96 ranger 3L P0340

[98v70dad]

I finally got rid of my P01445 code and 10 minutes after I had finally cleared it P0340 showed up.

My truck only has 55,000 miles on it and there's no noise coming from the cam shaft position sensor area.

What do I need to do? The obvious answer would be to replace the sensor but I've read some posts about replacing other parts too. Those trucks all had about 150,000 miles on them though. The truck runs fine except that the engine "lopes" a little at idle.

 

[98v70dad]

This isn't really as dumb a question as it sounds. This truck is my daily driver so I need to order everything I need and be done with it. I can order the tool, the position sensor, and the synchronizer. The advice I've read everywhere says to get all three, but my truck has very low miles. So, I doubt the sychronizer is bad - but I don't know.

Some input would help me - I don't want to buy a $100 part I don't need.

 

[98v70dad]

This isn't really as dumb a question as it sounds. This truck is my daily driver so I need to order everything I need and be done with it. I can order the tool, the position sensor, and the synchronizer. The advice I've read everywhere says to get all three, but my truck has very low miles. So, I doubt the sychronizer is bad - but I don't know.

Some input would help me - I don't want to buy a $100 part I don't need.

I guess I'm on my own with my problem....no responses in 2 days.

 

[Curious Hound]

It is a holiday weekend. Patience is a good thing since everyone here is a "volunteer" - no paid staff that I'm aware of.

All I know about that problem is what I have to read here at TRS. Mine seems to be working so far. So I'm not very helpful on this issue.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[98v70dad]

Thanks. I belong to many car repair websites. This one usually takes a lot longer than the others to get any sort of response. I have to order the parts tomorrow in order to have them by Friday - my day off. Anyhow, I'm not impatient but I have a schedule. I can make my own decision but a few opinions would be helpful.

 

[adsm08]

Pull the sensor and inspect the magnet. I have seen them come off before.

 

[98v70dad]

Pull the sensor and inspect the magnet. I have seen them come off before.

Thanks. No symptoms at all except the p0340 code and slight variation in rpm's at idle.

 

[adsm08]

Thanks. No symptoms at all except the p0340 code and slight variation in rpm's at idle.

Yeah, it didn't really cause any noticeable symptom, it just made the signal erratic because the magnet was moving around in it's little thing.

 

[98v70dad]

Yeah, it didn't really cause any noticeable symptom, it just made the signal erratic because the magnet was moving around in it's little thing.

Any thoughts on Motorcraft vs Standard Motor Products premium line? The SMP part actually looks like a better part because the magnet is molded into the plastic, not glued to it AND its a little cheaper.

Years ago SMP made great aftermarket parts. These days its hard to tell what you're buying. I've read the premium SMP line is still very good and the economy line isn't that great. Most of the auto parts stores carry SMP products as the store brand but they are renamed and are the cheapest economy grade SMP part.

This part looks like a real PIA to replace - simple but a pain. I can barely get my arm down into the available space. Not looking forward to it. I don't want to have to do it twice just to save $15. I'm confident that the motorcraft part will probably last 10 years.

 

[adsm08]

I deal with BWD parts quite a bit, and they are one of SMP's brands. I rarely have problems with one of their parts.

 

[98v70dad]

I deal with BWD parts quite a bit, and they are one of SMP's brands. I rarely have problems with one of their parts.

I took off the sensor today. It was a lot easier than I figured it would be. Unfortunately I found the worst case scenario ... the sensor is completely shot and the C shaped flag on the shaft is sheared off and rolled up in a ball so I'm going to have to replace that part also. That part actually looks like it will be a royal pain to replace. I can't believe that ford didn't put on some top dead center marks (that's what I've read).

The truck used to be my dad's. The check engine light came on in '98. Its been in limp mode ever since apparently.