happy new year dan and sages - i may be a heretic but here goes. i have a88 buick lesabre with the 3.8 v6. i understand this is a legendary engine. it is the only engine other than the sl6 which i put in a class by itself in terms of durability, economy and reliability. it may prove out tobe the next sl6 in terms of reputation. my problem- the service engine soon light has been on for a week with no change in engine behavior. autozone puts a scanner on cars for free but only back to 95. dealer wants to clip me for 85 just to put their scanner on it. car has 182k with no serious work, no oil consumption and still gets 18mpg in town even with hydramatic . here is my analysis. first i plan to unscrew the 02 sensor from the manifold near the firewall and install a new bosch for 21.95. dealer wants 150 part and labor in addition to scan clip. then i will disconnect battery hot wire cable for 20 seconds to reset the computer. hoping that will be problem solved and light out. here is my research- uncle moe first told me 90% of those service engine light problems mean the 02 sensor has crapped(never replaced in 10years and 50k miles). moe also says dealers use this as a profit enhancement scam. here is my 2 cents/question- if the cat is clogged (the engine is not stalling ,puffing or missing which is a tipoff) or partially clogged couldnt that reduce the 02 in the exhaust and trip the sensor? would appreciate dan or another sage giving me a critique of my analysis. thanks tons bob f