Getting To The CPS

[k.smith904]

I'm trying to swap out the CPS on my 87 xj (4.0 AX-15) and can barely get my fingers on the bolts, let alone, a socket wrench. How the hell do you get this thing off?

Methods, Tools, and Prayers are appreciated.

hasta

 

[ewhood]

A wobbly socket and a long extension make the job much easier, assuming it is the same as an auto, don't know how much different it is.

 

[k.smith904]

Is it easier to remove from the top or the bottom?

 

[xcm]

http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoCPSchange.htm

 

[k.smith904]

^^ thanks.

 

[Matthew Currie]

Bolt access from the bottom. Last time I did this I used a 1/4 inch drive socket, with two long extensions, a medium extension and a u-joint. I can't remember the exact combination, but one bolt went better with long and shorter, and the other with both long, both with the u-joint in the middle. Experiment with how it lines up and how easily you can put some torque on the wrench, and if you have enough pieces in your set, you'll find something that works. When reinstalling the CPS, do use the plastic dust shield if it comes with one. This snaps into the bell housing, and will help hold the sensor in place until you can get a bolt started, as well as helping to prevent you from dropping things down into the bell housing.

If you have the dust shield, you can set the new sensor in from above, and then go below and feed it the bolts. Put the socket at the end of an extension, and hold the bolt head into the socket with a little piece of paper or plastic so it doesn't fall out, and you can feed the bolt into the hole.

Use lots of light from above and below.

5-90 recommends notching the holes in the new CPS so that you can put the bolts in loosely first and then hang it on them. I have not tried that but it sounds like an interesting idea worth trying if for some reason you just can't seem to find the holes with the sensor in place.

edit: I see I was beaten to this with a nice writeup. My only difference here may be a matter of taste, but I found it easier to put the u-joint in the middle of the series of wrench extensions, at least for removal, because it gives you a little better chance of holding and getting some torque on it.

 

[Camo-5]

Here is how I did it a month or so ago....

RTFM, here is how I did it and I was grease and oil from armpit to fingertip!

Unplugging was easy so I'll skip that. On my 97 all I needed was an 11mm socket, 1/2" swivel, 2 - 3" extentions (didn't have a 6"), a 12" extention and a 1/2" drive socket. I jacked the front up form the bumper whiched gained me an extra inch between the footwell and the driveshaft (laziness kept me from just removing the driveshaft).

For the lower bolt, I used the tools in the following order 11mm socket, swivel,3" extension, another 3" extention and 12" extention. Only about 15-20 degrees of movement but it worked all right to break it loose. For the upper bolt, I used them in the following order: 11mm socket 3" extention, swivel, 3" extensoin, 12" extension. Only about 10 degrees on this one so it sucked. After they were loose, I just used the socket and 12" extension by hand. it was a tight squeeze and my left forearm doesn't have any skin left on it. Make sure the bolts don't fall into the opening in the bell housing because my grommet fell off after the first bolt was loose.

If you grommet doesn't fall off, take it off. I had to enlarge the opening about 1/4" toward the rear of the bellhousing because I actually installed the whole thing back in and the cps was hung up on the grommet and I had to take it all back out and open the hole in the grommet so that it didn't happen again.

Getting it back in was a pain the butt. Laying on the creeper behind the front left tire, I had to reach all the way up and over the bellhousing and over the top to be able to hold the grommet in place and start the top bolt. Took many tries but you can do it! Just make sure before you tighten down the bolts that the cps sticks through the hole in the grommet. From what I understand, the cps won't read through it and it only needs to be off my 1.0mm for it not to work!!