Edwardo

I soldered mine. I bet it's going to fail tomorrow!

thehangman

come on fellas! I'm sure you're both right.

soldering is the best way to do it if you do it right.
Bosch can't assume that everyone who buys the universal sensor is going to know how to do things right.

I am an electronics repair technician. i repair mainly audio equipment but I can attest to the abominable soldering skills of your average joe.

its in Bosch's best interest to provide an easy repair so that people dont botch their bosch

flux is a problem in many cases with soldering, and thats why they make flux remover.

anyway, I ended up buying the bosch sensor from ecs that didn't require any crimping or solderng. simply because i want to make this job a simple one while being more economical than buying the OEM part.

also got the differential drain/fill plugs and oil.

I'll post my results once the repair is complete.

i did experience a slight increase in milage after the techron fuel injector treatment. i'm getting 14.5-15 ave. mixed.

4Driver4

My point is that we can't know this without knowing why Bosch has the requirement. Without knowing why, we can only guess. No one is disputing that soldering makes an excellent mechanical connection...but Bosch recommends that you do not solder. If we know why they recommend this, which we do not, then we can decide whether or not it is prudent to ignore this directive.

Just because the requirement does not seem to make sense is not solid logic to ignore it.

thehangman

Well, I can see we're not going to get anywhere unless you get a written permission slip from Bosch.

ky90025

I have a '97 2.8L auto quattro and it gets about 17 mpg city and freeway. I live in calif where the traffic is bad. I have changed the plugs, o2 sensors, MAF meter, differential, center diff, front differential, auto transmission fluid. I didn't get a significant improvement in mpg. I have a 12V 2.8 which is different from yours but I have come to accept the fact that our 2.8 just doesn't get good gas mileage. I have driven rental car and get much better mpg so I know its not my driving style

thehangman

well if I was getting 17mpg i wouldn't be pleased, but I would be happier. 14-15 is unacceptable though.

Balzyone

I thinkthe ain reason you get any sort of sensor failure is the fact that most people do not have sufficient training on proper soldering techniques and actual apply too much heat causing damage to the item they are soldering. With proper heat sinks and the proper equipment that can be set not to applt too much heat, there should not be a problem. Sorry not my fault they taught me proper micro-soldering in the Navy.
On another note.....If I go to the alpha-bid.com and get the cable, does that mean I can download the free vag-com software and use that instead of paying the 230 bucks for their cable????