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That guy at the shop swore by using brake cleaner on O2 sensors, what a mess
Old timer at my shop in Austin told me to spray brake cleaner directly on an O2 sensor to clean it. Said he'd done it for years. I tried it on a 2015 F-150 last Tuesday and the sensor went dead within 10 minutes. Cost the customer $120 for a new one plus my labor to redo it. Anyone else had bad advice like this ruin a job?
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simonk983d ago
Did you check if that brake cleaner had chlorinated solvents in it?
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abby_morgan183d ago
Didn't @blair_chen81 catch flak for that type of advice in a Subaru forum a few months back? It's like people assume their own luck applies to everyone else's situation. I see the same thing with lawn equipment where someone says "just drain the gas" like old fuel lines don't crack on certain models.
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blair_chen813d ago
Oh man, I gotta disagree with you there. Brake cleaner works fine on O2 sensors if you let it fully evaporate before reinstalling. Sounds like you fired up that Ford with cleaner still pooled in the threads or on the sensor tip, and the solvent cooked the electronics. I've cleaned dozens of sensors that way on older Toyotas and never had one die. Just gotta give it five minutes to air out or hit it with compressed air.
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