What's a good plug to switch to after a header install, the only mods done to the car are the longtubes, no cats and a vararam. Also, how do I find out what brand of header's I have?? I know that sounds like a dumb question but I work at a car dealership and we bought a used ZO6 at the auction and it had a pair of headers on it but wouldn't pass smog so they had to get rid of them(lucky me)lol.
My car has started to sputter and backfire under a load especially in OD and 3rd gear from cruising speed, the check engine light is also on and the last time I checked it was saying something about the O2 sensor being bad?
The reason I'm trying to figure out what brand the headers are is so I can see if we have the sensor's hooked up correctly?
Thanks so much for any help and I'm sorry for jumping off topic on the plug's.
Donnie

 

I think I'm gonna try the NGK55TR's, I read in another post where someone said that they ran those ones and had pretty good luck with em'.
Donnie

 

That is what I have in the Iridium IX's

 

Go with the NGK's either the copper core TR55 or the Iridium

 

Did you check your plug wires and make sure they aren't touching the headers and burning thru?

 

Having an O2 sensor light go on (after header install) is not unusual. You just need to tune them out, which is done with a Predator or one of the more sophisticated packages (efilive or hptuners).

There is a specific config for the o2 sensor connection. Its the same for all brands. For the front, the right sensor connects to the right side connector, left to left. For the rear sensors, they are connected to the opposite sides.

My LG headers have the name on the #1 cylinder tube. I don't know about other headers.

I did not need to change plugs.

If you post the codes your PCM is throwing, we can be more specific in helping.

btw, sounds like you got a steal.

 

Guys,
Thanks so much for the help! I actually got the plugs all put in last night and the car runs SO much better after just the plug swap!! I mean it's like driving a different car!
I checked and none of the plug wires seem to be touching the headers and none of them were burned through.
I went with the non-iridium plugs because I didn't realize that the other ones were better. How much of a difference is there from going to the iridium plugs??
Bennett-thanks for letting me know the correct O2 sensor wiring, so the driver side O2 sensor connects to the driver's side header collector in the front and passenger to the passenger side but then cross the rear's??
I think that my rear's aren't crossed, they're ran just like the front's??
Could that be what's causing the check engine light to go on?
I'll check on the exact code and post it tonight...
Will the Diablo tuner, fix the air/fuel ratio or is it able to delete the rear O2's? Which one is the Predator?
Thanks so much again for all the help,
Donnie

 

Probably not, as long as the cats are operating correctly.

You need to see what codes you do have. Have a peek here for how to see them using the DIC:

Tech Tip - IPC Codes

Write them all down before clearing any. Since it seems to be running better after your plug change, you might want to clear them and see if anything comes back. P1153/4 can be pretty common with headers and are not necessarily indicative of a problem (outside of that pesky passing I/M issue.)

You posted before about a ticking sound. Did that go away a while back, go away after the plug change, or is it still there?

 

Texan,
The ticking sound has gone away pretty much, I think that it might have just been a small vacuum leak at the intake manifold. I haven't really worried about it just because the oil pressure and temp. are fine and it hasn't been using any oil or any more oil than usual?
The codes that it threw were:
P0155 C
P1153 H C
C1226 H
B0363 H
U1096 H
U1064 H
U1016 H

The last three,(the ones starting in U) are some time of "loss of communication) codes that keep coming back as "history" codes ever since I changed the oil pressure sending unit??
The C1226, I'm pretty sure that I just need to change my right front wheel speed sensor but I just haven't got around to it.
On the other 3 codes, any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks so much again guys,
Donnie

 

I checked what those codes mean:

P0155 C- Heated O2 sensor, heater circuit bank 2 sensor 1

P1153 H C- Heated O2 sensor insufficient switching bank 2 sensor 1

So does that tell me that the passenger side, front sensor it bad?
Thanks again,
Donnie

 

ttt

 

The P0155 and P1154 are similar tests. The first one executes on cold startup, the second on warm startup. They're a little different, but both tests fail when the signal produced by the front bank 2 (passenger side) sensor isn't active enough. You might want to verify you don't have an exhaust leak near it.

It'd be easier to declare it dead if you could get a look at the data it produces using a scan tool. It might just have low amplitude oscillation or it might not oscillate at all. It would have less impact to your fueling if it was just oscillating with lower amplitude. If it's stuck either high or low, it'd drag your fueling either rich or lean. It'd be interesting to see the signal it's producing now and see if it's behaving in a way that makes sense with respect to how your old plugs looked. It's also be worth comparing it to the other side to see how similar/different they are. If it's been banged around much during an install, been near certain kinds of sealants or fuels, or just had a rough life it could easily be shot. They're easy enough and cheap enough to just change if you don't have access to a scanner. I stick with the Delco AFS75.

Strange new noises I can't explain bug me. Of course, the older I get the less trouble I have with that...

 

Texan-
Thanks so much man! I think that I'll check and see if there's a leak right there by it but if not I'll just buy a new one. So it's the passenger side front one?
About how much are the AC delco ones?
Thanks again man,
Donnie
P.S. I got underneath the car last night and checked and the front's and rear's were both running to where they were supposed to be.

 

Making a little sense of this, if your front O2 sensor is bad, you'll be getting probably a pretty rich mixture on that side. That will cause the plugs to foul pretty quickly, which might be why changing out the plugs fixed things for "a while". Suggest you try changing out that O2 sensor.

Make sure that the rear O2 sensors are connected to cables on the OPPOSITE sides of the car. If they are connected to the same side as the fronts, they are incorrect, but you have to be very careful to make sure of how they are connected. (I've been there.) If not wired correctly, you will eventually get very rough conditions as well.

The Diablo Predator custom tune automatically deletes the functionality of the rear O2's. At least, that is what I was told by TS at Diablo when I was using one. (I now use HPTuners.)

I think the O2's run about $75. You might want to replace both fronts at the same time to ensure you have 2 good ones.

Good luck.

Dick

 

I think list is like $75 each or so, you can find them for less if look around. I agree w/ bennettrp on replacing the pair, though it would be nice to know that the sensor itself was the source of the problem (otherwise you're just treating symptoms.)

Do be too surprised if the P1154 comes back even with a new sensor. Most folks that see it or 1153 with an LT install don't actually see drivability issues as you did, so let's just keep fingers crossed that it's actually a bad sensor.

Did you ever identify the make of your headers? Got a pic?

 

Guys,
I dont' have a pic of the headers as of right now and there wasn't a brand written on them anywhere. I'm pretty sure that they're either polished stainless or chrome??
I'll definitely change out both of those front O2's this week! The rear O2's are definitely connected to the opposite sides of the car.
I guess I'll just have to get one of those Diablo's to tune out the rear sensors in order to get the check engine light to go off.
How long do you think it'll take for the engine to foul the plugs again? I mean now that the new plugs are in, will it be okay till the middle of the week?
Also, last question...can you tune the air/fuel mixture with the Diablo Predator?
Thanks again for all the help,
Donnie
P.S. I'll try and get a pic of those headers...

 

Note that none of your codes above were related to rear O2s. I know your running w/o cats and it would seem reasonable that you'd trip the codes for low cat efficiency but I'm in the don't fix what ain't broke camp.

I can't comment on what the hand helds can do specifically, I'm an EFILive user. It's anybody's guess how long you could run w/o fouling your plugs with the bad sensor in there. My guess is you'll be fine.

 

texan
Thanks man! What's EFILive?
Donnie

 

EFILive (www.efilive.com) makes a scanning and tuning package called FlashScan. It's in the same category as HPTuners (www.hptuners.com). Both offer more tuning capability than hand helds like the Diablo.

 

try tr 55s by ngk they are what alot of us us use 02 z06 long tubes by dynatech super max replace your 02s