BMW E36 Blog

Replacing Camshaft Position Sensor . . . DIY!

8th July 2008

Replacing Camshaft Position Sensor . . . DIY!

posted in Do It Yourself, Engine, Tips & Tricks, Uncategorized |


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This post was contributed by Bernard Gutnick. It’s about how to replace the camshaft position sensor inside his 1997 BMW E36 328i.

Disclaimer: Use this info at your own risk!! I’m not responsible if this didn’t work for you :-).

The DIY is in PDF format. Click here to read the DIY

Replace BMW E36 Camshaft Position Sensor

 

Are you looking for more do it yourself procedures (DIY) ? I recommend the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual for you. I got it and I think it’s a gold mine for us -BMW E36 Owners-. If you didn’t grab your copy yet, get it right now! I’m sure you’ll find this book worth every penny you’ve paid for. Get the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 5:03 pm and is filed under Do It Yourself, Engine, Tips & Tricks, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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There are currently 4 responses to “Replacing Camshaft Position Sensor . . . DIY!”

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  1. 1 On September 24th, 2010, Christine said:

    bmw 318ti how do I replace the cam shaft position sensor. Are there 2 ? One up top (intake) and one below that I have to remove the plate? Im stuck.

    posted on September 24th, 2010 at 4:31 pm

  2. 2 On May 24th, 2011, steve wilson said:

    Face it,when you have a sensor problem,
    just do them both,the crank and the cam.
    I didnt want to spend the money,either.
    However,I run a shop and people go the
    cheap route all the time. Sometimes they
    even get away with it….
    My crank sensor crapped out during a thunderstorm in PA last week.
    It reminded me how dumb it is to go more
    than 100K with original sensors.
    Both can be done in an hour or so. Same
    area,easy work,really.
    Believe me,its better than pulling over
    in the middle of nowhere,wondering what is
    wrong.
    Do both. About 200 for both sensors.
    Good for another 100K.

    posted on May 24th, 2011 at 10:50 am

  3. 3 On January 26th, 2012, Chris said:

    @Christine
    Maybe a bit late, but the two sensors you mention are the crank- and camshaft sensor. The top one is the camshaft sensor, the bottom one is the crankshaft sensor.
    On the 4-cilinder engines (M42, M43 and M44) these both are a breeze to replace, because they are mounted at the front of the engine. The only bit difficult thing is the cable-routing.

    For the M52 there is a small thing to keep in mind concerning the crankshaft sensor. On early models, the sensor is locate at the front of the engine (same spot as on a m50 or the 4-cilinder engines), on later models it’s located near the back, just above the starter.

    When it’s located near the back, you might have the (bad)luck it’s faulty by default. Bad luck, because this means a pricey repair (new sensor and adapter cable), but maybe also some luck. BMW issued a recall way back in 1999 for cars with this type of sensor.

    In my case, I went to my dealer for service and mentioned the recall. I’ve found it because I was looking for some info concerning the crankshaft sensor, which happens to be faulty in my car. They said they’re going to replace it free of costs as soon as the parts are in. This will be in 1,5 week from now (and more than 12 year after the official recall!!!)

    This is the recall document:
    http://bavarian-board.com/uploads/kbannon/SI__M52_Crankshaft_Position_Sensor.pdf

    So, if your crankshaft sensor is faulty (OBD fault code P0335), check your engine bay to inspect if your sensor is already replaced. If not, then just try to get fixed for free within the factory recall.

    posted on January 26th, 2012 at 6:04 pm

  4. 4 On December 10th, 2012, Dario Cornejo said:

    can´t see cam sensor on e36-m40

    posted on December 10th, 2012 at 9:38 pm