It is impossible to replace the ks w/o taking out the intake manifold, I wonder how the guy from motorvate stuck his hand under the manifold...my gf tried to help since she has small hands, although she was able to squeeze in, there was no room to turn the wrench. There's also a bunch of wires/tubes/sensor blocking the entryway to the ks. I think i just needed to vent after spending 2 hours w/ no success. How much would it cost to have a shop do it?

 

you need some swivel tools, they should do the trick

 

Read the howto, it has lots of info on what tools to use to loosen the bolt, and how to take it out.

 

I changed out my knock sensor yesterday with nothing more than a 12mm box end wrench a Long screwdriver and a 12mm graewrench. It takes a little bit of patience and determination just take your time and put the gear wrench on the bolt. The screwdriver helps to allign the tools. It took me about 20 min to change mine.

 

I used a 12mm ratcheting box end wrench -- worked perfectly once it was on the bolt. (I started the bolt by hand on installation). I also removed a few things for easier access. Be creative!

 

i know when i change mine in a few days i plan on removing the intake manafold to get my hands and arms situated a little better...maybe you can try that...

 

Removing the intake manifold is a lot of unnecessary work. Find a female or the neighbor's 9-12 yr old kid to start the threads and it will go quick. You do need an extension with a swivel socket adaptor on the end to get the right angle to tighten with a ratchet.

 

follow the directions on motorvate, and use the EXACT tools, it shouldnt take more than 15 minutes, you have to get the 12mm swivel socket, it cant be a universal swivel with a separate 12mm, that will give you a bad angle, whether it looks like a good angle or not. sears has it for $8 and it will make your life easier cuz it should only take 15 minutes to do, i used a univeral socket and a seaprate 12mm, and wasted an hour and a half, went to sears bought the socket and 15 minutes later, i was done taking it out and installing it, i used duct tape to protect my hands from getting cut (gloves dont allow you to feel under the manifold) itll take a bit of strength to get it open, and make sure thats alot of light.

EDIT: forgot to throw up a link i saw a few days ago Nismo14 relocated his knock sensor, im guessing he wont mind if i post his link to help another person out.
http://www.cardomain.com/member_page...=391233&page=2

 

take off the intake setup..gives you more room if you have to resort to sticking your hand in there..

someone suggested taping up your knuckles with ducttape to prevent scratching.i tried it and it helps alot!!.. my ks change took about 40 mins with goofing off.

 

not a problem. i only did this because i got all the tools and everything and couldnt get the POS knock sensor out, i have a new harness and a new ks waiting to go in, once i can find someone willing to help me out

 

Finally got the ks installed, of course i had my brother-in-law help out, somehow he was able to reach the ks inside with his hand. i bought just about every tool recommended here from sears. Maybe because the ks been on the car for 7yrs 170k mi, i wasn't able to get it loose with swivel 12mm socket and 10in extension, the swivel would just swivel around w/o actually loosening the bolt. So I tried with a long u joint drive & a regular 12mm socket, got a secure fit and was finally able to break it loose. thought it'll be easy from now, but with the bolt semi loose, it was hard to loosen further cuz the bolt would just follow the clockwise/counterclockwise direction of my wrench, unable to go further. Went back to sears and got the GearWrench (ratchet wrench). only needed 5degree movement to move the fastner and finally got the job done.
Definitely noticed a lot more power/acceleration. Unfortuneately, it didn't solve my problem with no power going uphill. My car won't be able to pass 3krpm when going uphill, anyone experienced this problem?