front O2 sensor pricing- best price or best fit?

my car is the 95 850glt spoken of in an earlier post- i am planning on
replacing the front O2 sensor, but now the question becomes: should i
get a direct fit or a solder/crimp style - is there a performance
difference? any good/bad experiences out there? thanks!
i know the price difference can be anywhere from $50- over $100 and im
talking about parts not bought at the volvo counter!
-robbie

 

I've used the crimp style before, and it worked okay for me. I have
reservations about whether solder is useful for a device that is exposed to
such heat and vibration - I'd expect the solder to crack and crumble within
a year or so. Perhaps the part deep inside the crimp would fare better.

Mike

 

Crimping works better for automotive... Soldering things is best reserved
for people who are properly trained on soldering (and making the
mechanically secure splices needed to affix wires with solder, a T-splice
for a tap, or a Western Union for an extension... Butt splices with solder
aren't mechanically secure, and while hook splices are better, they still
aren't the greatest.... Crimps connections will probably last as long as you
would ever need them to.

 

But often crimps are poorly done with low quality butt splices, and so
are loose. And if not protected from the weather, then corrosion
interferes with the connection after a short time.

I'd always stick with the OE style.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

Is it in need of replacement? Put a high impedence, digital volt meter, from
the connection and ground while the car is hot and running. The O2 sensor
should move from about .2VDC to about .8 VDC. Google for O2 sensor for more
on this.