Mike Wills wrote:

At 07:27 PM 5/11/99 -0700, you wrote:

If you use 100LL aviation fuel the O2 sensor will be damaged due
the lead content.

Paul

Paul,

 This subject was discussed on the RV-list awhile back. I know of at least
2 Lyc powered RVs that have burned 100LL exclusively for hundreds of hours
with O2 sensors installed and without any signs that they suffered because
of it. I know everyone says you can't do it but here are 2 cases with no
problems. Both of these guys were told before doing this that they would
have problems and both decided that the O2 sensors were cheap enough to be
considered expendable if they died relatively quickly. Neither have had to
replace the sensors and both still work flawlessly.

Mike Wills

They could be fooling themselves as a lot of fuel injection systems that
see the O2 sensors fail, default to an open loop system and don't use
the sensors. Sometimes the only indication is a slight increase
in fuel consumption. Another possibilty, and this is the case with
my Ford EFI, is the EFI CPU only uses the sensors at medium and low
power. At aircraft power levels it does not use the O2 sensors
at all. 

Unless you have the source code for the software in the engine computer
or a software flow chart it is difficult to tell what is really
going on.

It is a fact that leaded gasoline destroys O2 sensors eventually.

Since Tracy programmed his own computer and has some eperience 
with O2 sensors and has burned both 100LL and no lead auto fuel
he tells us, as I recall, that the sensor will recover somewhat
if no lead auto fuel is burned after 100LL is burned.

Tracy?

Paul Lamar
 
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