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I started having surging issues a couple of weeks ago and just got a day off yesterday to do the ckp sensor swap. I was throwing a crank sensor code along with an occasional cam sensor and some injector codes but those were related to an engine wire harness issue. The crank sensor code was the one that kept popping up and the surging never went away.
First of all, I watched the only two Youtube videos about it and both made it sound like the sensor is so hard to get to you have to remove motor mounts, air conditioning lines etc just to access the sensor. I got underneath the passenger side and looked at the place it was supposed to be and it really didn’t look that tough to get to. I had a little oil around it and on the harness so I figured the o-ring was leaking.
Tools needed:
1/2” drive ratchet
3/8” drive ratchet
Two 6” 3/8” extensions
One 3/8” swivel
3/8” drive 8mm socket
3/8” drive 15mm deep socket
Long flat screwdriver
Electrical tape
Electrical connector spray
Lubricant spray of your choice
24” wooden broom handle (I used a piece of 5/8” diameter fiberglass stake out pole I cut off my stake out pole for my boat)
Hammer
Telescopic magnet tool
I tried a couple of different combinations of 3/8 sockets and extentions and decided the main glow plug wire retainer bracket needed to be removed to get my hand in there. It is a 15mm nut on a stud with a ground wire behind it. I found that a 1/2” drive ratchet with a 3/8” reducer and a deep 15mm socket worked best. Remove nut and pull retainer bracket off. Now the wire will give you room to work.
Here you can see the glow plug wire, retainer and the ckp sensor in the gap. This is where your hand will have to reach in.
Here you can see the angle you need to get in the little area between the leaf spring and a/c hard lines with the extensions. You need to tape around the swivel so it flexes some but doesn’t flop around.
Stick your hand in the hole by the glow plug wire and guide the socket on the sensor mounting bolt and back it out. Use the magnet tool to keep the bolt from falling out and remove it. Now you can take your long flat screwdriver and use it to push in on the wire clip and off the sensor. Reach in and pull the sensor out with one hand. I could get my hand in there and they aren’t that small.
Spray the connector with electrical connector cleaner and then spray the new sensor o-ring with lubricant and push it in the hole. Now take the broom handle or other long tool and use it to push the sensor in the hole so the o-ring is seated. Go in through the same way you went in with your extensions and tap the sensor in with the broom stick and make sure it seats. Put the sensor bolt on the socket and work it in. Use the magnet to keep the bolt in the socket as you get it in the hole and tighten it up. Use one hand to clip the connector, put the glow plug retainer back on the stud, tighten down the nut and that’s it!
This is the stuff that really helps others out including myself that has not done one yet.
I honestly think the sensor was still good but the connector finally got enough oil in it to cause it to lose signal to the PCM. The o-ring on the one that came out had a flat spot that looked like it got pinched when the last person installed it. They supposedly have a low failure rate but maybe when the head studs were done they replaced what they could while the cab was off. Who knows.
Nice write up , I’ve watched good videos on the R&R and the job looks tight, what’s the sledge hammer for ,
Those 8mm bolts get seized up and need a little persuasion! No it is to tap the end of the fiberglass rod to seat the sensor o-ring in the hole. I mentioned using a section of broom handle too because not everyone has 3/4” fiberglass rod laying around. I’m in the oil and gas industry so I have to use these brass sledges to break hammer unions and brass won’t spark and ignite the highly flammable gas ever so prevalent out there.
Send some links to the good videos, I searched for days and most of them outlined unbolting a bunch of a/c lines and transmission filter brackets.
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, it’s been a few months I’ll see if I can dust them up in the vid history
