Cam position sensor questions...

[GeorgeR]

OK, that's kinda what I was thinking, so thanks.

Joe, I'm curious, why are you going to change the syncro out? I couldn't find any info as to you having a noise or cel or ?? Maybe I didn't go far enough back?

 

[rizzjc]

Joe, I'm curious, why are you going to change the syncro out? I couldn't find any info as to you having a noise or cel or ?? Maybe I didn't go far enough back?

Yeah, I hijacked this thread on page 1, where it dawned on me that the chirp I couldn't find was in fact the synchronizer. I've confirmed it with a stethoscope. Even when it's not chirping, I can hear it through the stethoscope. I have no CEL, but would rather just fix this, and have one less noise to worry about ... so I can go on to concentrate on other noises.

 

[GeorgeR]

Well, it's your call of course, but if I were in your position, I would remove the sensor and take a look. If the vane on the synchro is still in tact you might want to just change the sensor.
You can remove the sensor without taking anything else off. Just remove the two screws that hold it down and carefully remove the electrical connector.
The vane is a thin (060 or so) semi circular piece of aluminum casting metal that is machined into the top of the synchro and it fits between the center electrode, which is molded into the center of the sensor and the pickup which is also a molded extension of the connector inside the sensor. Clean the debris out of the syncro and put a new sensor on it and your done. (assuming that the vane is ok)
Even if you have to replace the synchro, there may be enough of the vane left so that you can determine the orientation for the new one and eliminate the need for finding tdc etc. It's worth a look at any rate. Mine was so worn that I couldn't tell a thing until I got it out, so I had to go thru the whole ball of wax.

 

[Mikeri]

Something to give thought to. When I removed my old Cam Sync Gear, and just turned it by hand, it chirped. So, I put some Marvel Mystery Oil around the crevice and let it seap down into the shaft overnight. Chirp gone. I suspect some tarnish buildup. If your vane is still intact, and your sensor is still intact, maybe you might want to try to lube it like described. Have fun.

 

[rizzjc]

I could do that, but the part is on it's way, and then I'll feel like it's one less thing I have to worry about on the truck. I hate noises that were never there before. The ticking is next, and of course, I know what it is. It's just a matter of wanting to fix it or not (i.e. putting the money into it). So, I would just prefer to get this done, and be done with it, hopefully for the remaining life of the truck.

 

[rizzjc]

Arrrgggg!

Well, I got the synchro in last week, but my truck was parked with my camper. I finally got over to get it today and do some shuffling of recreational vehicles, and I started up the truck for the first time in a couple weeks. It took a little longer to turn over, and idle a little rough at first, but was good to go after that. Then I'm about half way back to my house with camper in tow, and the CEL comes up. Reach down to check, and I'm getting a P0307 code, missfire in cylinder 7, I believe. I was seriously underpowered getting this camper back to the house. So, the Explorer takes over the garage until I have time to work on it. I'm wondering if I should replace the synchro first, or fix the CEL.

I guess if I'm lucky, it's plugs and/or wires, which I have and was planning to replace at the same time as the synchro. So, I guess I'll do all of that first, and see what happens. A couple searches revealed that it could also be the coil packs. Hopefully nothing more serious than that.

As if I needed anything else to fix.

 

[rizzjc]

Digging in!

Finally got a free night. Figured if I could get it jacked up and taken apart, I should be able to finish this weekend. Since I'll be doing the plugs, wires, and sync at the same time, I put it up on jack stands and pulled the tires. Pulling out the coil packs to get to the sync was a bit more un-bolting than I expected, but the rest should go easy when I get back to it this weekend.

 

[og]

A few of you were incredibly helpful back here, when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with my 98 5.0 explorer. Hope I can repay some of that karma with this little discovery.

Two days ago, I started to get what i thought was a lifter noise. I thought, crap, I just had this engine all apart, I don't want to do it again to get a lifter out. So I do what anyone in my position would do, I get a can of Marvel and pour it in.

A day and 200 miles later, same thing, if not worse. Really pretty clearly lifter noise, right? Wrong. Eventually, it throws a code. "Camshaft position sensor". I yank the stupid thing, and discover the little rare earth magnet inside has slipped down and is rubbing against the top of the camshaft sensor shaft. I replaced it last december, so it's under warranty, and i go to AutoZone and get the replacement.

The new ones, it turns out, have the little magnet potted in place, the old one it was just pressed into a slot. Anyway, reset the code, replaced the sensor, bolted the coil pacs back down, seems to be ok. With NO LIFTER NOISE.

Nice.

Thanks again, hope this helps someone.

 

[rizzjc]

I'll look at the sensor for that issue before I install the new one. Thanks for the tip.

I've been looking at some other stuff, and want to ask before I go put this back together. Sometimes when the truck is WARM (not cold, not hot) it takes some cranking to get it going. Did some research once, and one possible culprit appears to be the engine coolant sensor. It look like it's in this area under the coil packs as well. I'll dig around, but would be nice if someone knows and could confirm. Since I've got the packs out, I figure I might as well replace them while I am at it.

 

[rizzjc]

Last question?

OK, I used the alllen wrench idea and the tool to get the existing sync aligned properly before pulling it out. Now when I go to put the new one in, with the tool, since it has to twist into the spider gear (if that's the correct term), it ends up being slightly off from horizontal. It needs to go about 5-10% clockwise to be perfectly straight. Do I need to worry about this? I checked the harmonic balancer to confirm that it was at 0 degrees (pretty darn close anyway). Kinda thought I would at least get that part buttoned up tonight, but I guess not.

Appreciate any thoughts. I'll post a pic in a few.

 

[rizzjc]

Red mark shows the line I placed there as a reference after I aligned the old sync before removing.

 

[Turdle]

No worry--
the new synch housing might be a bit off, but if the gear is meshed-the oil pump drive seated and the #1 cylinder is at TDC-you can button this one up--

 

[rizzjc]

Sounds good. The only reason that I'm being paranoid (like usual) is that I used the old sync to "find" TDC, so was expecting the new sync to land in the same spot. The harmonic balancer being less than a tick away from 0 was reassuring.

I am going to pick up a new engine coolant temp sensor tomorrow, and won't be able to install it until then, so I'll button it all up then, slap the news plugs in, and run the new wires, and be good to go. Oh, and my rings are leaking. Oil on the threads of every plug. Well, I KNEW it was going SOMEWHERE.

Well, off to get some sleep. This will have to wait for Saturday now.

 

[Mikeri]

The same thing happened to me. I have written here about it. I was worried also. Well, 1k miles later, no problem. Mountie runs great. I was worried about being a tooth off. Check back on my posts to see if we are talking about the same thing. I think so.

 

[rizzjc]

Thanks, good to know. It's amazing. I believe all of your people that I've never met, that I won't blow up my truck.

 

[5.0]

Thanks, good to know. It's amazing. I believe all of your people that I've never met, that I won't blow up my truck.

Ya, it's a great feeling, isn't it? So I guess it's all back together now?

Mine was angled like your's is. Was the red line previously aligned with the center of the arrow?

Also, when I aligned the tool in my old sync before removing it, the timing pointer was a few degrees off. Once the old sync was out, I set it on 0* and then dropped the new one in.

 

[GeorgeR]

Red mark shows the line I placed there as a reference after I aligned the old sync before removing.

That looks perfect to me. Mine was probably the same amount off center,maybe a tad more. It works purrfectly (sic) I did all the other stuff (plugs etc) at the same time. The synchro was the easiest and I didn't lose any blood or skin on that phase.

 

[rizzjc]

Don!

That looks perfect to me. Mine was probably the same amount off center,maybe a tad more. It works purrfectly (sic) I did all the other stuff (plugs etc) at the same time. The synchro was the easiest and I didn't lose any blood or skin on that phase.

No blood here either! That's always a successful project. I did as you, and replaced plugs and wires as well, (had a missfire code pop up just before starting this, so it was "good" timing). I planned to do a compression test as well, but it took so long to route all of the wires, that I decided to call it a day and do it another day. Well, she purs like a kitten again (well, maybe a mountain lion with the exhaust manifold leaking). Seems that I had a warning of the missfire a few months before the code popped up, and that appears to be gone. I've got power again! Woohoo! And, no more chirping. Oh, I was also having a problem with the truck taking longer to turn over when it was WARM (not cold, not hot), so I replaced the engine coolant temp sensor as well, since it was right next to the synchronizer. Not sure if that problem was solved or not, but for about $15 it was worth doing it while I had the coil packs off.

Thanks to everyone for all the help. You don't know how much the support helps me keep this thing going.

 

[Turdle]

That is great news Joe!!

 

[ssteves]

1995 explorer 4.0 cam position sensor/synchronizer

I've looked at this thread and its been very helpful, pics etc.thanks!
Does anybody know about the 95 explorer 4.0 sensor and synchronizer? Is it the same or different than the 96,97,98 item? - 96 and beyond are available on ebay for $40- $60 which includes the synchronizer, the sensor and the alignment tool.
Could I buy one for a 96 or beyond and have it fit my 95?
My truck has a bad intermitent squeal and a 214 fault code but still runs...

Please let me know.

Thanks,
Steve