spencer elliott

ok so heres the deal. been having problems with my 01 XJ starting and getting some pretty rough idle. so after running the codes and a little research i decided to start by replacing the crankshaft position sensor.

the original CPS's magnet is exposed and upon removal the magnet actually stuck to the oil pump driveshaft assembly... inside the pulse ring. myself not having ever seen inside the assembly thought the magnet was actually a part of the assembly. i removed old CPS and installed a new one. the magnet still in the assembly did not stop the new CPS from fitting on nicely so i assumed all was good.

so new CPS is installed and she fires right up! running like new. it was great. i needed to put some tools away before i could drive it around the block so i shut the XJ down and did that. when i came back out and tried to start the jeep it was cranking but no go. so i removed the new CPS to find the magnet had been spun around inside by the pulse ring. not only that, but the extra material inside there actually bent part of the pulse ring and now it will not spin anymore because its hitting the assembly walls due to the bend.

so.... can i replace just the pulse ring itself? what size hex is it that i would need to remove it? i dont have many allen keys around and dont have the size. im guessing its metric...?

but either way can the pulse ring alone be replaced?

any help is greatly appreciated!

spencer elliott

so after more research and another diagnosis i found that the pulse ring on mine could not be bent back so i decided to replace the camshaft synchronizer drive. i read up on how to install it and had it down. however the position of the pulse ring was no help on the old one as it was spinning freely from the shaft.

so i marked the flange and the block so that the new synchronizer went in the same way the old one came out. this was a napa synchronizer and there was no alignment hole for the pulse ring. instead it came with a plastic thing that acts as sort of dial to turn the pulse ring into the correct position while installing. after about 6 attempts of trying to get the drive key to drop into the key hole (and lots of spinning of the shaft) it finally dropped in flush. popped the hold down bracket back on and she started right up! like new.

so i let it run a min. shut it down and attempted to re-start it. i must have tried 3 or 4 times and then it started back up. i have since tried another time and its taking about 3 attempts to get it started. so basically its starts, but takes a little work. ran the codes again and got a P1391 code.

so now im thinking that i need to take it to a shop to have them professionally sychronize the system...? does that sound right?

spencer elliott

anyone?

surely someone here can steer me in the right direction...?