It would not have been unreasonable for Tiger, or the Webcon manual, or the bloke who rebult my engine and fitted the crank position sensor and the flywheel, to have told me I needed a manual car's sensor for my Zetec. Or indeed for somebody to have put in one of the build manuals that there are two different sorts.

But they didn't. So now I have to take the engine out - having finished the engine installation completely - and fit the new bit Tiger gave me today.

Not a happy bunny.

It is sod's law. If there are two different types of soomething, you will always end up fitting the wrong one.

Is there no way you can use the sensor you have with some electronics?

Do you know how they differ?

Is it the sensor or flywheel that needs to be changed?

On my Zetec the sensor appears to be easy to change in situ [having said that mine isn't in the car yet]

Stu

Isn't it the alloy bit that holds the sensor that bolts into the block the bit thats different?
Steve.

The sensor is bolted from the outside just above the starter motor isnt it?? Can be changed in situ or are we thinking of the wrong part??

It's the sensor housing that's different, and you have to take the flywheel off to change it. The automatic housing doesn't put the sensor close enough to the flywheel.

quote:

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Originally posted by edspurrier
It's the sensor housing that's different, and you have to take the flywheel off to change it. The automatic housing doesn't put the sensor close enough to the flywheel.

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Yes. All in and ready to go. Discovered this because there's no spark so it wouldn't start.

you could fit a trigger wheel to the front pully as is the norm in certain situations - its a shame not to use what is already there but at least it doesnt mean you have to take the engine out.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Universal-trigger-wheel-36-1-DTA-megasquirt-emerald-MBE_W0QQitemZ220155425980QQihZ012QQcategoryZ72205QQssPageNam eZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Bite the bullet and do the job properly. Drain the oil into a clean drain tray and it should be fine to reuse. Same with the coolant although its not quite so expensive to replace. Might be worth splitting the engine and box in situ to make it simpler to remove without pouring gearbox oil all over the floor from the prop end. I did the whole job in about 4 hrs on my old super 6 anyway from start to finish when i fitted a BGH box so add a bit to remove / refit your flywheel / clutch and you should be able to do it in a day fairly comfortably.

Call it a "learning experience" and then laugh about it in a couple of weeks time. Makes the whole build much more fun if you accept that these things happen

Thanks all. Will start tomorrow.

Engine now back in, thanks. Delayed a bit by discovering we needed a T35 bit for the sensor housing - whch neither I notr Halfords had - so ended up taking the engine down to local Ford dealer, who did it for us

Now produces sparks. But for some reason it won't start - engine turns, fuel getting in to cylinder and damping plugs, plugs spark when I put them on top of the block - but not a hint of a start. Nothing. Nowt.

I haven;t the faintest idea why. Surely it ought to do something, even if only a bit of a misfire. Will check the plug gaps, but if that's OK I'll be really lost!