• Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts.

Crank sensor question


hundo

New Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2015
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Vehicle Year
1992 2.3
1983
Transmission
Automatic
I have a 92, recently me and a buddy did the timing belt, even since then it runs severely under powered.. thinking it was a tooth off sent it to a shop to see if they could set it for me. They ended up telling me the crank sensor was damaged and they wanted to replace that and the harmonic balancer.. to my knowledge the sensor controls the timing so if it is faulty , I would have a no start condition.. so sounds like they are trying to rip me off?
 


tomw

Well-Known Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Aug 15, 2007
Messages
1,613
Reaction score
46
Points
48
Location
toenails of foothills NW of Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
ford
Engine Type
2.3 (4 Cylinder)
Engine Size
lima bean
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
My credo
vertical and above ground
I'll be the cynic. Maybe... They damaged the sensor and damper when they re-set the timing belt.
I'd want to see the parts involved. If there is freshly broken plastic, I know who I'd blame, but I'm wary of something that worked a minute ago suddenly needing to be replaced immediately after being fiddle with by someone with an impact wrench.
I would also want to know what could go wrong with a damper? Some with a rubber 'sandwich' between the inner and outer can get damaged by oil leaks, but a cast iron pulley is more difficult to break. An impact and hammer along with a large prybar might be needed. The damper is the more expensive part, I think, as no one will carry them as they DON'T BREAK very often.
One of the Ford ignitions will try to start the engine w/o the crank sensor, and will 'guess' on different trys as to which cylinder is on compression, and which is on exhaust for a 'limp home' mode. At least I think so.
tom
 

RonD

Official TRS AI
TRS Technical Advisor
Joined
Jun 2, 2012
Messages
25,290
Reaction score
8,290
Points
113
Location
canada
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ford
Transmission
Manual
Crank sensor could be damaged but still work, and yes it does control spark and fuel injector timing, without it generating a signal you would have no spark and no fuel injectors, so a no start.

If it wasn't seated correctly to get #1 TDC at the correct time then spark timing could be off causing loss of power.

If you don't trust the shop mechanics then don't use that shop next time, but if you are just guessing that they are padding the bill then I would believe what they say.

I have a business that does similar work, not auto/truck work through, when I have to service something I often have to replace more than just the broken part, reason is that I see that something else was effected by one part breaking so if I just fix that one part I know client will have another problem shortly.
I don't want the reputation of repeated service all the time, it looks like I can't fix the problem.
Clients keep using me because things get fixed and stay fixed.

Most auto shops are the same, and why they usually use more expensive OEM parts, it is too expensive to use 3rd party parts in warranty repair cost and reputation.
And fixing a problem when you know a related part could fail is also bad for business.
 

Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Staff online

Member & Vendor Upgrades

For a small yearly donation, you can support this forum and receive a 'Supporting Member' banner, or become a 'Supporting Vendor' and promote your products here. Click the banner to find out how.

Truck of The Month


Kirby N.
March Truck of The Month

Recently Featured

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Events

25th Anniversary Sponsors

Check Out The TRS Store


Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad


Amazon Deals

Top