Tips for CPS change-out?

[Milisake_Racing]

Well, CPS has died. Last owner must have ran the wires too close to the exhaust. Two spots on the harness were melted and the third was bare wire that fell apart with just a little pull on it.

Got underneath to look where it is at and discovered that it is in the worst spot to get at for a sensor, sandwiched between the bellhousing and the floorpan/firewall junction. Any tips for removing and installing a new one? What tools did you use? Does dropping the front driveshaft help any? Should I just dremel out the floorboards

[sidriptide]

use a socket and an extension long enough for the ratchet to be down out of the trany tunnel, i lay on my back withthe trany above my chest and reach up with my left hand, no need to be looking up there, you wont see anything. left hand can reach up and feel the bolt heads and right hand guides the extention and socket up to the CPS. been a while but i'm thinking its a 10mm bolt. this is one of those jobs i do with my eyes closed and just "feel" the work. i figured out this method after doing this several times with a small wrench 1/8 turn at a time.

[slowrider]

For me it helped to have some help from the top and as sid said a very long extension helped, 1/4 drive works. After pulling the old sensor plug the new one in to keep it from falling on you're face if it slips out of you're hands before you can get a bolt started. Be careful not to drop anything in the opening in the bellhousing where the CPS sits, taping over the hole might help; dropping something in there isn't the end of the world but it will add a bunch of time and work to the job. Have fun!

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Should I just dremel out the floorboards?

That's what I did. I measured the exact CPS position on the firewall, and cut a 'flap' on three sides, that I could fold back and access the bolts. This made the job very easy. After installation I simply folded back the metal flap and sealed with body sealer. Actually it looked very neat, and the hole is there in case the CPS has to be replaced again in the future......

ROE