soooo.....

what you're saying is i may have gotten a sensor that varies more than my old one? by the way, we were talking delco, do you think the same thing applies to them? it'* a bit frustrating. i was thinking maybe the "loss in power" could be attributed to a slipping TCC or something like that?? argh! i have too many issues going on to pinpoint this problem! maybe it'* just time to take it to a mechanic...

Its possible that you got one thats more hyperactive than your old one and its possible that this accounts for some gas mileage. How much can be directly attributed to it is anyones guess. It seems that more than a few people have experienced a similar issue with the o2 sensor being the only variable. If this is the case we may need to do a little research into which o2 sensors really are best for our cars. *shrug*

Don't rule out other issues though. I haven't found anything to back this up, its just a thought I had when I noticed my o2 sensor acting wild.

i appreciate you donating some of your brain power, doc. i need to get my torque converter issue sorted out, then i'll let you know where i stand as far as mileage and power. i just hope my power loss isn't due to the tranny beggining its death process.

a thought just crossed my mind, though. you mentioned something about "the right sensor for our cars." the sensor i ordered from gmpartsdirect was the part # i found in techinfo. is it possible i got the wrong one for a '97 SE? the one i got was p/n 25312203... can anyone verify this as being correct?

I didn't mean right sensor as in part number. I meant as in one that provides a smooth enough signal and the proper signal for the PCM to command the correct amount of fuel. So this would be a matter of manufacturer more than anything.

ok i gotcha... however it said on the techinfo page that part numbers could be wrong

i was thinking that maybe that p/n was for an O2, but maybe it was the wrong one, i.e. for another car or an SSEi or something.

let'* play "bump the thread!"

the car seems to be getting better mileage on this tank of gas, cuz when i finished off the last one i was down to 19 mpg, with half of that being on the interstate. pretty crappy, huh? but like i said, it'* looking better this time around. i was wondering if my O2 problems had to do with faulty wiring or something, cause now i'm getting codes for my catalyst O2 sensor. problem is, i have an INTENSE dummy sensor to compensate for the high flow cat, and it only throws codes sometimes. pretty mystifying. is it possible that my whole pcm is getting screwy on me and throwing fake codes? our 88 did that when its computer took a crap. i'll take suggestions if you got 'em.

I would try and clean your MAF sensor. I read in your sig that you have a K&N air filter on there. GM has a TSB (technical service bulletin) about the oil from oiled aftermarket reuseable air filters can contaminate the wires on the MAF sensor and cause pretty much all of the problems you are experiencing. I would go and get some electrical cleaner and spray the MAF down acouple of times. If you want to go the q-tip route to make sure that the wires are clean, make sure that you DO NOT wipe on the white areas on the wires.

It'* worth a try.

i appreciate the suggestion but i'm a step ahead of you. i've been cleaning my maf regularly for the last few months with electronics cleaner, so it can't be the problem. i'm still mystified about my loss of "oomph" though. something to do with the fact that i have vacuum in my crankcase? who knows? i'd still be open to suggestions why my dummy O2 is throwing codes. that one REALLY has me going.