Knock Sensor Questions

Yeah, tried that, but the needle didn't move. I have that same repair manual, but it doesn't always give all the details you need. Read somewhere that some knock sensors need a ping to register anything. So, didn't know if I needed to do something else other than just connecting the ohmmeter.

Looks like I might just have to shell out the $250 for a new sensor for the peace of mind, plus whatever the wiring harness is going to cost.

 

Saw this on another thread. Anyone have any more information on how to take the connector apart so it can be re-soldered? I looked at it, but couldn't see how to do with without breaking it.

 

The storm trooper is alive again!!!

 

Were you able to get that sensor out without pulling the head? Did you use a 13mm wrench and work it out.

 

Yes, but it's a 12mm wrench. Every nut/bolt on this job is either 10mm or 12mm.

I used a 12mm ratcheting wrench to get to the bolt on the on the sensor. It's tight, but you can get the wrench between the pipe and the side, just take a lot of little strokes back and forth to get it out. I then fished the wire out with a bent metal clothes hanger, and got the bolt out with a magnet.

To fix the broken wire, I popped the pins out of the connector and re-soldered. To do this, I soldered about 4 inches of new wire (both black and white) to the pins, and then the other end of the new wires to the existing wires, covering all with heat shrink. This made it a bit easier to solder the pins, plus it gave me a little extra wire to hold onto when I was re-installing it.

To re-install, I put the bolt through the sensor, then put the sensor on the end of the ratcheting wrench. Holding onto both the ratcheting wrench and the extra wires, I guided the end of the bolt to the whole. I then used a long, skinny screwdriver, stuck it between the two pipes, and used it against the head of the bolt to hold it in place as I started tightening with the wrench.

It probably took me about 1/2 hour to figure out how to get it out, and probably about another 1/2 hour to get it in, but it IS doable. I'm not a mechanic, so if I can figure it out, anyone can.

So, I removed (apologies if I don't have the exact names of the parts)...

• Air intake (going into the filter)
• Filter housing
• Throttle body
• Plenum (big black thing on top of intake manifold)
• intake manifold
• Knock sensor

I also drained the radiator and removed the battery, just in case

As far as gaskets, I only needed the 2 intake manifold gaskets and the plenum gasket, which all come in a set together

All in all, the repair cost me about $300-$350, and about 10-12 hrs of work. The dealer quoted me $2500, so I told my wife I've got over $2k in spending money for the truck.

She didn't go for it.


A set of these is a lifesaver for this job...

 

Thanks for the awesome info!! Looks like I may have to tackle this soon. Got P0333 for the second time in three weeks. Second time it came on right after a cold startup. I have a Scanguage II so I've cleared them. If I do it i'm going to replace the whole harness if possible. With the space do you think one can change out the 5" harness under the coolant pipe?

 

No clue, but I don't see how. I couldn't even see the rest of the harness. I just re-soldered the wires to the harness. I did replace the sensor, just in case.

 

BTW - I tried testing it this way, and didn't get any reading. I got a new sensor from the dealer and did this test on the new sensor, and still didn't get a reading. So, I dunno if I did something wrong, or there's more to this test than these instructions let on.

 

just going to replace all new while in there. Check this thread, this guy was able to cut the tab that holds those two pipes together and was then able to remove them. I'm sure you could put a stainless pipe clamp around the two pipes when reinstalling.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/knock-sensor-p0333-repaired-with-solder.321872/

 

It appears to me that those pipes are "pressure" fitted by looking at the pics. What I am trying to say is that it seems like the rear of the pipes is the same as the front with the black o-ring. I think you just pull them out and go from there... I will be tackling this tomorrow. Are the gaskets regular stock at the dealership?

 

romafern -

Did you do the replacement, how'd it go. Any other tips?

 

I did! All.is good and great. I have.my own thread on this issue. Take a look in there and let me know if you have any questions. Happy to help!

 

Hi guys! I recently had a critter chew my knock sensor wire on my 2015 Tacoma Prerunner. I bought a new knock sensor wire for $14 online and an intake gasket kit for $24. I read a lot of forums on the process for repairing this so I proceeded. It wasn't as bad as mechanics and dealers let on to justify charging in excess of $1500 for the repair. There were a few fasteners that were pretty difficult to get to and I had to cut the metal band connecting the two cooling pipes that ran between the heads. After that, no problems. So, I'm posting this because when I got it all back together all codes are gone (no check engine light) It will go into overdrive just fine now, but when I'm on the interstate and holding about 80 mph I can feel it jump a little like its missing. Also it will lose some power on slight inclines and drop into passing gear. It never ran like this prior to the repair. I assumed that maybe the intake was sucking air so I went back in and put RTV on the top and bottom of the intake gasket. Still, same issue. I then thought maybe I damaged an injector or one was pretty dirty so I changed all the injectors and seals. Still same issue. I have replaced all the gaskets, no indication of sucking air at high RPMs. Is there something in the ECU that still needs to be cleared even though I show no check engine light????? I'm out of ideas here.

 

I have an 08 Taco with 155K Mi. It runs fine but I have a P 0333 light. Read through the posts and some other stuff bit no where do I see what sort of symptoms I should be experiencing except rough running and failure to shift into 5th speed, I don't get either of those?
Any ideas ? Thank you,Bob

 

IIRC the only issue I have was the check engine light and running in limp mode