Date:         Tue, 1 Dec 1998 19:04:00 -0600
Reply-To:     Tonya Pope <Tonya@TEAM-M.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Tonya Pope <Tonya@TEAM-M.COM>
Organization: Team MainStreet Interactive, Inc.
Subject:      Re: 11MPG!
Comments: To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Joshua Van Tol wrote:
>
> >Check your tail pipe.  Full of soot, right?  It's your O2 sensor.
> >Disconnect it.  Shud take care of the problem immediately.
> >
>
> Should read, replace it. The oxygen sensor, when working correctly, will
> help, not hinder your fuel milage.

Actually, if the sensor is dead and the tailpipe is full of soot, the
soot probably killed the sensor.  SO, best to find the real source of
problem.  Any sensor (or any other part for that matter) that doesn't
live up to its life expectancy shouldn't just blindly be replaced.
You're just asking for the new sensor to die an early death as well.

Now short term, if disconnecting the O2 sensor helps, then by all means
do it.  BUT, consider it a short-term fix while you dig around for the
real cause.  If disconnecting it helps, no soot in tailpipe (that was
someone other than the original questioner's comment), and the O2 sensor
is probably at the end of its natural life, then it could be the whole
source of problem and replacing it will fix everything.

Tonya
87 Vanagon GL Wolfs