Hey All,

Despite having all of the great instructions and tips on here, I can't get my knock sensor out!! I have a regular Craftsman (on the small side) socket wrench, and recently bought a flex-head wrench as well. The flex head doesn't give me a solid grip on the bolt head - it's too awkward and just bends, etc. The regular one is too long to move it once I have it on the bolt. I called the dealer who said that they should be able to sneak in there without taking the intake manifold off, and they'll just charge me for the labor time (anywhere from 1/2 hour to 1.5 hours). Should I just take it in, or anyone have any other last minute suggestions??
Thanks,
Chad

 

Have patience. Also, having a larger socket extention would help. I found that I could break the bolt loose by jamming the extention into a nook on the manifold (hard to describe, sorry). I got it to a position that it was harder for the wrench to pop off the bolt head. From there, its just a matter of nice even pressure. My biggest problem was the nice thin piece of metal that almost took my thumb off as I was pulling it out. Tons o' blood.

 

I ended up using a 3/8" drive extension, universal, and socket to break the bolt loose...Accessed the bolt from the driver's side of the manifold. Then I used the 1/4" drive extension and flex socket to unscrew the bolt. The 1/4" drive extension flexed too much to break the bolt loose. If you don't have or desire to have the tools, then the dealer option may be a good one. However, if they know what they're doing, it should take them about 60 seconds to remove the bolt and possibly 90 seconds to reinstall a new one. The other 27.5 minutes might be them taking your max for a joy ride.

If you have the tools, MdMaxDrvr is right, have patience.

 

I used a longer extension because I couldn't get leverage on it, and it eventually broke loose. Save your hands, I had my girlfriend put on some gloves and had her and her little hands unscrew the old one and screw the new one on.

 

I followed the instructions here: http://www.skippynet.com/maxima/knocksensor.htm
I bought those exact pieces from Sears. Just put your ratchet on the end of extension and turn. It takes a little bit of force......the ratchet actually hit my head....

 

I personally used a regular 3/8" socket wrench and the 12mm head on a flex section. It could BARELY fit in there. This method easily got the bolt loose enough. Then to fully take out the bolt, I used my much smaller 1/4" socket wrench with a small flex section and 12mm head. And when I put the knock sensor back in, I again used the 1/4" socket to start the bolt and put it in almost the whole way. Then I took the 3/8" socket wrench to tighten that puta all the way down.