OK, I hear that the crank sensor is easy to remove on the 240's. Simply one bolt and remove, unfortunately it hasn't worked like that. Upon removal the top of the old sensor snapped of making the rest of the sensor virtually impossible to extract. Anyone have any suggestions on how to remove the remains of the sensor from its holding bracket, short of removing the transmission?

Johnathan,

Be careful you do not brake the bracket it's very weak. Do not pound down on it trying to remove the sensor. I unfortunatley did this and broke it. The only way to replace the bracket is to drop the tranny. what I did was use JD weld to glue the bracket together and remounted the sensor on it. It's been good for 4 months now.

You have a few things going for you here.

First of all, you didn't mention whether or not you have a standard or automatic transmission. That makes a giant difference with respect to removing a transmission. The 5-speed takes only a short time to get out (especially when the top bolt isn't in) and the automatic sucks because it's so heavy and has the cooler lines, torque converter, and shifter cable, etc.

What you're describing is a common problem--a stuck sensor. They don't have sealant on them, they aren't glued in place, there's nothing out of the ordinary about your sensor. Some get stuck and some don't. The last two I did were total opposites. One slid right out--the other one was parked in position.

If you have a standard shift trans, you stand less chance of damaging anything. I don't know what the inside of the sensor looks like, but if you can drill enough to be able to get an easy-out into it (clearance is tight!) you might be good to go. If it's flush with the bellhousing you could be looking at a transmission pull.

With a manual transmission, I'd try to pull the trans BACK a couple of inches. That's really all that you need to take care of it. Drop the shifter out, pull the driveshaft to the side from the front flange, and dismount it. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot of space to work with in there, so it'll be tight. You can take it out if you're really motivated to do so. A floor jack is good enough if you balance it right.

If it's an automatic, try like hell to get it out from above. Clearance is so tight you'll have to squirm around in the engien compartment to get in there to work, and perhaps a mirror would be good in this instance.

As a future reference, on standard trans cars use a tiny bit of silicone spray to get the thing out, and work it gently back and forth until it gradually loosens. If it is an automatic, get an easy out into it, then douse the thing with penetrating oil and wait for it to work it's magic. The penetrant won't hurt anything like the clutch on the standard trans car. On the other hand, you want to avoid harming the timing ring on the automatic, because it is not very strong.

You still run the risk of demolishing the bracket if you pry at it too hard, so make sure you are patient and let any penetrant or silicone get in there before you pull it.

On installation, put a light coating of grease on the perimeter of the sensor where it contacts the bracket. That will make your life a lot easier when you go to get it out of there next time. Anti Seize could eat into the material of the sensor, but I'm not positive of that.
--
Chris Herbst, near Chicago, IL. 93 940, 91 240, 90 240, 88 740, 87 240

Look in there with a flashlight, try to see what kind of material is left behind. If plastic, you can try heating a thin-bladed screwdriver or piece of heavy wire and then melting it in and waiting until it's cool to pull it out.

If it's metal you might try using a very small reverse drill bit or easy-out with a flexible extension and a drill or Dremel tool.

Not that this helps, but mine came out easily, so there must be some kind of sealant or something on yours, or someone spilled some loctite down there.

Pics would help.

How far under is it? send a pic so i can get a good idea. of how to get it out without taking it out. If worse comes to worse it only took us about 3 hours to have my 240 trans out, replace a clutch, and back in.


brian@eash.org

Brian cooney