96 Taurus 3.0 L OHV Camshaft Position Sensor replacement

Can I just swap out the Camshaft Position Sensor on this engine without any special tools? My Chilton manual calls out a special tool and I'm not sure what it does. the sensor looks like it is one solid piece that just bolts onto the engine.

Thanks for your help!

Tony

Reply to
Tony Nelson
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Yes, do it like a distributor, mark the old one's shaft position before you pull it, put the new one in exactly the same.

Reply to
Shoe Salesman

Thanks for your help. I replaced only the sensor, but it was all chewed up inside. Must have fallen apart sometime ago. After replacing only the sensor, I still get the P0340 reading and the idiot light. Should I now replace the assembly with the gear etc?

Tony

Reply to
Tony Nelson

what usually happens is the shaft/bearings wear out in the whole assy then it will hit the sensor and break it. Hopefully it didn't ruin your new sensor. Take off the intake hose, take all the bolts from that big wiring harness so you can move it out of the way, I could be forgetting something....sounds like you got it figured out anyway. When I wrote about marking the shaft on the old and the new I was talking about the shaft/housing assy....When your done remove the neg battery cable for a few minutes to clear the code. Have fun.

Reply to
Shoe Salesman

Dear Shoe Salesman, Do you think that pulling a used shaft/housing assy is worthwhile? They want ~ $160 for one at the Ford dealer?

Reply to
Tony Nelson

Did you check yours for play? IIRC the play is what breaks the sensor in most if not all cases. Given the failure rate I'm sure it would be best to get a new one but....if you could find a used one in good shape(no play) and cheap it would be worth a try. You might see if there is a way to grease the thing too before you install it. I dont remember its been a few years since I've seen one. Do you know anyone that works at a shop? Does your place of employment have a maintainace dept/shop? Ask the parts guy at the dealer to give you a shop discount, lots of times they will if you just ask. Also search for Ford parts online. Seems they sell them at discount prices, about the same price as a shop would get it from the dealer. I did a search on a few ford parts sites but no luck. I think its called a cam sensor drive or something like that. Good luck.

Reply to
Shoe Salesman

Dear Shoe Salesman, I got a wrecking yard replacement and followed your advice about installing it "do it like a distributor" and even though I didn't have the half cylinder of metal on the shaft of the old one, I was able to make a good enough guess as to the alignment and put it in. It is working, I cleared the codes and they are staying cleared after about 10 miles of driving. Now, I need to get it past the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) test tomorrow. With no codes it should pass without a problem. Thanks for your help! Best regards, Tony

Reply to
Tony Nelson

Cool! Here in CA you have to drive the car a while to get the ECM to relearn before it will pass (smog). (because they check the ECM for being recently cleared is the best way to discribe it I guess)Its hard to say but

10 miles might do it, just to make sure drive in town and highway a little at diff speeds. It could be where you are that they just look at the light to see if it works, and its not on. If it doesn't pass get a printout and have them tell you why and post here.
Reply to
Shoe Salesman

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