Hi all
The wife's corsa B has been playing up for a some time the engine management light keeps coming on but if you rev the engine the light goes out for a few days.
I have had it checked and the garage says its the lambda.
Can i remove this and clean it in some way or is it a new one wanted
How hard is it to remove and is special tools needed to do this job.
In all the years i have worked on cars i have never had to do this job
Jacko

Not sure you can clean it in any way.
I changed one on the wifes Lupo a few years ago. just unplugged it from the loom, put a ring spanner over it and screwed it out!! They can be a bugger to remove if they are seized in, just make sure you use the correct size spanner in the first place as not to round the flats off. I don't think its any different on any other car.

PS: I got the replacement from Euro Car Parts, seemed best price after haggling discount.

Be careful replacing it. Vauxhall only like genuine GM lambda's

My car failed an MOT on emissions based on a lambda sensor, the garage did manage to clean it but I've no idea how. Unfortunately on removal they actually broke the heater circuit so while I had great emissions, I had an engine light on!

The main problem with them is access, as Proby mentioned you need a good fitting ring spanner and a lot of clearance to get the leverage on what will be a seized fixing. It can sometimes be worth taking it to a garage as they can get it up on ramps. It 'should' only be a ten minute job.

You ought to find out which sensor is at fault though, most cars have a pre cat sensor which deals with emissions and a post cat sensor that looks at the efficiency of the convertor. Both can generate a fault light.

[Edited on 5/1/14 by Slimy38]

If you can get a spanner on it, it will be 22mm from memory or a deep socket with cable cut out is only around a fiver.

Hi you could clean it with brake/clutch cleaner this some times works give it a go as they do get sutted up a lot so doesn't help them work properly :-)

Vauxhall Corsa lambda Senors tend t to suffer from corrosion of the wiring and plug.
If the sensor itself is triggering a fault code then it is likely to be the sensor is responding too slowly and has failed the crossing point count test.

Nearly all lambda sensors are made by a division of NGK or by Bosch but there are a lott of counterfeit ones around on ebay the most reliable internet suppliers are gendan.co.UK


The hex size is indeed 22mm and often they can be very tight so a really good fit iscrequired.you can buy special slotted sockets for removing the sensor I have found the crows foot style the most useful.
You can clean the threads in the manifold with a18mm (Ford Pinto) spark plugs thread chaser/repair tap.

[Edited on 5/1/14 by britishtrident]

You can get proper lamba sensor sockets with a cutout for the wire, they are usually the 6sided type of socket to help reduce the chance of rounding off the nuts.

As said by BT, 99.9% of Lambdas are made by either NGK or Bosch (including OEM), Euro Car Parts sold both options.