Cadillac Owners Forum banner

Best Crank Position Sensors for my 2000 N*?

2K views 33 replies 4 participants last post by  Ghostsoldier 
#1 ·
Guys...I've got a question about buying these puppies, because I've read that different companies have different brands, and I want to stay away from the cheapo Mexican-made versions. Here's what I've found:

O'reilly Auto Parts sells Master Pro (cheapo house brand) for 40 bucks each, and BWD (Borg Warner) for 48 bucks each....

Rockauto sells the following brands: Airtex/Wells, Standard Motor Products, and Original Engine Management.

I didn't even bother with AutoZone or Advanced....are any of the one's I listed above worth buying and/or monkeying with?
Rob
 
#2 ·
Many of these are rebrands - the new series is made by DENSO in Japan and are so stamped on the protective electrical connector skirt. One is gray, the other, black.

You will usually find that Airtex/Wells is a DELPHI rebox - DELPHI is/was/will be (depending on the state of the economy) an OEM parts manufacturer/specifier for all GM.

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacture, as in: what it left with from the production line.

(The Mexican - Siemens contract - CKP's are the faulty ones. DO NOT by old stock CKP's (one black, one tan) )
 
#7 ·
12575481 - $52
12575482 - $55
plus some shipping depending on where you're at?
(got those from a previous post of mine a few weeks ago)

best spark plug is the OEM acdelco (i'm sure sub has the number memorized by now... i always look them up so i can't remember)
but i think i can sell them around $6 each... less than $7 for sure
they usually retail for around $9.something

and 100k is the recommended change for those plugs too (so you're overdue)
you'll get a little better mpg from the new plugs i bet
 
#8 ·
Good deal, Rippy....gimme a week or so (I'm expecting payment on services from a client, so I'll have some Eldo-fixin' money), and I'll hook up with you for those CPK's; as for shipping, I'm in Starke, Florida, about 40 miles south of Jax (zip is 32091).

Thanks!
Rob
 
#12 ·
Starke, Florida. Biggest speed trap in the SE. :sneaky: We go through the main drag every year on the way to visit Karen's younger daughter who works for Nationwide in Gainesville. For grins, take a look at www.gmotors.com

Plugs are ACDelco Professional Platinum #41-987. Pregapped to .050". (also made by DENSO.............). Your car probably has DENSO plugs in it right now - the old number is in your owner's manual.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I've got another question about what my Eldo is doing, and I wanted to run it by this thread. I pulled these three codes yesterday:

P0101 - Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor Performance (Current)
P0171 - Fuel Trim System Lean Bank 1 (History)
P0174 - Fuel Trim System Lean Bank 2 (History)


...and another member here told me that it could be my MAF sensor. My question is whether this sensor could cause the stalling effect that I gave thus far blamed on the CPK's. The car runs fine for a bit, then suddenly it will almost stall out, then it will pick back up again...it does this at idle, or at highway speeds; you can feel the N* "bogging" as you drive it, it acts like a carbureted car with a rough idle, and then the Service Engine light pops on. It also pings like hell, which I attributed to low octane fuel (which I compensate for by adding octane boost to each tankful)...now I read that a defective MAF sensor will cause a lot of these symptoms.

Thoughts?

Rob
 
#18 ·
Remove the MAF. Take a hard look at the 3 heated resistors across the bridges. OK? Make sure the MAF is properly aligned (tabs and notches in the adapter ring) and that there are NO air leaks in any of the air intake ducting or loose clamps, including the duct resonator (if the car has one) - that's a prime spot to cause an air leak and set all three mixture/MAF codes.

If the MAF looks OK, then the 0171/0174 codes point straight at the intake manifold-to-throttlebody rubber plenum. You can barely see the s/s clamp just beside the intake manifold/TB joint. 2.5 hours, not rocket science.
 
#19 · (Edited)
OK, Sub....here's what I've got:





Although it's not too clear in the pics, all 3 of the resistors look good, as does the IAT sensor; there's a tracked line across the honeycomb screen, like someome dragged a fingernail across it, but none of the holes have been mashed shut...I sprayed a can of CRC MAF Sensor Cleaner all over it, and washed some dirt and grime out of it; I'm going to put it back on, and see what happens. If it still runs like s#!t, I guess the plenum is the culprit.

Rob
 
#23 ·
Ranger,
Thanks....that's the one I'll look for, if I need it. :)

UPDATE: Well, it looks like my problem may be solved! I just got back from a 50+ mile round trip, and the Eldo took it in stride....smooth, fast acceleration, no missing or skipping, and no lag or bogging, even after I took it up to about 75 mph...looks like maybe the MAF hose connections were the culprit, because the rubber connections virtually fell off in my hand when I went to take it off earlier tonight. When I reinstalled the MAF, I aligned the clamp slots with the rubber tabs (which were not aligned before), and torqued the clamps down good and snug, for an airtight fit.

I'm going Christmas shopping tomorrow, so it'll be an extended traffic and road test for the N*....hopefully I won't have to report back here to say it's still having issues! :D

Thanks again to all you Cadillac Gods who've helped me with this! :worship:

Rob

(PS: On a totally non-relevant note, but out of curiosity, can anyone tell me what makes the whirring noise in the back of the Caddy? It sounds almost like an electric fuel pump, or the electric antenna (but it's not), but it quits after a few seconds, and only when the car is running....any ideas?
 
#24 ·
If the hum comes from the RR fenderwell area about 10 seconds after key:ON then it's the ELC (Electronic Level Control) compressor doing a preload for the rear shock leveling boots. If it runs continuously or often, then you have problems: compressor, exhaust head, filter/dryer, air lines, or shock boots. Heat of compression causes moisture to condense in the compressor and lines: the filter/dryer is supposed to control this, and the exhaust valve is supposed to "blow down" the dryer when the car exhausts air to level the rear but, like all things mechanical, the system gets full of snot and gradually rots everything.

Car up on a lift, key:ON, spray bottle of soap solution. Wet the air lines and shock area. Bubbles = leaks.
 
#25 ·
If the hum comes from the RR fenderwell area about 19 seconds after key:ON then it's the ELC (Electronic Level Control) compressor doing a preload for the rear shock leveling boots.
Sub...it seem to only make the noise when the car is first turned ON, then sometimes immediately after you turn the car off; I don't recall it ever doing it while the car is running, or for a prolonged period.

If I catch it doing it at an odd time, I'll try the soap bottle detection method. :)

Thanks!
Rob
(Now....on to the wife's heater problem! :D)
 
#27 ·
DISAPPOINTED UPDATE: Well, the sumbish started doing it again....I drove it around town for about 4 hours, and about 1 hour into the trip, the damn thing started skipping again....@#%$!!!:banghead:

That damn Murphy and his Law.....:bigroll:

Looks like the next thing to try is the plenum gasket...:annoyed:

Rob
 
#28 ·
ANOTHER UPDATE:
Well, I went ahead and replaced the MAF sensor yesterday with a rebuilt Dephi unit, and thought maybe I had solved the problem. I checked the codes before I changed it, and got the familiar P0101 - Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor Performance (Current) code. So, I cleared the PCM codes, and replaced the sensor.

After I ran the car for about an hour, the yellow "Hey dumbass, it ain't fixed" light came on, so I pulled the codes again, and got...you guessed it...the P0101 - Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor Performance (Current) flag.

Sunofabee-yotch. :ill:

Looks like I'm gonna be replacing the plenum gasket next. :helpless:

TBC....

Rob
 
#29 ·
The plenum and resulting mixture codes will not set a code for MAF performance. You need to troubleshoot the MAF wiring, harness, and connector itself before going into the intake manifold. Look carefully for a broken wire right at the MAF connector. Your connector has 5 wires - 3 for the airflow calculation and 2 for the IAT (Intake Air Temperature) thermistor, that little black bead at the edge of the main bore. If you look at the pins molded into the MAF body you can see which wires go where.

EDIT: Just went back to Post #1. Saw that this is discussed earlier and that you did a MAF cleaning.

Is every clamp, duct, and that damn resonator correctly in place with NO leaks anywhere - any air leak in the intact tract at or after the MAF will set a code. (Here's what I did to make life easier..........)
 
#30 ·
Sub...my harness and plug are stretched almost to the breaking point...so much, in fact, that it's really a struggle just to unplug the darn thing, and the wires are pulled flat against the side of the plug. Not ever owning a Northstar before, I'm not sure if the MAF is in the right spot or not...that is, can it be rotated?

Yours is in a different position than mine, and looks a heckuva lot easier to service, with a nice slack harness; compared to yours at, say, the 12 o'clock position, mines at 3 o'clock...I'll upload some pics when I get home this afternoon to show you what it looks like...

Rob
 
#31 ·
After I did the "butt plug" resonator removal I went anal and aligned the MAF internal airfoil with the throttlebody blade axis. Without that resonator in there you can turn the MAF anywhere you want to relieve harness strain.
 
#32 ·
Sub,
2 o'clock is more the position of mine (not 3, like I said earlier)....





...but the harness is still reeeeally tight...Scuze my ignorance, but what the hell is the "butt plug resonator removal" ye speak of, and can I do it to mine? Will it be advantageous to my engine?

Rob
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top