Crankcase Speed Sensor

[Qavion]

I'm currently trying to fit a new crankcase speed sensor to my '89 SE. It's an official lotus part (P/N A910E6938F)... but it just won't fit in the existing hole. I tried emery cloth to smooth down imperfections on the barrel of the sensor, but that didn't work, so I tried some coarse sandpaper... and managed to get the sensor in about half way.

It looks like I'm going to have to take a few thou off the barrel of the sensor with a lathe ... or keep rubbing away with the emery cloth.... but even after I've done this, I don't know how I'm going to get the o-ring through (which sits proud of the barrel). The old one slides in easily, doesn't even touch the sides until it gets to the O-ring.

No refund was offered and Lotus just told me to use the emery cloth.

This is ridiculous... If you pay for an item, you expect it to fit .. and it's not so easy to remove/refit.. I expected to unclip the plug & remove only one bolt, but had to take out a gearbox bolt and remove the turbo inlet pipe to get to that bolt.

There's probably nothing wrong with the old sensor, but I just wanted to take it out of the equation (I have a longstanding hesitation/ random stalling problem)

Cheers.

Ian.

Edited December 22, 2008 by Qavion

[sanj]

If you can get the barrel to fit in the hole, put a bit of oil on the o-ring to ease its entry. Have you made sure the hole in the bellhousing itself is free of corrosion and buildup? far more likely that a defective sensor. It's a tight fit when new, so any crud will make things impossible.

[Qavion]

Thanks for the tip, Sanj

There was some microscopic debris on the old sensor, but I'll check the general area for larger pieces of shrapnel.

Cheers.

Ian.