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engine crank sensor

6-PAC-ATTACK

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VT EX S1 3.8L
Hello all, need some help, car will not start, it stalled while driving luckily for me 100m from a garage.

Starter motor clicks over but will not start and the mechanic checked all leads, spark plugs all good, then he poured cold water on the harmonic balancer to cool the sensor down and then it started.

He said it was the crank angle sensor and that I needed a new one.

Has anyone changed this themselves because I am getting various opinions that I'll also have to remove the harmonic balancer to get to the sensor and that I would need a new harmonic balancer following the removal of the sensor.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
 

Cheap6

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As the CAS failure is common, you will find heaps in a search.

Yes, the balancer has to be removed. No a new balancer is not required.

Also, that bolt holding the balancer to the crank will be pretty tight. There are a couple of tricks to undo it, such as cranking the motor, CAS disconnected so that it doesn't start, with a 1/2" breaker bar resting against the chassis rail.

Doing it back up again to the same tension is often neglected :( . I made a couple of tools (for two different designs of balancer) which are lengths of steel bar (could be steel plate) with tabs, (design 1) or cut down bolts, (design 2) that fit in 2 of the slots in the balancer (that's why they are there) and rest against the chassis rail to stop the engine/balancer rotating. About 20mins with a drill, a hacksaw, angle grinder, some 6mm steel plate and 2 X 10mm nuts and bolts would produce something similar.

To get the crankshaft-balancer bolt back to the correct tension - it's not super critical but should be within the specified range - mark the initial position of the crankshaft bolt against the pulley. You can then tighten the bolt to match the marks back up.

If you were replacing the pulley as well as the CAS, you would loosen and undo the bolt, then retension it to somewhere less than the original torque. Ideally you would use a torque wrench set to an arbitrary value but a calibrated elbow will get you close (enough) - the actual torque value you use isn't important. Then note the angular difference between the marks on the bolt and the balancer. Retorque/retension the bolt to the same value and tighten by the angular difference between the marks previously measured.

You will need a puller to get the balancer off. Push against the crankshaft-balancer bolt, wound a few threads back into the nose of the crank, to avoid damaging the crankshaft by having the puller bearing directly onto the crankshaft.

Clean the old sealant from the balancer pulley groove and/or the crankshaft as required. , Before reinstalling the pulley, apply a similar amount of fresh silicon sealant, such as Ultra-Blue, towards the end of the groove and a smear of engine oil to the outside of the pulley where it runs in the crankcase seal. A new crankcase seal doesn't cost much while the bits are apart anyway.

The pulley has a keyway that has to be lined up with the matching slot in the crankshaft.
 

6-PAC-ATTACK

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VT EX S1 3.8L
Hello all, need some help, car will not start, it stalled while driving luckily for me 100m from a garage.

Starter motor clicks over but will not start and the mechanic checked all leads, spark plugs all good, then he poured cold water on the harmonic balancer to cool the sensor down and then it started.

He said it was the crank angle sensor and that I needed a new one.

Has anyone changed this themselves because I am getting various opinions that I'll also have to remove the harmonic balancer to get to the sensor and that I would need a new harmonic balancer following the removal of the sensor.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Changed sensor same problem any ideas
 

Cheap6

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Got: Spark? Fuel? Fault codes?

The symptoms do match a CAS fault. Maybe go over what you have done in replacing it; it's easy to miss something first time around.
 

Zuicider

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Set of thongs
check to see that the fins are actually going through the cas. the balancer might not be on all the way
 

6-PAC-ATTACK

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VT EX S1 3.8L
Changed ignition module today seems to be the problem cas must have shorted it out hope it goes ok has not stalled yet
thanks for you help
 
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