I have tried all sorts, Had the alternator off last night so i could pull it directly upwards, Warm, cold, WD40, levering it, twisting it. WTF is holding it in? I am considering destructive removal now unless anyone has any more sugestions?

TIA jonny

 

It's got a wee clip you have to lift up before it will slide off, I used a small screw driver with one hand to pop the clip up and pushed it to the left with my other hand

 

If you're trying to remove the sensor from the aluminium bracket it locates in, it can be a real pain - They get seized in.

I've had to remove the cambelt and cank pulley before, in order to chisel it out.

 

Hmmm. I think you missunderstand.

F*ck that! I dont get it though, i can see movement and it twists round so how wont the **** come out????

 

As Rich says, the corrosion builds up between the sensor body and the oil pump. It'll come out eventually if you keep at it. Tapping it out is the quick option but the sensor will almost certainly be useless afterwards. If you know it's bust already, that's the way to go.

 

Removing the alternator belt cover gives slightly better access. One 10mm A/F bolt and out it comes - never had a problem! At least on a 03 STi

JohnD

 

Yep, had the whole alternator off last night not just the cover

Will hav to get another one on standby before attempting again because I think I'm going to end up loosing my temper.

Incidently are cam and crank sensors the same part on a phase 1.5?

 

If you send me a pic I of what I am looking at I will get one off my old engine and send you it as a backup if you want mate free of charge. I have a v3 sti ra engine in the garage with a dead bottom end.

 

Very good of you mate I will cover postage cost. Will try and find a picture

 

What tends to happen is when you twist it trying to pull it out, the 'head' of the sensor turns independantly from the body - Then you KNOW it's broken!

Cam and crank sensors are not quite the same - Cam sensor has an extra sheath around the body of the sensor, and bolt hole is in a slightly different position.

 

This is the part

 

No worries, I will take it off tomorrow and if you pm me your address jonny 693 I will get it sent tomorrow or saturday

 

Cool will do

 

Well I got it out in the end in about 8 pieces. The only way to get them out when they are that well seized is brute force and drilling/breaking it up. Then you can collapse the steel sleeve and pull it out with pliers.

Many thanks to coops1 who sent me a sensor FOC and wouldn't even let me pay the postage, star man!

 

I had the same problem on my car, I had to butcher the sensor out with a pair mole grips.

 

This saga begs the question... is there any grease or whatever that can be applied to the new one , to make it easier to remove for future oil changes (if you do them the '****' way)? Or will any kind of lubricant adversely affect the sensor's detecting capability?

 

Well i put a thin smear of spray grease on the replacement so hopefully it wont seize in as bad. I normally just unplug the sensor for oil changes but think in future I will take the whole thing out so it doesnt seize, after all its a 20 second job to undo the bolt. Shame it took me 3 hours lol.

 

So thats the connector your suppose to disconnect when doing an oil change to crank the engine over?

 

Yes.

When connected, the sensor detects from the crank's position, which then sends a signal to the ECU about when to squirt in fuel and fire the plugs.

With it disconnected, it... er... can't do that lol

 

cool, cheers

 

No worries mate, hope you get it all back together ok