Has any one had success with cleaning an ox sensor? I wondered if carb cleaner could clean the black soot and make it serviceable again

Carb cleaner isn't going to work. The usual way is to heat with a propane torch to burn off the carbon. Be sure to start heating gently to avoid thermal shock. The sensor element is inside the louvered cover so you will have no way to see the element.

You could hook it up to a digital volt meter and watch it start to react.

thank you for your reply, I had not thought of the propane tourch but I will give it a try. Thanks again for your input.

I've never heard of anyone trying to clean an O2 sensor but ... Black sooty deposit usually means oil is reaching the O2 sensor so any effect of cleaning probably won't last. Normal useful life is about 100K. Since a bad O2 sensor can cause premature failure of the Cat I tend to replace them on that schedule.

There is some useful information at the Bosch site - Oxygen Sensor Design

__________________
Good luck.






1998 E320 Wagon

Ox sensors are bench tested using a propane torch so testing until it starts to work ( or not ) isn't an issue.

A propane / air or fuel / oxygen torch also works wonders in cleaning carboned spark plugs, heat gently to avoid thermal shock. If you hear the spark plug to " tink " is is likely cracked. This method does not work for general cleaning as the torch won't burn off white deposits only black carbon.