The auto parts shops want like $96 for this part. Fuck that, we had a friend go get this one from a Barry’s U-Pull-It junkyard, but apparently he didn’t realize the bolt mount brass insert hole support area was crumbling apart ☹️
Regardless, he had the sensor tested and it checked out good. But I can’t in any good faith install the part when the single bolt hole mount was about to literally fall out of it.
So, after about 3 hours of careful creativity, some super glue to secure the parts, JB Quik Weld as a filler for the missing plastic, careful filing, shaping and leveling of flat surfaces, and a zip tie around the whole thing to make sure as best as I can that the filler doesn’t break loose, and this is what I came up with.
I do hope this part still works after all the cleaning chemicals (Goof-Off and rubbing alcohol), super glue and epoxy, I do hope the part still works when I get to installing it tomorrow.
And yes, I also had to patch up cracks in the back side where the 3 wire harness comes out too. Assuming optimistically that the sensor still works, we’re already planning for this to be a temporary replacement until we can get a new one ordered online for like $20 or so, because fuck $96 for a damn sensor!
Edit: I got it installed this morning, and it works!
It does have some iron in the mix yes, but it’s not enough to register any conductivity on my multimeter in my experience. Also, the JB isn’t touching any bare wires, it’s mostly there as a filler for the missing plastic chunk.
The back side patch repair around the 3 wire harness also aren’t directly exposed to bare wires either, thankfully. But I did have to super glue over some cracks on the back side, then after that dried I filled around that area with JB as well.
I’ve got my fingers crossed that this part still checks out and works after these redneck repairs, but this definitely isn’t my first merry go round patching brittle plastic or working with electronics.
Hey, I’ll find out tomorrow or soon at least. It either works or it don’t, hopefully it does though. Any which way, given the compromised state of the sensor, this is only meant to be a temporary fix for a month or three or whatever, until my roommate can afford to order a new part online.
There’s nothing more permanent than a temporary solution.
Okay, that was my biggest concern was the metal in that screwing with the readings on the sensor. Keep us posted, I’m curious to hear how it works out.
Those hall effect sensors are pretty robust. I pull them out all the time with chunks of metal stuck to the tip and they are still doing their job just fine. They aren’t taking fine measurements like the hall effect sensor on a joystick does, it’s just 1s and 0s when the fingers of the reluctor ring pass.
That makes sense, to be honest I didn’t know how finicky they were.
We’re replacing one that was purchased new like about 6 months ago brand new on eBay for about $25. It had been running perfectly fine and purring like a kitten up until about a month ago, when it began hesitating to start for around 15 to 20 seconds or so. As of like 2 weeks ago, it gave up that ghost and just won’t even start now, though the starter and engine turn over just fine.
The eBay part only had like a month warranty on it though, guess you pay for what you get right? The O-ring had a bad spot in it, and due to the valve cover gaskets gradually leaking oil down the engine, oil got through the O-ring seal.
So, in a pinch, we went with a junkyard pull part. And so here I am today, hoping I can get my roommate’s vehicle back running for a while long enough to get back out on the road and hustle some more money for another affordable proper new part.
And yeah, I’ll try to make a point to update on this post later after I get it installed.
Honestly you’re far better off with a OEM junkyard part than a new cheap ebay one.
Not on this vehicle. Honestly, the sensor cylinder end itself has the beginnings of aged dryrot stress cracks itself, though I guess those micro cracks don’t show up well on my camera. This is for a 2005 Hyundai Tucson, almost all the plastic parts are dryrotted and brittle now.
I don’t expect a long lifespan out of this brittle 20 year old part with cracks inside and out, I’m just hoping to make it last long enough to get the vehicle back on the road long enough to get through the slow holiday ordering season and earn some more money to buy another new part.
Its almost through and through with this 20 year old vehicle, plastic and rubber parts dryrotting left and right, if it ain’t one thing it’s another…
I just meant that I would try to find a junkyard replacement for your repaired one rather than resort to ebay. You should be able to look up the OEM part # and find all the vehicles that was used on. They don’t change these sensors very often, so it’s possible you can find one that’s only a few years old.
There are lots of parts I’m just fine with using aftermarket. But mission critical components like crank/cam sensors I really only trust to OEM/Bosch/Hitachi.
It’s compatible with 2004 to 2008 Hyundai Tucson or 2005 to 2009 Kia Sportage, or vice versa on the years, I kinda forget, but I know either way it’s compatible with 2005 to 2008 year range on both model vehicles. 2008 models probably aren’t too far behind on the dryrot and heat stress crack factors either.
Not as easy as you’d think to find compatible vehicles in the junkyards within like a 50 mile radius, and without a running ride right now, I’ve had to rely on friends willing to help out.
This is what I got right now, so I’m just trying to make it work for a while…
Guess what? I got it installed this morning, and it works!
Nice work!