neon Crank Position Sensor help!

[Ranmatchi]

Hi guys,

I wrote here to this forum a while back about a misfire problem I was having with my 96 SOHC neon. 96K on the clock, 4 door ATX, nothing special but still runs fairly well and has nice cold A/C! :) I got a new truck and have just driven it around town, but I haven`t had any problems with it.

Unfortunatly, the intermittent problem I was having (worse and worse misfire once going 65-70 mph for a couple miles) has come back. Checked plugs, wires, etc and they were good, so I pulled codes and traced it to a bad CPS. I`ve been reading some horror stories about getting these out - breaking them off while removing them, having to use a special puller to get the crankchaft pulley off, actually GETTING to the thing, etc. The car runs well around town, I`m just not comfortable keeping it below 60mph on the highway to prevent this from happening!

So, any help from anyone who`s done a CPS on an SOHC neon would be appreciated - a how-to or some quick tips on where it`s located, how to get it out, and what to look out for.

Or..would any Mopar folks be interested in some side work? :)

Thanks!

[figment]

i had a similiar problems but it was the cam sensor. i cant remeber where the crank sensor is. if you need to remove the pully autozone rents it for free. $60 deposit

[Ranmatchi]

Thanks for the reply, I checked the codes once the CEL came on and it came up with a code 11, which reads "Timing belt skipped 1 tooth or more from initial learned value, Intermittent loss of either camshaft or crankshaft position sensor, No crank reference signal detected during engine cranking". I guessed it was the crankshaft sensor based on the symptoms, and because it seems that oil leaks tend to kill them(of course I have a slight oil leak), but I'll look into the camshaft sensor.

How hard is the camshaft sensor to replace? If it's easier and/or cheaper, I may start with it first and see if that does it. Where is it located on the motor?

Thanks!
Adam

[figment]

i looked in the fsm and the crank postion sensor is on the back of hte motor, under the alt. i would go that way before the cam sensor with the codes your getting.

the cam sensor is located on the head at the end of the cam. four bolts i think for the sohc. it was about $50 bucks at napa