Reasons for the roll-pin of the cam sensor gear shattering??

[NCTURBOS]

Any reasons or opinions?? This could have been catastrophic if it would have come all the way out, thus not being able to turn the oil pump!!!


K.

 

[BadAssGN]

a loose roll pin, that sounds odd, can't say I've seen that before.

as for worrying about losing oil pressure don't worry, your car will die before you can do any damage,

some will argue that the car will run with the cam sensor un plugged (which it will after you start it with a cam sensor installed)
but if things change while driving (like the small bolt on top backs off and the little tang breaks ) the car dies instantly. the second the cam timing changes.

how did you find it?

 

[NCTURBOS]

how did you find it?

I'm chasing a hesitation shudder (not really a miss) on this car at very, very light throttle just before the shift points. It seems to be rpm related in all gears at approx. 2800-3000 rpm.

I was headed towards a broken tab on the cam sensor or maybe just some damage to where the reluctor would have shifted slightly, but that's ok, and I swapped a known good cap as well. I just decided to pull the whole sensor out and found the roll-pin just about to fall out. As I took it the rest of the way out it fell apart into four pieces.


K.

 

[pacecarta]

i found same thing on when i pulled my original sensor to do the timing chain . i was going to shim up a little and found the roll pin was very worn and was cracked in two down its length .
guess 130K will take its toll on almost any part

 

[NCTURBOS]

i found same thing on when i pulled my original sensor to do the timing chain . i was going to shim up a little and found the roll pin was very worn and was cracked in two down its length .
guess 130K will take its toll on almost any part

This car has 90k+ on the original cam sensor. What was your fix, a new sensor or were you able to find a new roll-pin?


K.

 

[pacecarta]

i pulled another roll pin from an old distributor i had laying on the shelf

later just swapped it out for a complete new sensor when they were cheap $46 (pc-16)

 

[GNVenom]

Under certain conditions, the car will stay running if the roll pin shears off. If you see the SES light come on and the car starts running differently, turn it off immediately. Your oil pressure goes to zero at this point. It won't restart.

High volume oil pumps put a greater strain on the roll pin and you run the risk of shearing or wearing the pin out prematurely.

Good argument for low oil pressure idiot light and for keeping an eye on the oil pressure gauge.

 

[NCTURBOS]

Under certain conditions, the car will stay running if the roll pin shears off. If you see the SES light come on and the car starts running differently, turn it off immediately. Your oil pressure goes to zero at this point. It won't restart.

My understanding is it "could" run in batchfire mode like this.

High volume oil pumps put a greater strain on the roll pin and you run the risk of shearing or wearing the pin out prematurely.

I find this to be true also. This particular car has a std. volume pump.



K.

 

[SloGN]

High volume oil pumps put a greater strain on the roll pin and you run the risk of shearing or wearing the pin out prematurely.


Good argument for low oil pressure idiot light and for keeping an eye on the oil pressure gauge.

I have often wondered about that since high oil pressure seems to wear out the thrust washer on the bottom of the cam sensor.


thats why when installing my gauges i put in a new oil pressure sending unit for the light to be on the safe side. that red light will catch your attention far faster than that gauge going to zero

 

[NCTURBOS]

...that red light will catch your attention far faster than that gauge going to zero

Helpful tip... I have actually replaced some instrument cluster "warning" bulbs with brighter ones for easier sight. IE. SES bulb that also doubles as a "shift light" for some chips.


K.