Camshaft Position Sensor replacement--a bit of discussion

[Turdle]

edited first post with info-
Also, cleanup of thread for comprehensive value--

 

[danwaters]

thanks for the help guys...since Im lazy...which is number one cylinder, haha

 

[Turdle]

Furthest forward is always "1"

passenger side front.

 

[danwaters]

Furthest forward is always "1"

passenger side front.

thats what I thought. Its a pain in the butt to work on a truck with three shocks per side and shock hoops over the engine. Im reminding myself to not build my next car at all, haha

 

[Turdle]

Edited first post with a TSB
Anyone able to find it for reference?

 

[danwaters]

so my aftermarket part did not fit. It wouldnt align with the oilpump for some reason. Went and got a ford OEM part and it slid right in after I made my reference points and the truck fired right up and runs *****en. Didnt even need the damn tool I spent 35 bucks on.

 

[diver98]

If anyone needs parts (especially the alignment tool), to go rockauto.com. I ordered a new synchronizer for $40 and it came with the alignment tool and a new position sensor. Can't beat that price! Best of all, I ordered it Tuesday and it arrived today (Friday) in the mail. I think that's faster than if I had ordered it from the dealer or a-zone. Hopefully this will take care of the squeal and then I'll be happy!

 

[Magicland]

Anybody have any tips on removing the Camshaft Synchronizer on a 5.0L 97 EB? I can't even get to the capscrews on the CPS, let alone remove the entire synchronizer. There's some sort of rigid hose running in front of it (part of the AC?) and the coil packs are mounted over it.

 

[Turdle]

Anybody have any tips on removing the Camshaft Synchronizer on a 5.0L 97 EB? I can't even get to the capscrews on the CPS, let alone remove the entire synchronizer. There's some sort of rigid hose running in front of it (part of the AC?) and the coil packs are mounted over it.

Yes, you will need to remove, or move them. Numbering the spark plug wires before you remove them helps.
There should ba a clamp for the ac hose you can remove, which will then allow the hose to move a bit.

 

[Magicland]

Thanks, I sort of figured that, but I was hoping there might be an easier way that I just wasn't seeing. The coil pack support has one bolt on each side bottom, and then one on the side, or are there more that are hidden where I can't see them?

 

[Turdle]

Thanks, I sort of figured that, but I was hoping there might be an easier way that I just wasn't seeing. The coil pack support has one bolt on each side bottom, and then one on the side, or are there more that are hidden where I can't see them?

The best I can do on short notice is to show you how I modified my coil pack bracket. You will get the bolt locations from it though.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195861&highlight=coil+pack+bracket

 

[Yankeesfan]

Forgive the newbie questions but my X just developed a "chirp" tonight. No CEL but very annoying.

So, how do I determine if it is the CPS or say the idler pulley or any other pulley that needs replaced? I have been laid-off since April and don't have a lot of money to be throwing at this right now.

 

[Turdle]

Good info from this thread
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260979

Thanks X6stringerX for the pictures and observation. These represent the cmp used on a 2001 V8





Look carefully at the closeups of the pins in the shaft. You can see that the Motorcraft pins are thicker. The Dorman also has some side-to-side play in the shaft.

 

[Turdle]

Forgive the newbie questions but my X just developed a "chirp" tonight. No CEL but very annoying.

So, how do I determine if it is the CPS or say the idler pulley or any other pulley that needs replaced? I have been laid-off since April and don't have a lot of money to be throwing at this right now.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161590&highlight=chirp+squeak

 

[Stic-o]

Just for knowlage, my orginal one started making noise, so I desided to replase it. I used a after market one like the doorman above. Not to long after (less then (500 miles) I'm on the freeway when my oil presure drops to Zero. pin broke, so I had to replace it agian, this time I bought a new one from Ford. No problems sence! BUY THE FORD ONE! Trust Me!

 

[Knox5.0]

I have a question about this "squeak,chirp" noise the camshaft position sensor makes. If it is the camshaft position sensor, will it squeak and chirp continuous while the motor is running regardless of the operating temp or is it possible the noise will go away once the engine is warmed up? I have a similar sound to what is in the video but its only on cold start up and promptly goes away once the engine is warm. I do have a tensioner pulley that has some play in it and that is what i suspected was making the noise until i seen this thread.

 

[John_Rock]

I just replaced mine the other week. With 132K miles on my truck and having a little bit of play in the top pulley, I had replaced it first, but still had the chirp. My chirp was intermittent. Sometimes did it, sometimes didn't. But no more chirping since replacing the camshaft synchronizer.

 

[armyeng1]

1999 Ford Explorer Sport Cam Sensor

I just finished installing a cam sensor on my 1999 Ford Explorer Sport V6 4.0ltr. I had to remove the entire intake manifold and a bunch of electronics and vac lines that are connected to it. The question was always; was it a three wire or a two wire. The way to tell this easily "after the fact of course" is to get on the passenger side with the hood open and reach to the back of the engine behind the intake manifold and feel for the cam sensor. You should be able to see the wire harness but not the cam sensor. Then with your fingers, feel for the wires and thats a decent way to tell. You will need a gasket kit of course. The factory one will have three gaskets, two green thin ones and one thick black one that goes in between. The aftermarket one will only come with the black one and you use high temp gasket gunk on both sides. This job took me about three hours or so as an inexperienced person. My problem now is that my check engine light went out for a while and then came back on, so now what the hell is the problem, this son of a b is killing my wallet, Im going to get an elephant gun and put her down if she doesnt stop screwing up. Any ideas?

 

[spacegrinder]

Hi turdle,i see you have a lot of experience with cam sensors.I have read the posts.I have a book on my 98 mercury 5.0 as well.I have been trying for weeks to re-align the sensor because it had gone bad.I have tryed 30 different positions and can't hit it by accident.I have done everything by the book.The only thing that does not jive is tdc does not match the mark on the harmonic balancer.I can visiualy verify tdc without a problem,but it is about 60 degrees away from the sensor mark on the harmonic balancer,this has to be the problem.What should i do?The truck has a lot of miles on it,240k.Could thier be that much slack?Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[CDW6212R]

Hi turdle,i see you have a lot of experience with cam sensors.I have read the posts.I have a book on my 98 mercury 5.0 as well.I have been trying for weeks to re-align the sensor because it had gone bad.I have tryed 30 different positions and can't hit it by accident.I have done everything by the book.The only thing that does not jive is tdc does not match the mark on the harmonic balancer.I can visiualy verify tdc without a problem,but it is about 60 degrees away from the sensor mark on the harmonic balancer,this has to be the problem.What should i do?The truck has a lot of miles on it,240k.Could thier be that much slack?Any help would be much appreciated!

It sounds like your balancer is bad. First find TDC by removing the #1 spark plug. Find the compression stroke by turning the crank clockwise, finger gently over hole. Then gently turn the crank by hand to find the highest point of the #1 piston(object in hole(straight)). If the balancer does not line up then with the timing mark, the balancer is bad(twisted on itself).