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Stranded on the side of the road.


Ronnie

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I’m just curious,do you think it failed just from age and fatigue ? Do longtime owners do this replacement as preventative maintenance, if so what is the average lifespan of the CPS ?

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11 minutes ago, Nailhed66 said:

I’m just curious,do you think it failed just from age and fatigue ? Do longtime owners do this replacement as preventative maintenance, if so what is the average lifespan of the CPS ?

I think mine was probably the original CPS. I do believe the plastic that incases the magnet in that center piece was old and brittle and it just finally disintegrated and the magnet fell out. As you can see in one of my pervious photos, the magnet itself wasn't even broke. It just fell out and was stuck to the side of the metal shutter ring. I couldn't find any signs that would lead me to believe the broken plastic was caused by something hitting the sensor. I was lucky that the magnet didn't cause any damage.

 

I changed the harmonic balancer shortly after I got the car in 2007 because I had heard so much about it going bad. I didn't change the CPS at that time. If I had it to do over I would have changed the CPS at the same time as preventive maintenance. 

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I waited for my Harmonic Balancer to start making noise before I replaced it. The Crank Position sensor might las 35 years like Ronnie's did or 10 years. No way of knowing and in my opinion doesn't make sense to replace. The new one might not be the same quality and will fail or cause weird problems. 

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Is cheap enough to just keep one around. As can see in the last picture I just eyeball it into the center. Have seen the center or two magnets broken before, not uncommon.

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Why do you need to align it? The pin on the bottom does that for you. Unless you put it on backwards, you will not have a problem.

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IMG_1242.JPG

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Do you have a part number for that CPS? I know my S/C twin belt damper uses that type but I haven’t found the same for the LN3.

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Jon's pretty smart. I bet he tried a 1993 Buick Riviera. I just went to Rock auto and the one he pictured looks like the ones on their website. Hopefully he will confirm or correct me.

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3 hours ago, DAVES89 said:

he new one might not be the same quality and will fail or cause weird problems. 

That is very true. That is the reason I buy the best quality I can get for parts like this that can leave me sitting on the side of the road. I use to be an ACDelco man but now I like Delphi the best. ACDelco moved production to Mexico. This Delphi sensor is advertised as being USA. That alone is reason enough for me to change.

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Yes I do.  it's ACDelco GM# 19326458.

Made in the USA.

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Jon, the CPS part number you listed might fit my car. I don't know.

 

Below is a photo of what was listed for my '88 and it has to be adjusted. There is an alignment pin on the bracket but that doesn't help when the sensor just slides around in the bracket until it is tightened down with the pinch bolt included with the bracket. All the sensors listed on RockAuto for my '88 must be adjusted.

 

31-ZEJI4tGL._AC_.jpg

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I don't think they would move the pin on the block for the 90-91 engine. So, I would bet that the newer CPS would fit the 88-89 as well as the newer engine.

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You could be right. I'm no expert on this stuff and I really don't know. When I compare your sensor with my new one, yours appears to be thicker in the center section than mine. That makes me think maybe the spacing on shutter rings on your balancer might be different from mine. I'm just guessing but if look at the photos below you can see what I mean. Do you have an old balancer for an '88-'90 that you can try your one piece CPS on to see how it fits the ring on those balancer rings? It would be nice to know for sure if the one piece CPS will work on older model Reattas.

 

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3168WbpbnJL._AC_.jpg

 

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Ronnie, measure the total with of your old one.

The new one measures 7/8" wide and the gaps are 3/16" and 1/2" tall.

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Jon, my old sensor measures 5/8" wide across the top, 3/8" tall and the gaps are 1/8" wide. The width of all the pieces the the shutter rings run between are 1/8" wide.  Seems like that is quite a bit of difference from yours.

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2seater might know if the new and old CPS are interchangeable. He has been mixing and matching old and new style parts on his SC engine build he is doing.

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I don't know if that's the same sensor I used on the S/C balancer or not? I know the one I have will not fit an LN3 but perhaps there is some transition and crossover point? In any case, I measured the center rib of the LN3 two piece one like Ronnie used. The center rib is .180" thick and the space between the rings on a N.O.S. balancer, is .215", for a total clearance of .035", about what spark plug gap was in the points era or .0175" on either side, in the area of points gap🙃. I measured the ring space on the 95 S/C balancer and it is .415" but I cannot find the old one piece sensor that went with it. I may have tossed it but I know I posted the difference visually on my S/C build thread.

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Is it possible the part number is 19326459? That is the same sensor as used on the 1995 that I have. It will definitely bolt on, but the sensor itself is bigger and beefier.

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If the one piece CPS did work on all Reattas it would eliminate the time needed to adjust the gap correctly. Not sure it would make doing the job a whole lot easier.

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Conceivably, the 1993 damper could be used, but there are a couple of unknowns; press fit vs slip fit and balance factor. The L27 Series 1 is very similar, but there are subtle differences. The pistons and rods are pretty much interchangeable, but they are not identical. It has a one piece rear oil seal which makes the crankshaft and flex plate different. It would probably be close enough that rebalancing wouldn't be required, but it is an unknown. I would bet it would work.

Edited by 2seater
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