What is this and how do I remove it?
 

Hi. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/maxima....1765b5aab2.jpgso my first ever car project at 45 years old is the passenger axel and upper oil pan on my daughter's first car. The CV boot is gone, and the upper oil pan is leaking like a manic.

I've found most of the info so far on this great site, but not sure about the item pictured. I'm removing the Y pipe exahust and have actually managed to get the six nuts mostly off, but I can't remove them until I disconnect the pictured part. There is not enough extra wire and I don't want to break this thing.

Thanks for your help on this!

I can't view your photo. I don't know if anyone else is having the same difficulty that I am.

Since I can't see the photo, I'm going to take a wild guess that the item in question is screwed into the y-pipe. If so, it is probably an O2 (oxygen) sensor. They can become very corroded and super hard to remove. You could trace the wires up to where it plugs in and just remove it wires and all.

Also, please tell us what year the car is. There are small differences from year to year and for some jobs it makes a difference.

Oh yeah, the mobile view does not show the picture. But it sounds like that I am looking at the O2 sensor. I tried following the wires up, but loose them. Lol. I think up against the exhaust I see where I might be able to use a wrench to remove it. Is that correct?

The car is a 1998 Infinity I30.

The O2 sensor on the fire wall side has plug right next to cylinder 1 coil pack. It's on the intake plenum near the wiper motor.

Yes... that's an oxygen sensor and it threads in and out of the exhaust system.

Your best bet is an O2 sensor removal socket. I've found, based on the positioning of our sensors, that the off-set tool works better.

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...et+-+o2+sensor

That tool does look like it would make the job easy. After the help here identifying the O2 sensor, I saw a youtube video that showed it is a 7/8 wrench, and also where the wires end up at. So thanks everyone.

I'm going to try to remove it from exhaust first, and if that fails, I'll undo it from up above. So far I've had no issues with the other "tough" bolts, so maybe this will be easy as well. Well, two of the three nuts on the back Y-Pipe were tricky. But luckily I had bought a wobble extension kit and the two smallest together wobbled right into place. Without them, I can see how much trouble that would have been.

As I get deeper I might have more questions!

Steve