02 Sensor and other problems

[Outshine2]

Hey all, had my 99 Sport checked out at the dealership (was taking care of some recalls that hadn't been performed) and they mentioned that my rough idle and hard starting was due to an 02 sensor that has gone bad. It had thrown a CEL a few times, but usually disappears quickly. They want $220 to replace the sensor, and another $131 to "flush and clean" the injection system. This seems pretty high to me. I have read on other posts that the SOHC has 4 O2 sensors? Are any different, or all the same? How difficult would one be to replace? Would it be easy to see from the diagnosis which exact one is bad? I don't think I've ever even looked at an O2 sensor, but aren't they just a small, threaded unit with a series of wires attached?

They also mentioned that an external tensioner was going bad (and not covered under recall), causing some metallic "pinging" type noises at certain times. They want $130 for the tensioner and $90 for the belt. I know it's really a vague question, but maybe someone knows what I'm talking about?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[bigdaddykarl]

I was reading some threads yesterday on this topic, and there's a few guys on here who really know this stuff (I'm not one of them!) Do a search for "oxygen sensor" or "CEL" or "OBD II" and you should come up with a plethora of good info. Another suggestion is that you drop by your local Auto Zone, and they'll check your codes (so they can sell you all the parts in the book to fix the problem - don't do that yet) and jot down the code. Ask around as to what exactly that code means, and which parts are affected. Isolate these parts, check wiring first, and if that all looks good, go from there. Yes, there are 4 O2 sensors, well, on some vehicles, and I think yours is one of those, and at $90 a piece, well, that can get a little spendy if you don't know which one is triggering the CEL.