PSA: Rodent proof your engine before it's too late! (P0333 - DIY Knock sensor harness repair)

sumbitchin rodents..

 

$3,800 to be exact. (ask me how I know)
And north of $100k to build a garage so my truck won't be outside anymore.

The "by the book" repair calls for both heads to be removed to replace the knock sensor harness. My insurance picked it up as a comp claim (minus my deductible). Having seen this thread, doing it this way looks to have been well within my abilities.

 

Yup. Happened to me last year. $4k repair bill. GEICO covered it.

 

Sorry to repeat my question earlier in the thread, but hoping for some input...

Has anyone found a reasonable way to block this area with mesh/hardware cloth to prevent rodent entry? All the various chemicals/sheets and so forth appear to have little deterrent effect so I'm thinking a physical barrier is the best option (I have my air intake blocked off with hardware cloth).

 

Nothing that I have found. Too many nooks and crannies around the intake manifold to have any feasible way to block entry. My solution was to build a garage so my truck doesn't have to live outside anymore. After 3 expensive repairs to my Tacoma and two equally costly repairs to my girlfriend's car (almost $10k in total), as well as several I could fix myself (and the afternoons spent cleaning rat shit, fruit and nesting stuff out of engine bays) I was kinda over it and started building.

If we could just get manufacturers to stop making wiring with delicious soy based jacketing, that would go a long way to making this problem less common. There is somebody trying to get a class action lawsuit going against Toyota and a few other manufacturers over this.

 

Ken this should be a very high priority for guys like us that like the great remote areas. As you know I have already experienced the dreaded limp mode out in the midst of nowhere due to that horrible secondary air injection systems the '12-'15s have. For that I made a kit using the Tundra valves and carry it around with some suitable wrenches just in case. So I don't want to experience yet another limp potential due to the knock sensor wires being gnawed.

For this issue I'm thinking of trying some bronze wool and just stuffing it in there around the pipes and make sure there is not a short potential. On my '09 chipmunks and mice would get up into the fender well and chew away at the rubber seal(s) that are between the front doors and the front fenders along the hinges. Its great stuff in that it does not rust, can be stuffed in small places, and rodents hate it because it creates tiny little cuts in their tiny little skin. The bronze wool was the trick and worked so well that I carried it over to my '14. So it looks like I need to get some more bronze wool.

 

I like that idea! I also see there is stainless-steel wool made specifically for rodent exclusion (Xcluder is one brand).

From descriptions of how much metal fiber can be shed I do sort of worry about it managing to get into any wiring harness if just stuffed in every which way to fill up the whole void space. I'll need to sniff around the engine next time I have a chance. Maybe pickup a cheap phone borescope and have look in all those gaps.

 

Here is what I did to fix part of the problem
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...gen-tacoma-today.6499/page-7838#post-17968459

 

Get a couple cats, feed them just enough to keep them coming around. They'll hunt 24/7. I have one that sits on a front tire. He likes the residual engine heat, just like a mouse. Jumps out when he hears the truck unlock. A mouse will climb a front tire to get into the engine bay. The lingering smell of a cat is enough to deter a mouse.

 

Oh man, you just blew up my false sense of security..

 

Just updated my post with a picture. If a mouse gets in there I am taking it in as a pet

 

I’ll be going for this repair tomorrow on my 2006 w/ 208,000 miles. Thing is I don’t see any damage with my handy oscillating camera... so I’m thinking it’s maybe an actual bad sensor... but until I get in there and can see the whole harness I won’t kmow for sure...



Getting the p0333 for bank 2 which should be the red/green wires...

 

Well that was a nightmare. My wires ended up being perfect. Tested every wire. Also the replacement harness I got was only 4 wires no ground. The exhausting one had 5 wires one being brown and attached to a shielding around the wires.

I pulled the bank 2 sensor and tested it. Showing 200-400 ohms... manual says it should be 120-180 at 68*F or something. New one tested 190 ohms and didn’t jump around like the old one.

Hardest thing ever was getting the new sensor on while working around those coolant pipes... I laughed... I cried... I engineered makeshift tools... I cut a open end wrench in half.... and I succeeded!!!!

Put it all back together and what do you know my engine knock is gone!! I always thought my knock was just the Toyota knock but I guess it was worse.

 

Could someone please help me understand how to place a claim for this on insurance. My insurance agent basically said no way this is covered on comp/collision. I have Erie insurance that's not cheap. But I'm not sure how to ask the question correctly without making it sound like an engine failure.

 

Would you guys think fluid filming the whole underside of the truck will deter rodents? Asking because so far in my family a 2013 Lexus RX350 and a 2017 Tundra have fallen victim.

 

Welp! This just happened to me yesterday. Dealer quotes around $1200 but going through insurance. What a pain

 

I would like to know why mine was $2700 + parts
Can you believe that? I'm floored. They pulled the engine apart and found NO VISIBLE ISSUES with the sensors or wires. But, they put new ones in and fixed it right up.
Did I say it was $3300 - OMFG

 

That's what the CorvetteForum members recommend too.

 

Just recently ive heard some guys saying that sometimes the sheets don't really help though..

 

They finally got me too. Thanks USAA for picking up the tab. But how frustrating to have such a fix due to squirrels. Time to buy an air rifle!