Anyone ever change the knock sensor on a 99 max? I tried following the 2 how to's but my engine does not look like those, it looks like my knock sensor is deeper in the block than their pictures show. Also, there are a lot of hoses and a vacuum canister. Can someone help me? Do I need to remove the intake?

 

all 1995 maximas have the KS in the same spot. Its a pain in the *** to get to though.

 

Yes all 95-99 are in the same spot. Just follow the link and do what it says and you shouldn't have to much of a problem.

http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/507

 

I knew that my engine looked different than the how to pictures, I did some research and looked at the ID tag on the firewall, it turns out that my car is a California Spec car, but it was on the east coast its whole life. On the silver tag the 12th charactor is a V which I found in the FAQ's means it a cali spec. How would this car have been on the east coast its whole life? I bought the car in 2002 and did a car fax then it was a leased car from PA. Has anyone changed the Knock sensor on a Cali-Spec Car?

 

i have, it is a pain. you have 2 choices take off the intake manifold or do what i did. get a swivel head socket ( i cant remember what size i'll check my notes later and let you know) and a 12" extension and a 6" extension fish it in there and losen the bolt that holds on the knock sensor, then take a telescoping magnet and fish it in there , then finish losening it with that and pull out the bolt, then pull out the knock sensor by tugging on the wire harness. to put in the new one i put in a new harness and sensor and slid it in there , then i used masking tape and taped the bolt in the socket and fished it in there and put it in the hole on the knock sensor found the hole and tightened it up. it took a lot of patience and a flashlight helped to see down there.

 

Ronin you just described any other Maxima.

 

So it is possible then without removing the manifold. Do you think it would be easier if just the upper was out of the way?

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=333236

 

Car dealerships go cross country to car auctions all the time so it isn't anything out of the ordinary for this car to be on the east coast.

Anyways, you need a 12mm socket to fit the bolt on the knock. Second, the key piece of equipment in loosening that bolt (besides the extensions) is a universal joint ratchet head (pivots in all directions so it doesn't matter what angle your torquing from). I tried the other ways and then used the universal joint and it was definitely the key. This along with a 10" or 12" extension, should give you more than enough torque to loosen that sucker up fairly easily. I struggled with it the hard way for 30 minutes and got no where. With the universal joint and the extension, it took about 30 seconds to loosen.

I bought a file and filed down the sharp edges on the intake. Lube up your hand with vaseline or whatever, slide your hand in there and you should be good to go with an easy replacement without having to tear the intake off.

Good luck.

 

Ronin, did you have to buy the wire harness separately or did it come with your new knock sensor? My knock didn't come with any new wiring hardware. Also, where did you get the wiring harness?

 

i got mine with a harness from courtesy nissan. the description i wrote was what i did for my 99 cali spec. cali specs have a swirl control valve that prevents you from shoving your hand in there. it is not hard to do what i described it just takes patience and getting a look at the right angle to see past the swirl control valve.

 

If you have a 99 Cali spec good luck, its a pain in the *****.

I'm changing mine this weekend

 

i threw the ks code a few weeks ago, with only 50k on my car. are knock sensors prone to go bad that early??

 

According to your ecu, yes.

Change that bish out and buckle up.

 

why "buckle up"?

 

because you'll feel a definate gain in power throughout the rpm range...it is apparently very noticable -- I can't wait to do mine.

 

and a rise in MPG

 

I hate you guys. I have a bad one and I dont know what the power difference is since mine's never had a good one. I want to change it so bad but I dont have the money Another time another day I guess.

 

Does anyone remember the KS by pass project someone did? I think they wired up a resistor or something so that u never need a knock sensor again (although your ecu can no longer sense knock). Anyone remember this or have info on it? I'd consider it if i knew alil more about it. I've already changed at least 4 knock sensors on two maxima's and its getting annoying.

 

It's not that expensive. I got my knock sensor from a Nissan dealership in MA for $85 shipped! It was the cheapest one that I have seen out there. Here's the website: http://nitra.nissandealer.com/proto/...scPage_1.chtml

Once you get it, all you need is the ratchet, 12mm head, universal joint and an extension. It takes literally about 20 minutes to do from the second you pop your hood to the second you shut it (Well, if you have good direction on what you're doing anyways).

But, I can undersatnd even $85 is tough to come by if you're a starving student or something like that. All I can say is that my car runs a lot smoother with the new knock in.

 

Yes, 470 ohms. Donate and these things would be a lot easier to figure out on your own.

 

I would say stop being cheap and just buy a new knock sensor.

 

MA also requires CA emissions cars, as do the surrounding states and ME. It's very common to find CA emissions cars on the East Coast.

 

is that resistor mod bad for the car?
and I always buckle up, btw.