crankshaft position sensor

[newageroman]

I just had some work done by a local shop. They replaced the camshaft sensor and that didn't fix the problem(They aren't charging me for that). They then replaced the crankshaft sensor and all the codes are gone. The truck does run much better, but still has low power (although it gets about 22-23 mpg) and there is an intermittent miss. The shop manager said that the crankshaft sensor was about 570$ with parts and labor, does that seem high? (like they want to recoup some of the camshaft sensor labor). I drove it around some and suspect the slight miss might be causing the crankshaft sensor to fail. The shop manager said it still ran like crap, but wanted me to drive it to see if it drove like before the codes started appearing. He then suggested that I drive it over the weekend before collecting any money from me, which I have never heard of a mechanic doing.

Well I drove it about 300 miles this weekend and it is still low on power and still has the intermittent miss, but seems to run smooth between 2000 and 3000 RPMs. It started popping through the intake again when doing ~80 trying to get up a hill on the superslab like it was lean and sucking air from the intake manifold gasket that was just replaced about 6 months (and only 2k miles) ago.

It's pretty obvious that something is still amiss in the head or valves or something that is causing the miss and low power and I still think that will lead eventually to a new crankshaft position sensor down the road again.
I guess my questions are:

• Is $600 about right for a crankshaft position sensor?
• Should I press them to find the actual ROOT of the problem as opposed to fixing a symptom?
• What would cause a crankshaft position sensor to go bad? I just had an intake manifold gasket put on, removed clogged cat converter, and about 30k miles ago had the bottom end redone (shave crank, new pistons, block bored, bearings).

I'm leaning to paying the mechanic and putting it on CraigsList ASAP.

 

[creepinjeepster]

OUCH, Last CPS I bought cost $70 from Autozone. Two bolts, plug the wire in and reset codes by disconnecting battery so it will recognize new sensor when reconnected and started.

 

[bjdm151]

You almost answered some of your own questions but here we go.

$600 seems awfully high for a crank position sensor. Call a ford dealership and ask them for a quote for replacing a crank sensor. This should get you in the ball park. Shops doing work like this should be charging labor by what the "book" calls for. It sounds to me like the mechanic couldn't really figure out what was going on and they charged for the time he spent piddling around with it. Not how long the book says it takes to R&R a crank sensor. Remember how they said they replaced the cam sensor and it didn't fix it so they didn't charge you? It sounds to me like he was just throwing parts at the car.

You didn't take your truck to a mechanic to have the check engine light turned off you took it to them to get it running right. If its not running right they didn't fix the problem. Yes, Press them to get the truck running right.

Don't put the truck on Craigslist. If its just something simple like a vacuum leak you'll be later on. You wont get what the truck is worth. I have a mechanic friend who on the side buys cars like this on the cheap and fixes the simple problems and then sells them for what they are actually worth. You should here some of his stories, some might even call it unethical.

Now for more online diagnostic work we are going to have to know more about the symptons nad the details of your truck.