[RedOctober1984]

I'm needing a new exhaust manifold and O2 sensor. I hit a ditch the other day and have been unsuccessful in finding something local so far. Would like to get a stock replacement but I saw THIS on eBay that's not a bad price.

My question is, is this an upgrade from the stock manifold and is it a good buy? This SVT is a daily driver and I'm looking to get it fixed as soon as possible.

As far as O2 sensors go, AFAIK it takes just a normal bought-from-autozone sensor...correct?

 

[felixthecat]

For a o2 sensor I'd go w/ a Bosch one. That manifold looks pretty good. Let us now how it is.

 

[02fordsvt]

I've bent my headers twice and pushed them back into place twice. It takes a lot of heat but it's a lot more economical than replacement. You can also try finding an OEM replacement in the BST section of this site or post a Want to Buy ad.

 

[arksvt]

I recommend a motorcraft o2 sensor. Too many issues with clearance on aftermarket larger sensors on the svt. Even the smaller OEM sensor is close. You can get them for a fair price from amazon.

 

[RedOctober1984]

I've bent my headers twice and pushed them back into place twice. It takes a lot of heat but it's a lot more economical than replacement. You can also try finding an OEM replacement in the BST section of this site or post a Want to Buy ad.

Apparently there's a part of the manifold that is completely shot. When I hit the ditch, I guess (so I am told) "the upper manifold was pushed back and the lower part is broken" [confused]

....Anyway....I have a guy at a auto repair/parts shop hunting me some parts and I'll make a decision based on what he can find. If he's got nothing, I'll see about the one from eBay.

I recommend a motorcraft o2 sensor. Too many issues with clearance on aftermarket larger sensors on the svt. Even the smaller OEM sensor is close. You can get them for a fair price from amazon.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

Question on the O2 sensor, since I am still needing to get around, I have to drive my broken car. I was told it's drivable...however I get worse gas mileage since O2 sensor is broken. When I got into my car and drove a couple miles, I quickly noticed that. What kind of effect does the broken O2 sensor have on my engine? And how much does it really affect my gas mileage?

 

[Xx09xX]

I'm not a expert but it's my understanding without th O2 sensor your car will run in a open loop mode where it will run overly rich to protect itself as far as how much your mpg will suffer I'm not sure

 

[sleepyboy]

I recommend getting the NTK O2 sensor from Rockauto. It's cheap and identical the ford OEM one cause they make the ones for Ford.

 

[arksvt]

If its your front o2 sensor bad you will get worse mileage. If its the rear one, you will just get an annoying light on the dash.

 

[02fordsvt]

If the header is in fact broken like your mechanic said, that will hurt you mileage and power much more than a busted O2 sensor. Last time I bent my header back, it also ripped the flex pipe in two creating a wannabe straight pipe. Not only will the car make a lot of noise, the power will be down without the exhaust system hooked on.

 

[RedOctober1984]

If its your front o2 sensor bad you will get worse mileage. If its the rear one, you will just get an annoying light on the dash.

It's the front one...so no light on the dash.

If the header is in fact broken like your mechanic said, that will hurt you mileage and power much more than a busted O2 sensor. Last time I bent my header back, it also ripped the flex pipe in two creating a wannabe straight pipe. Not only will the car make a lot of noise, the power will be down without the exhaust system hooked on.

Well I'm going off of what my dad says the mechanic said.

It's definitely not as bad as this. My car sounds very slightly different but it's not majorly messed up. I'm hopefully going to make a trip to town and talk to the mechanic myself here in the next day or two to figure out exactly what's wrong and exactly what needs to be fixed.

 

[02fordsvt]

If you don't have a check engine light on, your O2 sensors are fine. The light will come on regardless of whether it's the front or rear O2 sensor. Furthermore, you'll have to know which sensor it is before buying a replacement because the front uses a different O2 sensor than the rear. When buying a replacement, it's always specified whether it's a front (or first bank) sensor or rear (second bank).

I'd suggest getting a second opinion or taking a look under the car yourself; some things don't seem to be adding up. What exactly are your issues that your trying to fix?

 

[RedOctober1984]

If you don't have a check engine light on, your O2 sensors are fine. The light will come on regardless of whether it's the front or rear O2 sensor. Furthermore, you'll have to know which sensor it is before buying a replacement because the front uses a different O2 sensor than the rear. When buying a replacement, it's always specified whether it's a front (or first bank) sensor or rear (second bank).

I'd suggest getting a second opinion or taking a look under the car yourself; some things don't seem to be adding up. What exactly are your issues that your trying to fix?

I'm heading to town tomorrow to eliminate the middle man and hear directly from my mechanic. Maybe they temporarily threw it together or something.

I don't have a good jack to get underneath my car with. There's the tire changing jack, but I don't necessarily trust that one. Mine's all rusty and old, it apparently was exposed to water at some point.

All I know is what I have been told which is that I need a new Exhaust Manifold and Front O2 sensor.

[scratch] I agree. Something doesn't add up. I'm no mechanic but it's sure strange that I don't have an O2 light on.

 

[arksvt]

Keeping in mind that from the factory, the sensors were ridiculously close to the engine and half shaft...a mechanic might think its bent worse than it is. Can you snap a pic holding your phone underneath the car to show us the header?

 

[02fordsvt]

^^ This

If you don't have any check engine light and can't hear any exhaust leak, I'd say you don't have anything to worry about.

That said, if you can feel a marked decrease in power or MPG, you probably do have an issue.