Tricks for accessing/changing Bank 1 Sensor 1 (upstream) O2 sensor on 2016PIU 3.7L?

[sfx95901]

Ok,
Staunching the blood on my knuckles (fat hands, fat arms, some dexterity issues) from a couple of tries; does anyone have any really cool tricks for accessing/changing the Bank 1,1 O2 sensor?

I have a full set of 02 sensor sockets/tools adapters, and bendy wrenches - but without being able to reach where I need to work or even unplug it…

So far no bueno. Not my first rodeo by any means (& yes, I once played an automotive professional on…. lol), but geez Ford, clearly designed these things as a gift to help support factory techs when it comes to maintenance.

Is it as simple as the same pulling the intake procedure I need to do the bank 1 plugs & coil packs? Can it be done without having to do that (& the new rubber gasket every time)?

I also have an issue with stumble on mild load or accel and I’m assuming this is the cause, (not when punched) otherwise it would seem an adaptive transmission or AWD issue, but if the collective wisdom has ideas on that - please & thanks.

 

[t9087]

When ever I do the B1S1 we have the car on a lift so it’s a lot easier to get to. My only suggestion since you have no lift is removing the passenger tire and fender well cover. From there you might have more room without having to remove the intake. The intake is fairly easy to remove if you do have to remove it.

I bad O2 could cause acceleration issues but without a live data while the engine is running it’s hard to say.

 

[peterk9]

Ok,
Staunching the blood on my knuckles (fat hands, fat arms, some dexterity issues) from a couple of tries; does anyone have any really cool tricks for accessing/changing the Bank 1,1 O2 sensor?

............................................

Welcome to the Forum.
I let my dealership do all my servicing.

Peter

 

[sfx95901]

Thank you for your answer, sorry about the delayed response as I have put off this job. I have to replace the fuel rails (& injectors preinstalled) which when I was pulling out a block heater circuit after its plastic fitting blew) and I put too much pressure on the rail and its weld blew a leak.

So, since the intake is coming off, decided to do all the plugs & coils at the same time as and I’m hoping that the B1S1 sensor is easy to reach(ish) there.

Ford did seem to have purposely built an engine that’s tough to service (& I thought my WRX was built tight!).

 

[sfx95901]

I want to thank T9087 for the suggestions made. While I did remove the intake manifold, even with it off clearance issues prevented me from accessing it from the top. I was eventually able to snake my hand in from the bottom, but while trying to get any of my 02 sensor sockets onto I disconnected the root of my problem, that at some point in the past when this was done the heat shield over the cat was installed so it was sitting right up against the sensor, preventing any socket from being able to drop onto it properly. After removing a couple of the rusted mounting screws for the heat shield, I was able to bend it up enough that I could finally get a socket onto the O2 sensor and swap it out. However, even being the correct NGK sensor the wires on it were rather short, which meant I had to pull the intake manifold again just to be able to get the wires plugged into their socket.

As has been said - pulling the intake is pretty easy (having done it half a dozen times during this round of service) - I just had to buy a new 1/4” torque wrench since I didn’t have any that would go down to the 7.5ft lbs the intake bolts required.