cutlassman Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 Uh oh. In an attempt to replace the crankshaft position sensor on my 1992 Cutlass Supreme 3.1L, the original sensor has disintegrated and become stuck in the block. There’s a little bit of the original plug left, but I can’t get the sensor to pop out. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55trucker Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 ooooops. How much of the original shoulder (butts up against the wall of the block) of the sensor is left? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassman Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassman Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 The pins are still sticking out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55trucker Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 Hard to tell if the shoulder is still partially there from that photo angle. One would try to get a thin prybar between the shoulder & the block wall to attempt to shift it free. There is a neoprene O ring around the sensor body, that could be holding it in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassman Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 The shoulder has pretty much chipped away. Is the o-ring the only thing holding it in? Should it pop out no matter which way it’s turned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55trucker Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 The dia of the sensor body would allow the sensor to slide in & out without effort, it's the O-ring that would hold it in place. As long as one can get a grip on what's left to rotate it back & forth it will release. cutlassman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 ho boy, have fun with that. Been there a couple times. what usually happens is the sensor gets a crack and gets oil into it swelling the housing. I've drilled into the back of them and used a wood screw and a small pair of vice grips to rip it out, Its a total nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassman Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 Oh man, I’m afraid of that. I’ll try to get a screw into it and rip it out. I guess the only other option is to drop the oil pan and go at it from the inside? That’s a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 thats one way, to me its a last resort. I've used a dremel with drill bits chucked in it, picks, and pretty much any implement you can think to get purchase into the body of the thing, its miserable. Once you get the surely hard as a rock o ring out of the hole you remove one of the major things that will hold you up cutlassman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassman Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 Ok, thanks, I really appreciate your advice and experience with this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55trucker Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 You might consider a 40" flexible extension that chucks into a power drill to get a drill bit at the sensor body. Seeing as the easiest position to get at the sensor is thru the passenger side wheel opening (if you try from under the car the trans is literally in the way) one needs a small device to get in there to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 Its fairly accessible on a 3.1/2.8 if you pull the alternator and bracket and go that way 90sEraWhips 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassman Posted February 20 Author Report Share Posted February 20 Thanks to you both for the info. I’ll tackle this as I have time and will post an update. Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassman Posted March 26 Author Report Share Posted March 26 I’ve owned this car for almost 24 years and getting that broken crankshaft position sensor out was probably the biggest PITA since! I was able to get various drill bit sizes into the hole and chip away at the plastic sensor. Unfortunately, when it finally started to loosen, I accidentally pushed the sensor into the block where I could hear it thud into the oil pan. New problem now! After draining the oil, I tried to fish it out through the oil pan drain hole with no luck. The metal middle of sensor is in there, along with about 75% of the plastic surround. Dropping the oil pan is such a hassle, so I may just leave the sensor remains in there and roll the dice. Or, I thought about drilling a 3” hole in the oil pan and then patching it. Anybody have any experience doing anything like that? I haven’t found a suitable plug, yet. So frustrating. jiggity76 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiggity76 Posted March 27 Report Share Posted March 27 6 hours ago, cutlassman said: I’ve owned this car for almost 24 years and getting that broken crankshaft position sensor out was probably the biggest PITA since! I was able to get various drill bit sizes into the hole and chip away at the plastic sensor. Unfortunately, when it finally started to loosen, I accidentally pushed the sensor into the block where I could hear it thud into the oil pan. New problem now! After draining the oil, I tried to fish it out through the oil pan drain hole with no luck. The metal middle of sensor is in there, along with about 75% of the plastic surround. Dropping the oil pan is such a hassle, so I may just leave the sensor remains in there and roll the dice. Or, I thought about drilling a 3” hole in the oil pan and then patching it. Anybody have any experience doing anything like that? I haven’t found a suitable plug, yet. So frustrating. I feel your pain but if it were my car, I would just drop the pan. I haven't done this on a 3.1 car as I own LQ1 cars but it's not a bad job really. Just make sure to clean everything well and you might as well put a new gasket on it. There are instructions in my manuals that require torque for the gasket and the metal tabs in certain areas of the perimeter of the pan flange. You'll also want to add dabs of silicone sealant in the corners of the pan where it goes up and around the crankshaft, etc. Again, the manual recommends this. rich_e777 and cutlassman 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bake82 Posted March 27 Report Share Posted March 27 If it's financially feasible, this may be a good opportunity to drop the pan and have easy access to the steering rack, motor/trans mounts, power steering lines and replace those as well if there is any sign of failure. I would only patch the oil pan if it'd welded shut. Not sure how good of a weld you could get on the oil pan with it on the car and not being able to clean the oil pan super well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_e777 Posted March 27 Report Share Posted March 27 Bite the bullet and pull the pan off, with a engine bay support bar its not really that hard. Replace the oil pump with a newer higher volume one while your at it. Your timing cover gasket is probably in need of replacement as well so you might as well make it a good project. cutlassman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassman Posted March 27 Author Report Share Posted March 27 I appreciate all the advice. I’ll bite the bullet and drop the pan. The engine support bar is a great idea. A new oil pump makes sense and the power steering lines are leaking a bit, so I’ll knock those out, too. Might as well check out everything else while I’m in there. Bake82 and jiggity76 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bake82 Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 21 hours ago, cutlassman said: I appreciate all the advice. I’ll bite the bullet and drop the pan. The engine support bar is a great idea. A new oil pump makes sense and the power steering lines are leaking a bit, so I’ll knock those out, too. Might as well check out everything else while I’m in there. Good idea! It sucks for sure, but sounds like there will be a few things to do that will be easier with the subframe out of the way. 100% get an engine support bar or make one, It'll be way better. I did one with an engine hoist one time, and it was just a pain in the rear because the hoist legs were just in the way! cutlassman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlassman Posted March 29 Author Report Share Posted March 29 I have an engine support bar ordered to try to make things as easy as possible. I’m adding subframe bushings to the project, too, along with a new trans pan gasket and filter swap. I don’t need to drive the car so I might as well do as much as I can! pwmin and rich_e777 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.