Anyone change thier pre 95+ crankshaft position sensor

[BMWdriverwanted]

Been looking on the board and in Bently how to do this but cant find anything. I know where it is, and, know its just held on by a allen screw, but, it is deep in there and was wondering from those in the trenches that have done this what to expect and how they got at it?

[MrPink]

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/101-Projects-15-Crankshaft-Sensor/101-Projects-15-Crankshaft-Sensor.htm

[BMWdriverwanted]

Read that. It basically says it can be in the front, back and removal on cars may vary. It doesnt tell you what fingers you will lose in the process and how many curse words you will need to bring along with your tool bag.

[flyfishvt]

Read that. It basically says it can be in the front, back and removal on cars may vary. It doesnt tell you what fingers you will lose in the process and how many curse words you will need to bring along with your tool bag.

LOL and it only took him 985 posts to learn this valuable lesson.

[shannonreilly]

I just changed mine it was a pita. I removed my radiatior (that was okay cos a flushed my cooling system at the same time). Then I undid the allen bolt and removed the sensor from the front of the engine. Then just follow the wire and you will find the plug deep toward the centre of the intake. If u have small hands and a bit of patience u can remove it without having to remove the intake, or if you have a kid or something they can do it. In order to remove the sensor you will have to remove that plastic mount that holds the wire, here you have to remove the engine lift hook from the front so u can pop the plug through the gap between the solenoid and head. Btw that plastic thing that holds the wire down was really brittle on my car it just shattered at the lightest touch so be careful with it or order the part now. Just reverse the procedure for installation.

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[Lavinius]

i replaced this sensor this week and i used a big spanner to take the VANOS switch out, it's on top of it with a wire coming off it, then i took the oil hose from the bottom out, it's banjo style bolt and then had to slide my hand along the oil filter (make sure the motor is not hot!) under the intake manifold to disconnect the plug, took all of 10min to get the sucker out

if you replace cheek out my take on it here:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=23773027#post23773027

most camshaft positioning seniors are wrong, my firs one was from BMW by giving them my VIN number and it was a wrong one, the second was an aftermarket one which was wrong as well, I ended up cutting the genuine BMW one as stated in my post to get it to go in all the way, it worked and it solved my hesitation problem I had for 3 years

[cj.surr]

If you remove the airbox and maf, there's plenty of room to disconnect the sensor. You definitely don't have to remove the intake manifold.

[BMWdriverwanted]

LOL and it only took him 985 posts to learn this valuable lesson.

Yea, I knew it all along, I just didnt want to admit it and wanted someone to tell me it will be alright, then give me some warm milk before bed. Tomorrow is gonna be fun.......???




I just changed mine it was a pita. I removed my radiatior (that was okay cos a flushed my cooling system at the same time). Then I undid the allen bolt and removed the sensor from the front of the engine. Then just follow the wire and you will find the plug deep toward the centre of the intake. If u have small hands and a bit of patience u can remove it without having to remove the intake, or if you have a kid or something they can do it. In order to remove the sensor you will have to remove that plastic mount that holds the wire, here you have to remove the engine lift hook from the front so u can pop the plug through the gap between the solenoid and head. Btw that plastic thing that holds the wire down was really brittle on my car it just shattered at the lightest touch so be careful with it or order the part now. Just reverse the procedure for installation.

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Hmmmm, I guess I asked for it, lol. Cool, thanks for taking the time to give me a heads up.




If you remove the airbox and maf, there's plenty of room to disconnect the sensor. You definitely don't have to remove the intake manifold.

I have a K&N so I will try to squeeze in there with it on. If its gonna give me trouble, I will pop that bad boy right on out.



Again, thanks for the feedback all.

If you need to know how to change your front crankshaft sensor, this is THE correct thread for you! Shannon has it correct, as is you will see by my tale...

Well, THAT didnt go as planned! I thought I was gonna reach in there between the fan and take out the sensor. Nope, that didnt happen, could not get the fan off the water pump. Sooooo, I ended up taking the radiator out. Good thing I did, I went to flush it and seemed to fill up the pass side tank, looks like I have a clogged radiator :( . Well, at least I was able to unbend all the bent fins in the radiator too. Its not really a bad job, just time consuming. Also, if you have an automatic car, here is a tranny line/cooler connection box where two hoses go into. Make sure you get new o-rings for them. I am taking a chance and reusing mine since i have a second vehicle in case mine starts leaking.

Well, thats all, enjoy boys and girls :)

[Houseboater]

I changed mine in under 5 minutes. Removed upper hose and alt duct. No trouble.

[cj.surr]

Yeah, the fan is probably the hardest part of changing the CPS. You don't need to park your car if the ATF leaks a little bit, though... Just replace the o-rings when you get a chance.

[truthbtold]

remove air box to get to connector. Drain a gallon of anti freeze and remove top connection of coolant hose on left hand side of waterpump. tuck hose out of the way, route wires same as you found them.

[truthbtold]

remove air box to get to connector. Drain a gallon of anti freeze and remove top connection of coolant hose on left hand side of waterpump. tuck hose out of the way, route wires same as you found them.

[shannonreilly]

Suppose if u can't get fan clutch off water pump you could get to the three allen nuts holding the fan blade on and that would give you enough room to remove the sensor bolt and then pull the sensor from its mounting hole. I did read a couple of threads where people couldn't pull the sensor out like it was stuck or something so I thought it best to remove my radiator out the way so I would have space encase it was stuck.

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[BMWdriverwanted]

Yea, water, condensation and diff metals (I guess) get in between the sensor and hole and corrode up. I bent the crap out of a front crank sensor on a engine teardown. It would not come out and I put a screw driver in there. Sensor metal is soft and it collapsed the sensor and then I got really mad which made matters worse, lol. It came out in 2-3 pieces. With this one, it took me 5 minutes to twist out, up and down, but I got it in one piece.

[shannonreilly]

Awesome! If only all went that way.

[Moron95M3]

here is my DIY with pics

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1662934&highlight=crankshaft+sensor+DIY


sorry for the late post

[BMWdriverwanted]

The trick is to twist the sensor in a clock wise/counterclockwise motion and do NOT cock it sideways if possible. I say "if possible" because it never is possible. If it cant be done by hand, use a pair of pliers gingerly while prying up with a screwdriver once there is room.

Oh, and, of course, if you can, try to clean the part sticking out towards the crank hub to get dirt and sand out. A little WD probably would not hurt either.