has anyone replaced their o2 with a universal one on a first gen legacy.

 

i know that you need to splice the wires, but are the wire colors the same.

 

or is there some rule of thumb to hooking up the wires.

 

or does the directions tell you what ones to hook to what ones.

yes, the color code on the wires will be the same. However, I have never seem to make a good splice that lasts. Invariably, one of the soldered wires will develop a bad connection in a year or so to cause problems, like causing the CEL to come on. Then, it is a guess, as to which soldered wire is the trouble maker.

 

I finally convinced myself to spend the extra $20 or so, and buy the model designed for the car. To me, it is just not worth the hassle using a universal

o2 sensor.

perfect example....my o2 sensor got ripped off my 96 legacy (long story) so i just soldered it back in place and it lasted for about another year and than i started getting a CEL with o2 sensor code.....chances are it was the original so i wasnt to hesitant about spending the $125 from subaru for a direct fit one......

Another issue about soldering o2 sensor wires is having the correct solder. O2 sensor wires are made of stainless steel. If you are going to do it, just make sure you have very good wire to wire contact. Because if you use solder to partially fill in a joint, it's going to affect the voltage.