Have watched on YouTube a couple of guys doing it with out removing the intake using a swivel socket, any thoughts? suggestions? Thanks

 

I watched the same video and after weighing out the options, I pulled the manifold and replaced the sensor. The whole job start to finish took a little over one hour. This way I was able to be sure on the torque on the sensor which is important.

Also consider using the BWD sensor it is gold in color and seems to be a better choice for the replacement.

Good luck with your repair

 

You may also consider relocating it in case you need to ever replace it again

 

 

Is anybody doing something similar to TPE's relocation kit (2nd version)?

 

Not to my knowledge. I've got one on my car and it's one of the best upgrades I have ever made.

 

This is how I did mine !!!

 

It's a shame no one has decided to pick up this baton Of all the relocating solutions I know of, this seems to be the best one.

 

The heart of the system is the aluminum mounting block with it's drilled/tapped provision for the 16mm threads used by the OE OPS, directly alongside the threads used by the Oil Temp Sensor in a side-by-side configuration.

All the remaining items (gasket, wiring extension, etc) are fairly easily found parts.

It's having that 16mm threaded hole for the OPS that's key.

 

I just created a Poll in the C5 General section. Perhaps if enough people show interest a vendor might decide to produce something similar again

 

Just pull the intake manifold. It's not that hard. Just take your time.


It took me 4 hours to do the whole thing and that included:

struggling to get to the sensor for the first 30 minutes

giving up, then looking up how to remove the intake

then struggling to figure out how to get the fuel injector clips off (don't lose the little blue o-rings)

replacing the sensor

then going to the parts store to get new intake manifold gaskets

then buttoning it up again.


If I had to do it again, it would take less than 2 hours easily. However, if I do it again, I'm putting an LS6 intake and PCV system on.

 

Fat hands tiny spaces dont' mix. I tried every way but stand on my head. I pulled the manifold. WARNING............ USE OEM PARTS.

I ordered oem but it came minus the sealing ring. Called had to send it back but car was down and open. So I went to famous store that is online and bought their best unit. I installed it and on start up the calibration was off by about 3#'s. Or course I didn't remove it, but two weeks later it failed again. Yes ! I pulled the manifold again. I found the problem was the wiring harness was very short and put a slight amount of tension on the plastic after market part and the plastic plug on the unit broke off. I cut the wire harness, and added an 3" extension by soldering and shrink tubing then using aircraft procedures made sure there was a stress relief to prevent putting stress on the new unit. Since then all was well.

There is one PITA step and that is connecting the vac line from the engine to the chassy. This is the vac supply to the a/c dampers and if it is not connected the dampers doors won't function.

I fought for about 3 hrs trying to put fat hand in tiny space and didn't work. Then I started thinking about an extension to the body vac system. GM manual shows how to repair the tubing if it is damaged. I bought 6 ft of the emission tubing identical to the GM stuff. Then I spliced the new tugging to the chassy vac line. I left the line long enough to add about 12" coil that would roll smoothly behind the intake as it was being installed and not kink. I did not use normal vac hose as we all know it gets old brittle and cracks. The 12" extension allowed fat hands 1 or 2 to get behind the manifold and connect the chassy to manifold without having all the intake gaskets drop off. Then I slowly inserted the manifold in position while coiling the hard emission tubing in place. That was 5 yrs ago and all is well. Ask anyone who has pulled the manifold about the vac tubing how much fun that is. Biggest part of the job IMO.

 

If you want to relocate the sending unit to the oil pan, use GM #12551595 Oil cooler Plate. Some where I have pics of the set up, will try to find them and will post later.

 

I mine (you tube) shows it. without removing the manifold you need long hemostats
and a small length of rubber tubing or hose and a socket, advance auto sells the socket.
You should use 3/8 inch drive for more room.

 

I will really appreciate it!

 

Did you notice a difference in your normal average readings after you installed the TPE relocation kit?

As a user, what's your experience? Check this post:

And this one:

 

None whatsoever.

The primary reason most everyone wanted for the relocation was twofold:

1. Get the sensor away from the hostile environment it lives in (resulting in a MUCH higher than normal failure rate, regardless of brand name or material) resulting in GREATLY reduced failure rate
2. Easier to service in the event of a failure going forward.

It has been my observation over the years, after having read hundreds of user experiences and/or recommendations on this subject, that getting the OPS away from the OE location alone, appears to greatly reduce, if not eliminate the very high failure rate. This high failure rate is so prevalent, that there has been a permanent sticky-thread on this subject at the top of the CF C5 Tech section which still exists to this day. It is one of the all time longest threads in CF history.
In that regard, (and after having several sensor failures myself) I installed a relocation kit a number of years ago which uses the stainless armored hose and various fittings to re-route the OPS over to the ignition coil #5 and #7 location. Not the most elegant solution, but very effective nonetheless. Result? I experienced no more OPS failures of any kind for several years.
The only reason I used the hose type kit is because the TPE kit was no longer available at the time as they had gone out of business. About a year and a half ago, a CF member had a TPE kit for sale, and I bought and installed it to replace the other hose unit, which I still have.

HTH

 

Thank you so much for sharing your first hand experience dealing with this problem in all 3 relevant scenarios: factory location, "classic" relocation and TPE's "2nd design" relocation.

There seems to be a lot of misinformation and myths on this subject

 

Looks like DPE Corvette may have a relocation kit
http://dpecorvettes.com/gpage7.html

 

The Parts I used...