Galaxie500XL Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 I'll do a bit of a writeup later on symptoms/troubleshooting..but have a stupid question. What's the best way to get to the crank sensor to replace it? I can see it between the transaxle housing and oil pan, but there's not enough room there to work...it appears that dropping the downpipe, and going through that space might do the trick...but that's so far back, my arm is buried almost to the shoulder, and can work only by feel. Am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 the way alldata is specifying the procedure, sounds like you're on the right course. downpipe, heat shield for the rack, alternator cooling duct, then the crank sensor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galaxie500XL Posted July 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Thanks, Robert...it's in a bad place. You can either see it, or feel it, but not both at the same time. Hoping like everything it doesn't break off while removing it--it appears to be original to the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 would not be the first instance of it breaking off in the block that i've heard of.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carkhz316 Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 (edited) Follow this tutorial for alternator removal and it'll give you enough access to the crank sensor, at last it did for me anyway when I did mine on my '92 Z34: http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/14457-My-45-minute-3-4-DOHC-alternator-repair-Write-Up Edited July 9, 2013 by carkhz316 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galaxie500XL Posted July 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 I had not considered following the alternator removal procedure, but that makes sense. In fact, it might be a good idea for me to replace the alternator at the same time...I noticed when I had the scantool attached, troubleshooting the problem with the sensor, the output of the alternator when running is only 12.3 volts. Might be a good idea to replace before it dies? Follow this tutorial for alternator removal and it'll give you enough access to the crank sensor, at last it did for me anyway when I did mine on my '92 Z34: http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/14457-My-45-minute-3-4-DOHC-alternator-repair-Write-Up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galaxie500XL Posted July 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 ...in fact, it just occurred to me, if the output voltage is that low...I might not actually have a SENSOR issue, but a POWER issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 i'm wary of voltages reported over the datastream... most 60V6 applications reported 2 voltages: battery and fuel pump. battery is almost always very erratic, constantly jumping around and generally low looking. fuel pump is quite smooth and almost always matches what my multimeter shows at the aux +12 terminal. unfortunately, the 94-95 LQ1 doesn't show this info, as it's PCM(and code) is an offshoot of the 88-93 3800 PCM, and none of those used fuel pump voltage either IIRC, due to a limited number of A/D inputs. while i'm sure it wouldn't hurt to replace(especially if you already have an alt with a lifetime warranty), just be aware that it might still be good. if you run into issues of them testing it and calling it "good" and not wanting to exchange/replace, it doesn't take much to kill the regulator without any obvious signs of abuse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galaxie500XL Posted July 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Robert; As far as I know, my Actron scanner is measuring voltage at the cigarette lighter plug...probably not the best location. Since it will run for short periods, I'll check the voltage at the battery terminals before pulling it apart. As far as the existing alternator, I've got no idea on how old it might be. The car has 235,000 miles on it--could be original, but I'd say the odds are against that--all I can know for sure is I've had the car 4 years, and 40,000 miles, so its' at least that old, probably much older. i'm wary of voltages reported over the datastream... most 60V6 applications reported 2 voltages: battery and fuel pump. battery is almost always very erratic, constantly jumping around and generally low looking. fuel pump is quite smooth and almost always matches what my multimeter shows at the aux +12 terminal. unfortunately, the 94-95 LQ1 doesn't show this info, as it's PCM(and code) is an offshoot of the 88-93 3800 PCM, and none of those used fuel pump voltage either IIRC, due to a limited number of A/D inputs. while i'm sure it wouldn't hurt to replace(especially if you already have an alt with a lifetime warranty), just be aware that it might still be good. if you run into issues of them testing it and calling it "good" and not wanting to exchange/replace, it doesn't take much to kill the regulator without any obvious signs of abuse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 eh, yeah, definitely verify that first.... as much as the LQ1 alternator sucks to deal with, i'd rather not go through that if not necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galaxie500XL Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Thanks for the input, Robert...started the car, and checked voltages at several points with a meter. You were absolutely right--voltages, depending on where I measured were anywhere between 13.9 to 14.3 volts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 and yet another reason why i'm not a fan of the 94-95 LQ1 code... in any case, i'd say the alt is probably fine then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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