Cam position sensor.....can you just turn it?

CurtisPaulfrey

Registered User
A while back my CPS got installed 180 degrees out (points to drivers side)

Can I just undo the nut and washer and turn it the right way? I know the U needs to face to the front of the car but I didn't know if it had to be perfect....

I'm just getting started on it tomorrow, I hope I have enough room to move it I really don't want to have to pull the SC
 
no. you need to pull the teeth outa the gears and align it properly.. if you turn it the timing will still be way off.... you need to lift and re-stab it in the gear..... i think u need to have blower out of the way to do so
 
no. you need to pull the teeth outa the gears and align it properly.. if you turn it the timing will still be way off.... you need to lift and re-stab it in the gear..... i think u need to have blower out of the way to do so

That's not entirely true.

The housing for the sensor body will move without the shaft turning. Thus you could turn the housing without having to move the shaft, bolt up your sensor, and bob's your uncle, it's fixed.

The problem is, you likely wouldn't be able to tighten down the shaft assembly as the top part would block access to the pinch bolt. You wouldn't be able to mount the sensor, as the connector for the sensor would either hit something, or the wires would be too short, or the connector would interfere with belt routing.

So in essence, yes you need to remove the shaft and re-adjust it. The benefit of the above, is that you don't need to get the position of the cup exactly perfect when stabbing the shaft in. Get it close. Then final adjustment is done by moving the housing a bit to get things lined up perfect.
 
Here is what I would do without a CPS alignment tool. Remove #1 spark plug and make sure when you are at TDC you get compression. Next rotate the harmonic balancer clockwise (?) so the big notch and the block pointer align. I believe about a couple of inches. Next disconnect the CPS plug and remove the clamp bolt and clamp. Rotate the CPS body until the CPS cap plug is located in the 5 o'clock position standing on the passenger side looking directly down on the cap. Remove the CPS cap and note the position of the half moon disc under the plastic cap. The flat side needs to be toward the front of the engine and the round side needs to be toward the SC. If it is not, then lift up on the CPS body until the half moon disc turns free. You do not have to totally remove the CPS body to do this. When you get the disc and the plug aligned, reinsert the CPS body. Yep thats right. It moves from where you set it because of helical gear engagement. You will need to rotate the disc more to get it to engage in the proper orientation. Besure the CPS body is full seated as it drives the oil pump. Replace the clamp and bolt and tighten. That is about as close as I can get you without an alignment tool. I bought one from Ford and it saved me a lot of time.

Ed
 
so mike, basically what i said, is true.

turning it around so it hits belts and eveyrthing else isnt quite the way to do it
 
yes, I just didn't want people to think they needed to nail it 100% when inserting the shaft, as it can be tricky getting all the gears lined up. thus you have some room to turn the housing once you insert the shaft to get final alignment.

Also some people may not run stock drive systems for accessories, in which case their options would be different.

just clarifying.
 
Got the car in time, but it still isn't running well. The battery light came on and every time I pressed the brake both the warning lights came on, I'm stumped
 
Cam Positing Sensor


They make a setup tool for this a plastic alignement cap make sure its on TDC this you take the the two screews out of the top of the sensor this gets everything correct when inserting the shaft into the cam gear
 
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Here is what it should look like when the compression stroke is right. I had to do it twice myself. Spend the 10-20 bucks to get the tool and get is synced up correctly when you stab it.

Picture856.jpg
 
Now the photo makes sense to me.With the notch in the pulley...Before it just looked like a chipped damaged pulley......

I read XR7Daves writeup/Reply and with this photo Im catching on.....Now all we need is a pic of the half moon gear postioning with a straight edge when reinstalling.....

Im gonna try mine tomorrow...Motor is almost together...Im taking my time....

F1

*Edit*...I just realized I dont have a pointer or the degree piece...All I have is the balancer markings...Oops.
 
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