Spent the last 3 hours just trying to LOOSEN the bolt on the KS with no luck. Tried with a suggest u-joint and long extension (couldn't seem to fathom how this could work, as everytime we got the socket onto the bolt the u-joint had no solid state in which to break the bolt loose.)

Tried with a regular 12mm socket, was able to get the box end on but due to the position of the head of the bolt it would ONLY go on with the wrench on the wrong side of the cavity so you couldnt turn it.

Went out and bought a 12mm "ratcheting wrench" like bob villa advertises for craftsman... It's pretty cool, has a pivoting head too. Gets onto the bolt pretty easily, even with this, leveraging with another wrench on the end (you know, how you put a box end over a open end to create a temporary extension) and actually taped it together to create a new makeshift tool that came right out of the hole and fit nicely, and at this point I was sure I would be able to break it free!

Nope.

Still unable to break the bolt free...

What kind of magic mojo do you people that have changed a KS use?!

If you're going to say u-joint + extension could you please specify EXACTLY how you set this up, because my set of small hands (girlfriend) and I couldn't figure out how that worked for the life of us.

Thanks for your time if you read all that

 

real easy on a 97.

get about a foot of extensions, a swivel joint, and a 12mm socket, and once you get the socket onto the bolt, just pull the ratchet towards you as hard as you can, and you should break the bolt loose. After that, you should be able to turn the ratchet without too much resistance...then after a little while just take it off with your hand, pull the ks harness out, pull the ks, replace it, and stick your hand in there to fish the bolt in the hole on the ks. then just get the socket onto the bolt, and tighten. It's not too hard, and I actually had alot of ease with my left hand, as opposed to my right, so you might wanna try that.

 

My girlfriend is 5' with some smallass hands .. so getting in there is easy, she has no problem getting anything onto the bolt.

The problem is how the F do you get the socket + u-joint + ratchet to turn the bolt? I can't comprehend how this works yet .. doesnt seem like its possible for the u-joint to spin the socket once it's bent nearly 90 degrees....

 

I have a 96, i went to Sears and got one of those 12mm swivel sockets. It just like a universal swivel that you can attach any socket to, except it is the 12mm. That way when you attach your extension, you dont have to go : drive --->extension--->swivel---->socket
just go to drive --> extension--> socket/swivel
It was about 6 bucks but got it the first try.
Good luck.
Mike

Oh, the swivel will turn. Not perfectly, but it will turn. Also, instead of just using the 3/4 drive to loosen the bolt, just use the extension and the Sears socket. Once you have the socket on the bolt, use the extension like a wrench to break the bolt free. Just dont snap it off. Never heard of anybody doing that anyways.

 

Interesting, didn't look for those at Sears when I was looking at the ratcheting wrenches... If all else fails with the tools I have (already got an $8 u-joint and $16 ratcheting wrench) I will try that, as I didn't really want to spend any extra money; and shouldnt really have to!

Damn thing.

 

Like stated all you really need it a ratchet u joint extension and an addition (I'd say) foot long exntension for your ratchet. I used this setup and got the bold off first try just make sure the u joint is seated on the bolt, after that its all cake.

 

I have average size hands and I've done it three times on a 95 and two 98's. Took me about 20 mins to 1/2 hr each time and all I needed was a small 1/4" drive ratchet with a socket. No U-joints, extensions, etc etc.

The trick to getting my hand in there though was first taking the green EGRC solenoid off its bracket and pushing it up and out of the way. Doing that gives a much better angle to get your hand/arm in. To take this sucker off it's just one 10mm (IIRC) nut underneath. A small wrench will do that.

 

and how do you tie it back to specs?

 

Tie what? What do you mean?

If you're talking about the torque on the KS bolt, I don't know how you'd get a torque wrench on there with any accuracy without taking off both the upper and lower manifold, whichever method you choose. All I did was find another bolt with a similar torque spec and practice a couple times to get a feel for how tight it should be and then slip my hand in and do the KS right away by feel.

 

Was able to do it this morning finally ... took about 30 minutes, all I did was unplug that green electrical connector. With the foot long extension, u-joint + socket I was able to simply look inside with a flashlight and seat the socket onto the bolt without getting anyones hands inside, and was able to turn it with a ratchet with the extension angled up as high as possible.

Girlfriend then got the KS out by hand and easily got the new one in and hand tightened and tightened the bolt with a torque wrench in the same way I got it off .. easy once you know EXACTLY how to do it!

 

Do you think the torque reading's really that accurate that way? (Given the angles on everything and the play in the u-joint/extension assembly)

I dunno.. maybe it's better than I think.. but I wouldn't be inclined to think so

 

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

 

do what everyone else is saying to break the bolt. But on my car i know i had some trouble getting the bolt back in. So what i did was put some Fun Tack inside of my socket and stuck the bolt to that. then got it in the hole and tightened it and pulled everything right out. Fan tack didnt stick to the bolt either.

 

Once I understood the concept of the U-joint, it was smooth sailing. The KS was bolted in pretty good. Once I got it loosened, I stuck my hand it there the unscrew it. I made the mistake of not fully letting the car cool down and it was a touch warm down there. My KS was cracked it half.

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NO PULL WITH FORCE ON THE KS vs. HARNESS TO GET IT OUT!!! YOU'LL RIP THE WIRE OUT COMPLETELY.

Word of advice for those trying to remove the KS from the harness, there is a thin silver metal peice on the harness that wraps 3/4 of the way around. You want to unhook this thin metal first by prying it out with a flathead (you'll see what I mean once you see it) The KS should come out easily now. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way and had to rewire it causing more time wasted.

 

Do you have to reset your ECU after you change your KS?

 

Yes.

(10 characters)

 

You don't have to reset it, I never have.

A lot of people have been a hard time with this altely, maybe you guys should just take the manifold off like the dealer, might take even less than 3 hours and be easier for you.

 

it took my 7 minutes to replace my knock sensor. I dont see how a lot of people have so many problems installing it. If you have the right tools its not a problem at all. all you need is a ratchet, about 18 inches of extentions, a universal joint, and a socket. I was dreading changing mine but then i saw how easy it was and i got pleasantly surprised.

 

I did mine with a 1/4 drive and a breaker bar from a floor jack .. anoterh 7-10 minutres, what takes the longest for me is remembering how to take th senosr from the harness, removing the clip.

 

That caught me too

One thing that sped things up is I removed that green harness thats in the way before doing anything else.

Btw..I used my 3/8 rachet fine

 

that shiet was ez, i think it was a 12mm swivel joint? neways its like 20dollars at sears. put on some gloves or get some small hands. shouldnt take more than 20 minutes

 

If you can't see the KS, get a flash light.

 

I want to emphasize the part about keeping the u-joint and extension angled as high as possible. The closer it is to straight, the easier it will be. I remember having to give my long handled 3/8" ratchet the two-handed grunt to break that screw loose.

Dave

 

DO i HAVE TO REMOVER THIS PART( WHAT THIS PART CALLED)


AS YOU SEE I HAVE TAKEN A PICTURE WITH FLASH LIGHT THE ABOVE PART IS IN THE WAY DO I HAVE TO REMOVE THIS PART

 

Dude that doesn't look like your KS. It's under the intake manifold

 

thats not your KS....

The KS is under the Upper Intake Manifold (UIM)

 

actually because of flash light it looks different i have another picture or i will post video for clear view

 

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...-tutorial.html

 

Damn I removed about four of them in the junkyard each taking about 5 mins each....Installed 1 of them on my 98 and it took me no more than 10 min. to install, check for no codes, etc.....Using the proper makes things easy as hell! Try using a 1/4" dr 14" extension 12mm shallow socket with swivel or better yet a 12mm swivel socket...I'll tell anyone most of the work I do on Nissan is with a 1/4" ratchet....One more thing...good KS seem to measure .561 ohms

 

After reading couple of thread i found that my car is cal spec 99 maxima which have swirl control actuator in way i have remover 2 bolt and slide to the front of car to view KS.

 

^^This

If you still can't get it, just take off the manifold, or better yet, disconnect the harness and put a resistor on there and always use premium fuel...

 

I did mine for the first time in under an hour, car feels much different and more responsive now.

 

A Swivel is king for the ks. Replace the ks harness at the same time.

 

haha I remember the first time I tried to take out my KS, it was a pain in the butt.

I managed to get my hands and a small ratchet in there and everything was good to go, except the darn thing was torqued like crazy and I couldn't break it loose. But after like 20 minutes I did managed to force it.