O2 sensor life expectancy ?

[templar]

How long do they normally live?

I'm at 65K....should I be making funeral plans for mine?

Any suitable generic units out there?

[boxermania]

templar

I'll focus on responding to your questions if my response generates more questions, I will be happy to oblige with an answer.

Our bikes (former for me) have the narrow range heated O2 sensor. These sensors have a replacement life of 100K miles on standard applications. The sensor output, read effectiveness, will decrease as a result of coating on the element due to combustion products. More sophisticated systems have a "Check Engine Light" that comes on as a result, not so in our bikes. One of the easiest way to check is if you mileage has decreased, keep in mind that it is assumed that the engine is in a reasonable state of tune.

Regarding replacement, you can save a lot of money buying a generic Bosch heated O2 sensor from your auto parts store. The generic sensor will not have the BMW specific wire plug, so you will have to cut and splice the old plug onto the new O2 sensor wires, follow the wire colors.

[CycleRob]

Life expectancy depends on how it is treated during use.
These things will shorten the lifespan:
--Many short trips (especially in cold climates)
--Heavy oil burning
--Bad luck

In reading all about O2 sensors I saw recommended replacement intervals for cars of 30,000, 50,000 and 60,000 miles (48,280, 80,467 and 96,560 km) with the 50K number appearing the most. It stressed that an O2 failure is too often silent and with no change in performance or driveability -but- with potential to decrease fuel economy and damage catalytic converters -without- actually setting the "Check Engine" light.

The O2 sensor for our bike is the 4 wire heated type. The heater gets it up to temperature and working very quickly. There is a "Bosch Universal Heated O2 Sensor" replacement, Bosch P/N 15733. You need to cut-n-splice the 4 (same color) wires. I checked AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts for Bosch 15733, but their prices were high. A quick net search on today's date turned up this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BZ ... -1&seller=




.

[boxermania]

Actually I did a bit of research from the automotive end and came up with this. I'm sure there are many other suppliers but $40 to $60 seems to be a good range.

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/searc ... 2004%20BMW

[R4R&R]

How does one know when it goes bad?

[VintageDirt]

Actually I did a bit of research from the automotive end and came up with this. I'm sure there are many other suppliers but $40 to $60 seems to be a good range.

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/searc ... 2004%20BMW

This one is not a Bosch, I ordered one and I got it yesterday. If it matters I don't know.