[94IntrepidESCharGold]

Hello, I had since replaced original cam position sensor with two aftermarket sensors. The new ones come with a spacer at install, but why do these go bad prematurely? Thanks in advance, Al

 

[peva]

They're supposed to come with spacer. You left the spacer on when you installed it - right?

"Aftermarket" may be the problem.

 

[94IntrepidESCharGold]

Yes, spacer left on at install. First replacement was BWD 11/2016 and third is STD PC 109. Physically they all looked the same. How many factories do you think fabricate these sensors?

 

[peva]

I used to work for an automotive carbon brush (for alternators, starters, any kind of electric motor on car) manufacturer - we supplied directly to Ford and GM (Visteon and Delphi). I can tell you from first hand knowledge that there are two acceptance tolerance bands for each commodity - one for the factory, and one for the aftermarket. When a lot fails to meet the factory tolerance band, if it falls into the wider aftermarket tolerance band, our sales people had the phone numbers of special buyers to arrange a sale into aftermarket.

A few years after I left that job, that knowledge was reinforced when I purchased a Gates (the OEM) thermostat from Rock Auto and installed in my '98 3.2 Concorde. After that, the warmup on the engine was super slow, and the gage read low after warmup. Since that started right after installing it, and it was the only thing changed besides the coolant, I figured the thermostat was bad, so I got one from the dealer and installed it - problem immediately went away. Was it a defect that slipped thru the quality checks, or was it one that was outside of the OEM tolerance band but was within the aftermarket tolerance band. I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised either way.

 

[94IntrepidESCharGold]

Yes, I heard a similar situation with electronics. Best Buy received all the low tolerance products and I was advised to never buy from Best Buy. I was surprised to hear this but rang true when my 36" CRT TV, hard drive, and pretty much everything I purchased from BB had failed on me prior learning this.

 

[pt500]

The "economy" line cam and crank position sensors may only last about 25K miles at best. Even the OEM and premium aftermarket sensors cam/crank can start to give bad signals around 40K miles. You need to buy the premium brand, because any parts coming from Commie China (PRC) these days for the economy lines at stores like Autozone are junk. Standard Motor Products makes good sensors, but you have to get their premium line parts, not the economy line. If you still have a Carquest parts store, they carry SMP, but Advance Auto took them over and closed many of the stores (morons). You can check Advance Auto and O'Reily websites, but again look for the premium (more expensive) parts. And take in a printout if you go to the store because a lot of the young guys at the stores are inexperienced with lookin up parts. Or the premium line at NAPA may be SMP or another decent brand. You can also check your local Dodge/Chrylser dealers for the Mopar OEM part, but like most dealer parts it will probably be more expensive - if they even stock them anymore. And the Mopar part would have been made by SMP or othe aftemarket company anyway.

 

[peva]

The "economy" line cam and crank position sensors may only last about 25K miles at best. Even the OEM and premium aftermarket sensors cam/crank can start to give bad signals around 40K miles. You need to buy the premium brand, because any parts coming from Commie China (PRC) these days for the economy lines at stores like Autozone are junk. Standard Motor Products makes good sensors, but you have to get their premium line parts, not the economy line. If you still have a Carquest parts store, they carry SMP, but Advance Auto took them over and closed many of the stores (morons). You can check Advance Auto and O'Reily websites, but again look for the premium (more expensive) parts. And take in a printout if you go to the store because a lot of the young guys at the stores are inexperienced with lookin up parts. Or the premium line at NAPA may be SMP or another decent brand. You can also check your local Dodge/Chrylser dealers for the Mopar OEM part, but like most dealer parts it will probably be more expensive - if they even stock them anymore. And the Mopar part would have been made by SMP or othe aftemarket company anyway.

I would add that in recent years, I've come to trust parts by A.C. Delco in their "Professional" line. They also have their "Advantage" line, which are the economy grade. I've learned from experience to trust their Professional line.

 

[EagleESI]

They're supposed to come with spacer. You left the spacer on when you installed it - right?

"Aftermarket" may be the problem.

Super odd thing, I had to replace the cam sensor on a 1G 3.5. Left spacer on. Car would not start. I removed spacer, made a guess at depth (bottomed out, then brought up just a smidge) and it fire right up. Forget the brand.

 

[polmanter74]

It is sad that these sencers go bad so quick even the factory brands like you said only 40k. What I marketing scam they should last the length of the car, for years