I've got a 96 Max, and I spend a fair amount of time on the 4th gen forum. People are constantly asking about knock sensors, and how to replace them. The recommended method is to pull the UIM, which of course is a royal PITA, but you can get to it from the side, especially if your hands are on the small side.

I've been thinking about getting a 5th gen, but I heard that you HAVE to pull the UIM to replace the KS. Evidently there's a swirl valve that keeps you from going in from the side. But I don't find a lot of posts about that in this forum. Are the KSs on the 5th gens more reliable? How often do you all have to replace them? And do you really have to take off the UIM to do it?