Clean a dirty AFR? Code P1135

So the Taco is throwing the P1135 code at me and a quick search shows it to be the AFR sensor. Basically dirty and clogged up from 100,000 miles of running. So I said to myself "self, if you can clean and wash the outside of yer Taco, why not a sensor?" Being a complete newbie when it comes to repairs etc., google here I come. Basically soak the sensor overnight in gas, dry it off, disconnect battery, install sensor.

Low and behold was "
How to Clean an Oxygen Sensor on a Toyota


http://www.ehow.com/how_4798712_clean-oxygen-sensor-toyota.html

Anyone ever try it? Did it work or ? Makes entirely too much sense not to give it a shot and spend $5 on some gas.

 

Not gonna help - 1135 is the pre-heater not working, which cleaning ain't gonna resolve. At least that's my understanding. Replace it, and the other one, and pencil it in for 200,000 miles while you are at it...

Rockauto, use the tw 5% discount (see their vendor page for the code) mine (both) were $155.15 shipped. Get Densos

 

^^^ Yep, I think Ecnerwal is right. P1135 is Air/Fuel Sensor Heater Circuit Response. (Bank 1 Sensor 1) Cleaning probably won't help the heater circuit.

Make sure you stay with OEM, Denso. They work!

 

Thanks, thought it was worth a shot. Is it only ONE sensor or TWO ?

 

On my 2002 2.7L there is one A/F (aka front oxygen) sensor - that's the one with a preheater which is not working to get a P1135, which is $98-103 for the denso part at rockauto depending on whether you have an auto or manual tranny.

There is a second , simpler, cheaper (55 for denso at RA) oxygen sensor beyond the cats (and I have two cats, one after the other - I think that's standard for this era, but I don't know how many variants there are in the wild.)

My opinion, which you are welcome to ignore, is that if one sensor is shot, might as well replace both, but you can wait until you get a code or the second one if you prefer. I'd rather spend the extra $55 or so on that one now and replace them both and be done for another 100-120,000 miles.

A V6 might have another sensor, I don't have a V6 so I have not checked that - if so, one is "bank 1" and the other is "bank 2" corresponding to each side of the engine - the 4 only has one side (everything is "bank 1" on a 4.) If the 6 has (as it might, but I have not checked) 2 "front" sensors and one "rear" sensor I'd replace all three when the first one failed, but others may choose to replace each as it fails.

 

wow.
I don't think I could have wrote that post any better.

it takes only a small amount of time is getting grit in your hair and face don't bother you then its easy. People don't seem to realize its the degree of degradation in the over all "tune" of the engine that leads to major problems in modern motors. to me it is a wide range in the limits of released emissions that are programed in the systems. By the time you have a CEL light on your fuel mileage is probably way off, and if you bought the truck new and have been driving it every day for 10 years it snicks up on people.
My dad's 2nd toyota truck 92 4x4 after 11 years we were talking on the phone, gas prices and really started going back up in late 2000 and he was griping about how much the truck was sucking gas and I asked him when was the last time he tuned it up, and the phone got quite, so we tuned it up the next day, anyway,
this can leads to some of the carbon buildup that really screws up motors.
by the time your CEL comes on or you fail a emissions test thats a lot of wasted fuel and carbon going out the tailpipe.

I have posted this before after all the modification I did to my Mustang GT almost everything you could do back then from throttle body, to intake to highpower coils to headers to 3" exhaust, when I did my Ill. emissions test the supervisor heard my car and he "assisted" the operator on my inspection. and my since I had the car tuned so well, (and I also had a reprogrammed computer chip on her to advance the timing to run 92)
I was at the best of both ranges. and i honked as i rolled out the station,
again these are pics of the o2 sensors that I changed 2 months ago, I know they have been changed at least once because the wiring banding under the transmission for the front sensor had been already broken. Now this is me but my truck was not throwing any CELs, but it was in a sorry state of tune when i got her, and after what I have done so far I am very happy with the way she is running.
Now I have just gotten my special yellow notice from Illinois to get my truck tested before I renew my reg. and I am going to do a few more things, new coils, temp. sensor, and instead of cleaning this time just get a new IA sensor and I will post the emission test results on the forum.



of forgot it after if cleaned under the hood this spring, dont mind the chips, a fall project coming with new suspension before outer banks!


I forget to say, the sensor with out the wire is the front one, and after i took the nuts off and started out, it hit the side and a nice little rain of soot came out with it, so there was alot more than the pic shows.

 

The relies are spot-on so far. I believe there was another thread where we discussed the P0135 code. No amount of cleaning will help. What typically happens is that the heater circuit inside the sensor goes open, preventing the O2 sensor from warming up quickly, hence setting the P0135 code.