DIY for O2 Sensor Removal.

Now that the Bentley repair manual is out, it’s a bit pointless to write DIYs for repairs, since they are
covered in the manual, but I have found that most repair manuals leave out the little details for the
various procedures they cover, which are the things you really want to know anyway. With that in mind
I decided to share a remove and replace DIY for one of the E90 N52 O2 sensors.

Because the N52 (and N54) use a split exhaust manifold arrangement there are four (4) O2 sensors in
the exhaust system. The sensors are differentiated as follows: Bank 1 Sensor 1 and Sensor 2, Bank 2
Sensor 1 and Sensor 2. “Bank 1” is cylinders 1 – 3 (the front three) and “Bank 2” is cylinders 4 – 6.
“Sensor 1” is the pre-cat sensor (up-stream sensor). “Sensor 2” is the post-cat sensor (down-stream).

This DIY is for the Bank 2 Sensor 1 (the harder of the two up-stream sensors to replace). The good news
here is once you get to it, it screws out of the manifold quite easily (good job BMW for using anti-seize
at the factory and good exhaust manifold material - stainless steel), the bad news is getting to it.

As usual my DIYs assume you are a decent wrench turner and have been working on cars awhile.

The common tools needed are:

 ¼, 3/8 and ½ inch drive Ratchet wrenches

 Metric socket set.
 3/8 or ½ inch drive 6” and 12” Extension bars.
 3/8 or ½ universal joint
 Torx socket set.
 Inverse-Torx (Star) “E” socket set, ¼-drive
 Screw drivers
 Flashlight (I recommend the small 2-AA Mag-Lite LED model)

Needle-nose pliers, dyke cutter pliers, etc.

Special tools are:

 Scan Tool
 7/8 off-set O2 sensor socket (note that there are deep dish split-socket O2 tools but I found
the O2 sensor design used on the N52 to be too long to use this type of tool). The off-set tool I
am talking about is the one that looks like a socket with the back cut off and a split down the
side and the square drive is off-set to the side of the socket body.
 And the almighty Automotive Mechanic’s Dental Pick! If you don’t have one get one; it is
essential for removing stuff, and separating electrical connectors.

The basic procedure is as follows:

 1. Clear the SES trouble Code (do this first!)
2. Remove the engine cover (the Sensor wire is located under the cover and there is no other way
to get to the wire to replace the sensor).
3. Remove the engine belly pan, so you can see the area where the sensor is when underneath the
car.
4. Remove a small bracket covering the O2 sensor.
5. Unplugging and un-routing the Sensor wire.
6. Removing the Sensor.
7. Reinstalling the new Sensor.
8. Re-routing the wire.
9. Re-installing the cover bracket.
10. Reinstalling the engine cover and cowling.

Steps:

1. Clear the trouble code. You can probably do this after the install of the new Sensor, but BEFORE
you restart the engine. To be safe I cleared the code before I started. You need to use either a
BT (BMW) Scan tool, or an OBD II scan tool. Follow he scan tool manufactures directions for
clearing trouble codes.
a. The ODB II port is the little cover that says “OBD” on it. It is located above the hood
release lever on the driver’s side kick panel. The dental pick works great removing the
cover. To remove the cover pull it backwards towards the rear of the car from the little
indentation located on the side of the cover (facing the pedals). There is a smaller,
black, second cover tethered to the connector that just pulls straight out.
b. Once you’ve cleared the code, re-install the covers, so you don’t forget them later.

2. Remove the Engine Cover. This is the same procedure for removing spark plugs. You have to
remove the big, black cowling cover to get the engine cover off. You have to be careful with the
various plastic parts of the cowling. They all snap in place in various form or fashion and can
easily be broken if not handled properly. The steps are:
a. Remove the cabin air filter. The cabin air filter is located on top of the cowling in front
of windshield under the hood. (6 screws hold it in place). Be careful not to drop the
screws down the various openings around the cowling.
b. Pull the black plastic covers covering the brake fluid reservoir and the one on the
opposite side of the cowling left side i.e. passenger side of the cowling). There are two
plastic tabs, one on the front and one at the rear of the cover (use the dental pick again)
to pop up and little rubber thumb-tabs to pull out. Look at the covers closely to see how
they fit in with the various rubber covers tied to them.
c. On the right side there is an air-pollutant sensor and wire to remove, and the washer
fluid hose is connected to the underside of the black plastic cover when you remove the
cover. The wire is clipped to small tabs on the cowling, pull straight up on the clips and
 move it to the side. The tube is attached the same way but on the underside of the
cover. Remove the cover, turn it over and pull the tube off.
d. There are three wire looms that are connected to the cowling. Each sits in a carrier that
is snapped to the front of the cowling. Two are run through the flat-covered carrier
hanging on the front of the cowling, the second carrier holding the third wire is behind
the front carrier in a tube-shaped carrier. To remove the front carrier:
i. Snap up on the front of the long flat cover (you’ll see three tabs) and remove it
(it is hinged at the back).
ii. There is enough slack to gently pull the wires out of the carrier lower-half. Pull
the wires out and let them lay on the engine. Then remove the lower carrier
half by pulling out frontwards on the three lock-tabs on the face of the cowling.
Just take a few minutes to study this piece and see how it comes apart.
iii. The third wire loom sits in a separate carrier behind the one you just removed.
It is tube-shaped made of two pieces hinged together and snaps apart, and then
it unsnaps from the cowling. Open the carrier up (it stays together, just
unsnapped) pull the wire out and then pull the carrier straight out. Again, look
at it closely to see how it snaps in place before you try to take it apart.
e. There are two small 8-mm headed bolts that hold the cowling in place. The bolts are
located at the front of the cowling near the fenders, where you removed the black
plastic covers from earlier. They are small and black and hard to notice unless you look
closely. Remove them. Gently pull up on the front of the cowling an inch or two and
then pull it forward.
f. Now you can remove the engine cover. Release the five (5) quarter-turn torx-head bolts
and remove the engine cover. Lift it up then out and forward to the driver’s side.

3. Remove the engine belly pan. The belly pan is attached with 16, 8MM-head bolts. It’s best to
remove the bolts on the perimeter then the ones in the center of the pan so it doesn’t flop
down on you.
4. Remove the small bracket covering the O2 Sensor. Unclip the O2 wires from the cover in two
places. There are two small, inverse-torx head, bolts that hold the cover to the manifold.
Removal of the mounting bolts is done best from under the car. You can see the forward bolt
head from the top side, but it is under the cover and facing at a downwards angle and it is hard
to get to with a ¼ drive socket wrench. To get to these cover bolts, raise the car and look up the
exhaust pipe where the cats are and you’ll see the rear-mounted bolt. You remove the under
engine belly pan so you can see the front bolt for the Sensor cover (you’ll need to see the bolt
hole for reinstallation). Remove the brack bolts and go back topside and rotate the cover
counter-clockwise and pull it out forward. The inverse-torx socket size is E8.
5. Unplugging the Sensor. The wires for two upstream O2 sensors for Banks 1 and 2 run together
around the back of the valve cover over to the intake-side of the engine and connect to the
engine wire harness about midway forward down the valve cover. The wires (sheathing) are
color coded. The Bank 2 Sensor 1 (the one being removed) is gray colored (the Bank 1 Sensor 1
is black-colored). At the back of the valve cover the wires are attached to the oil separator vent
 pipe with a wire tie, so you have to cut the tie to remove the wires. Then the wires are held in
place along the top of the valve cover in a plastic tray with curved clips. Gently pull up on the
clips and remove the gray O2 Sensor wire. The wire ends at a big square plug that snaps into a
plastic clip. The clip has two fork tines that are easily breakable. You have to pull the square
Sensor wire plug out of this clip before you can separate the connector. Pull straight up on the
connector body until it unclips from the holder. Then separate the connector. Be careful.

Now you have to un-route the gray Sensor wire (you can leave the black Sensor wire alone) so it
is free to twist while you unscrew the Sensor from the manifold. The problem here is the wire is
trapped under another wire at the back-corner of the valve cover that runs down into the space
between the firewall and valve cover. The trapping wire is thick and stiff and has a black
accordion sheath on it. It doesn’t look like it, because there is no slack in the trapping wire, but
you can pull up on it enough to get the square connector of the O2 Sensor wire from
underneath it. Leave the slack you’ve just created in the trapping wire because you have to
slide the new O2 Sensor wire underneath it later. Don’t worry about pulling up on the trapping
wire because it is stiff enough to push back down into place. Finally pull the gray wire from the
clip bodies that were on the sensor cover you removed with the black sensor wire still attached.

6. Removing the Sensor. To get to the Sensor you have to go into the area of the engine bay
between the suspension strut housing and the body stiffener bar that bolts to the fire wall. Pull
the Sensor wire up through the labyrinth of cables, stiffener bar and firewall so that it is standing
straight up from the connector. Now assemble either a 3/8 or 1/2 –drive tool comprised of the
O2 sensor removal socket – universal joint – and 12” extension bar. Place this tool on the
Sensor so that you can rotate it counter clockwise with a ratchet (I used my big breaker bar, but
the break-loose torque on the sensor is not that big, so a large ratchet will probably work).
Break the torque on the Sensor and then unscrew it by hand.

7. Installing the New Sensor. The new Sensor OEM from BMW (it was $55 from Tischer) comes
pre-loaded with anti-seize on the threads (this is good news). Remove the plastic protective
end-cap from the sensor and carefully thread the sensor down in the location you pulled the old
on out of and thread it into the exhaust manifold. You, again, have to keep the sensor wire
straight up so it can be free to turn while you screw in the Sensor to the manifold. It will
probably take a few tries to get the Sensor started in the threads. Make sure you have it in
there correctly so as to not cross-thread it when tightening it down (follow the rules for
threading in spark plugs and you’ll be okay). Re-torque it to 37 ft/lbs.

8. Re-route the new Sensor wire back into the places it goes. Under the trapping wire, up through
the plastic cable tray, then re-connect the connector. Put a new wire tie where you re-moved
the old one.

9. Re-installing the Sensor bracket cover. This is a pain in the butt, especially if the car is on
jackstands and your reach and sight is limited. The bolts holding the cover onto the manifold
 are just at a bad angle from anywhere you try to get to them. The best way to re-install the
cover is from underneath the car, working on the rear most bolt first. From the top-side slide
the cover in over the Sensor then rotate it clock-wise back into place. From underneath the car,
align the rear bolt hole on the cover to the threaded hole on the exhaust manifold and thread
the small star-head bolt into the manifold. I used the ¼-drive No.8 inverse-Torx socket with a
little stubby 1” extension to get a good grip in the bolt. Thread it pretty tight so that the cover is
pretty snug to the manifold. Now with one arm up the access opening for the exhaust, look
around in front of the steering rack so you can see the forward bolt hole on the bracket. Make
sure it’s lined up with the threaded hole on the manifold and thread the bolt in using your hand
from your arm that is up the access opening. Tighten down both bolts with a ratchet, not too
much torque! They are small aluminum bolts and can snap easily.
10. Re-installing the engine cover, cowling, and belly pan is just the reverse of removal. Be careful
when re-installing the cowling. There are three tabs that snap in under the windshield. Slide
the cowling in at the angle you removed it (with the front of it up an inch or two). Get it seated
in the back, and then GENTLY push it down in front. Don’t force it, because if it is seated
correctly in the rear it will just drop down in the front. If it starts to need a lot of force to seat
the front, then the rear is not seated correctly and you may break a tab off (don’t ask me how I
know – and it was the second time I’ve removed it!).