Melted O2 sensor connector

[lil_greenie]

2003 2WD 4.0L MFI SOHC 6cyl Ranger
122k on chassis
45k on engine

Realized that my O2 sensor at S1B1 is out so I got the part at autozone and went to put it in only to find its connector in the engine compartment was melted and completely fused. Curious that a part like that would fail from heat even though it's meant to be right above the exhaust. My question is, is there any reason to buy and wire in the other half of the connector or just snip the connector on the replacement and wire it directly? Clearly, doing the extra work now would save me effort in the futre if it fails again down the road. Regardless of which I go with anyone have advice for mitigating heat damage at the connection? Splice the wires, then electrical tape, then insulating tape? Any thoughts are welcome

 

[DavisRanger]

Same thing happened to me. I spliced the new O2 and cut the connecting wire to have little slack. I only used electrical tape. I’ve been running it that way since July and haven’t had any issues.