With some pointers from Brian (BriGuyMax) and some excellent online instructions, I was able to install the Knock Sensor on my car.

My hand was pretty badly cut up (as expected), but the effort was well worth it.


I got a P0325 ECU code using an OBD-II scan. After installing the Knock Sensor, I didn't feel anything different until after I reset the ECU. The code will not go away by itself. The biggest difference is on the low end at partial throttle. There is a lot more 'OOMPH' below 3000 rpms. I cannot tell the difference past 3500 rpms for my supercharger kicks in.

I am not going ga-ga over this unlike some other folks on the .org, however I am definitely pleased with the much better partial throttle performance.

Cheers!

 

Ouch that loox like it hurt, as long as your car is running well again its all worth it.

 

gaaah, i hate the damn knock sensor. I tried for the weekend and i still didn't crack that puppy lose. I tried using the instruction on skippynet, but my socket keeps getting lose off the bolt. gaah, im mad

 

I installed mine yesterday. Took a about 10 minutes to get the dang bolt loose but after that my hand did the magic~~ Total time, like 15 minutes. My hands were made to change out knock sensors~~ Anyways I would help, but I'm located Upstate NY(Fort Drum) and in Queens twice a month every month. If anyone needs a hand just holla~~ We can talk about the cover charge later~

 

Hey man I need to change my knock sensor also. To take it off do you need to turn the bolt left or right. I tried to turn it left yesterday and it wouldn't budge. Or should I give it all I got? Also did you use a torque wrench or a ratchet to tighten the bolt? Thanks.

 

you guys need to invest in mechanix gloves therefor you dont end up scraping your hands like that. Specially if you have thick hands!!!I dont use them but will be purchasing a set really soon, a super charger install will scrape up my hands in a certain area!!

 

To take the sensor off, you need to turn the bolt counterclockwise...turn left. Using a simple rachet connected to a 12mm socket will not do anything, unless you have some mighty muscles. Make sure you use the angular socket with atleast 14" extention. It did take me a few tries before I could get it off.

Total time was a good hour, but I wanted to make sure I do it right the first time. BTW, the dealer wanted $264 to install it

 

I only have a ratchet with 14" extention and a 12mm socket. Ill give it all I have.

 

weren't you gonna go to brian's guy? oh yeah, any noticible improvement?

hopefully you'll take a risk and go past 5000rpm now

 

I was but, you know, patience is virtue...that I don't have

past 5000 rpms...don't really need to, 99.99% of the time. The car is surprisingly fast and more than enough powerful below 5k

 

I changed mine this weekend too. Car feels much better. I used a 12mm socket with a flex adapter, and a 14" extension. I don't know how you could do it without the flex adapter I scraped my hands up pretty good but not that bad.

 

even more reason not to let the wifey drive it right?

 

I just did mine a couple weeks ago too. Took me less than 30 mins total to unscrew and rescrew it back on. Surprised me, I thought it would take much longer, my hands are not small. But I barely squeezed one in there, and I had just enough room to pull out the bolt and sensor. Here's a way that worked really well for me to loosen that bolt: Use an open wrench. It would take an amazing amount of crazy muscle power to do this by hand, so I just stuck an open wrench on it and pryed it loose by wedging my socket wrench in between the block and the open wrench. After a turn or two it gets really loose, so you can just turn the rest of it off by hand.

 

use gloves next time

it was a PITA to reach the KS, but not THAT bad

 

Why did you guys change the Knock sensor? I mean I understand if it was because you got a trouble code, but was that the case for all of you that changed it? What if you don't get a code what would lead me to believe that it would be time to change the knock sensor? Thanks in advance.

 

poor gas mileage and sluggish performance. Your car would basically have the same mileage as a mustang gt and the performance of an older accord.

 

I think it's impossible to get to the knock sensor without taking off the intake manifold on a cali-spec engine because of the swirl valve. I've looked around under the hood of my max.

 

cali-spec engine, swirly valve?? enlighten me some more.

 

I could totally see that... any more obstructions in the way and it would really be impossible. There's a plug in front of mine to a wire that I dunno what does, if anyone else with a '98 has the same thing I would like to know what that plug is for. I just unplugged it when I changed the sensor and plugged in back in after. You can barely fit any tools in there as it is, and even when you do, there is no room for movement - hence my prying open wrench method.

And btw that gas guzzling mustang / slow a$$ accord is a good analogy - difference between good/bad KS was like night and day, after I swapped I finally had the joy of feeling my mods with good acceleration. And as you should, I took care of all other codes before even buying a new KS. I can't believe that little thing costs > $100.

 

I just changed it with a 14" extention a ratchet and a flex thingy. How do you reset the ecu and how do you know that it is reset? Because everytime I do it the code starts to blink again. What am I doing wrong?

 

Yeah but only a 1/4" drive with that length, maybe even 3/8" - the only thing I had that long with a flex joint was 1/2" drive, and there's no way in hell a socket of that size would even clear the height of that space.
You have to twist the screw back and forth, and again immediately a second time before the ecu will reset.

 

To reset the ecu I followed the instructions from the 4th gen post. When it starts to bling the code that means that it is reset or what?

 

Thank you for explaining this to me Korupter. My 2000 Maxima has been getting bad gas mileage lately and the performance isn't what it used to be. I have the SES light on my car and took to Auto Zone so that they could read the codes. I got two codes. P0158 = Downstream O2 sensor circuit slow response and P0159 DownStream Oxygen sensor high voltage. Now I have no clue what they mean, but the oxygen on bank 2 is the one I need to test out and if it's not messes up I will checkt the knock sensor out. BTW do I need to replace sensor every so many miles like you do with spark plugs, air filters...those sorts of things?

 

looks like we need to start giving medals out for people that change knock sensors.

 

I shed blood for my car replacing the knock sensor yesterday. But it wasn't as bad as everyone else that that it would be. Only four some cuts on one finger that you don't even feel

 

You must be "ON" something...
I mean 'on' to some new method