I bought some scratch and dent boxes on fleeBay for $60 each. So both left and right upstream sensors ended up costing me $120.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0345854662
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0345855842

If I don't pop that code again, or the ECM-262A and ECM-272A codes that came up after , I might wait until my next oil change to put the new sensors in. I really hate crawling under.

[Crito]

OK, so the trick is breaking the clips off from underneath with a big long screwdriver. You can sort of get to them from the wheel well too if that's more comfortable, but you can't see what you're doing unless you go under. Having a clip on the "direct fit" replacement sensor to look at for reference really helped too. Then you can barely squeeze your arm down from front and pull wiring harness from firewall. I also unplugged the cam sensor so as not to damage it in the process. Snip a couple more ties and after that there's plenty of cable to do everything from up-top.

Unfortunately my 2003 2.9L uses different left and right sensors, which are identical except for the connectors. Apparently they stop using different left/right connectors in later years which is great because the guy I bought from on ebay sent me two left-sided ones. Anywho, it was the left one popping codes so I'm good for now, but ended up paying almost full retail for the one I used.

I did get to reroute the wires though. I'll never have to go under to do this again.

EDIT: eBay seller said he'd refund my money for bad part. And don't forget to disconnect the negative cable from battery to reset ECM.

[darkcountry]

here is a guide to help with replacing O2 sensors (pics are from a s60, dont know if that matters...)