Knock Sensor harness Replacement

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.

 

- How did you replace the knock sensor wire?...splice/solder?

- How did you repair the metal bad connection between the 2 cooling pipes? I did some work similar to your project once on a 1995 3.2L Isuzu Rodeo engine. There was a proprietary rubber coolant hose that joined the 2 cyl. heads. I'm guessing the metal band you mention is similar in purpose?

 

The knock sensor wire was just a jumper from the main harness. I unplugged it from the main harness and replaced the entire knock sensor harness. The metal band connecting the two tubes didn't need to be replaced. There is also a bracket tying both tubes down to the block. The larger tube is also sandwiched between the thermostat housing and another hard housing on the back of the engine. Neither tube has an opportunity to move.