Brad vs. oxygen sensor: Brad ties game at buzzer, wins in OT

The last two things I had to do for the Saturn were to get an oil change and replace the post-catalytic oxygen sensor.

Today I took Elena out just to get out of the house, and we ended up at Wal-Mart for no particular reason. While there, I discovered to my surprise that Wal-Mart, or at least ours, does oil changes, with the nicest part being the fact that you can shop while they do it. Apparently they’re not allowed to advertise the fact that they do this, nor are they allowed to have external signs about it — something about zoning.

That left only the oxygen sensor. I tried removing it yesterday, but those things are, to put it mildly, difficult to move. I tried using a special ⅞” socket and running the car for a while to let things heat up, but when that didn’t work I checked more information online. People tend to use lots of penetrating oil, some heat things up with at least a propane torch, and some mentioned leaving the old one in and tapping a new hole.

Before Elena and I left the house, I called a local garage, Mo’s Garage and Towing. They removed the old sensor and put the new one I bought on Amazon.com, and they did it for fifty bucks. I would have spent somewhat more than that had I not done the other parts like checking the code and buying the sensor myself, so I still came out ahead.

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