Driving with a knock sensor problem
 

Hi Guys,

A friend (400 miles away) just got a 2003 X-Type, 2.5, auto with 100,000 miles.

The car drives fine as long as you do not stomp on it (it shudders if you do). He wants to drive to my house to visit (and have me fix it :) )

It has a code P0332. (knock sensor) I told him to make sure it was not loose and that the wire harness looks good.

Do you think there is a problem driving it 400 miles this problem?

Any advice on replacing it?

What about just plugging in a new one and tape it off to the side for the drive here?

Thanks

Larry, having driven other cars with knock sensor problems, he should be just fine. The big trick is if he senses the car starting to shudder, he needs to do what is necessary to prevent it from shuddering.

In short, the knock sensor is just listening to the engine and seeing if it senses a knocking problem. Under normal driving conditions, this should not be a problem. When a knocking condition is sensed, the knock sensor sends a signal to the ECM which then causes it to retard the timing which will remove the knocking.

Tell him to drive sensibly and keep things at a manageable speed and all should be fine.

As for replacing it, shouldn't be that difficult. Others have replaced it and from what they have posted, fairly easy to get to as it sits in the valley between all the cylinders. The big trick is you have to pull the intake off to access it. Not difficult, just takes a little bit of time. I would also make sure that when you are installing the new one, the plug is in a location that it is not going get hit. You want the new sensor snug so it doesn't bounce around (this makes the computer think that a knocking condition is occurring), but not so tight that it may damage the sensor. A good cleaning of the mounting surface would be advisable so the sensor sits flush with the engine block, ensuring it can adequately hear the knocking.

Thanks "Thermo" !

I will tell him to fill up on the Hi-Test and to drive slow.

Back when I was a youth in an early automotive class I asked the teacher how tight I should make the part. He told me "MF". I had the stupid look on my face, did he just say that"?

After seeing my face he said "Mechanic's Feel".

Larry, very true, there are all kinds of tightness. You have the classic "wrench tight", then you have to "spot torque". Then you always have the "not even a breaker bar with an extension will break it loose" tight. My favorite is "did the last guy even tighten it" tight. Granted, "MF" may have a slight different tightness as in "Mother F........" tight. Not quite spot torque, but more than sufficient.

I am sure there are some others out there.

Update:

I was made an offer I could not refuse, so I flew to NY and drove my new cat home. :)

Had no problem keeping it under 3000 RPM on the trip home. Ran just fine. A very nice car that will become my daily driver. This make 3 X-Cats. You would thinks they were rabbits the way they are in my yard.