Any good/reliable aftermarket 4.0 crank position sensors?
 

My wife's 04 WJ has an intermittent random cutting-out condition, occasionally cranks long time before starting, my local shop suspects crank position sensor may be on it's way out. RockAuto has some in the $20 range, locally I can find them in the $40-50 range. Local Jeep dealer says $120 plus tax.
Are the aftermarket ones junk? Or, is there a brand of aftermarket c.p.s. that's reliable and works?

Did you check online for a Mopar one? Probably a different part number but I paid $79 for a Mopar one on Amazon for my '00 XJ.
Most will tell you to bite the bullet and buy a Mopar one.
No first hand experience but if I was not going Mopar I would go with the Napa Echlin line one.
Full disclosure. I get a big discount there. But I have more faith in a Napa one then any other big box store one.

For my 98 XJ 4.0L I've had good luck with STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS CPS

for your 04 on RockAuto - STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS PC176

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...on+sensor,7196

Mopar outsources some of it's parts. I'm wondering if they outsource their cps? Perhaps requiring better quality control?

Parts manufactured to install on new vehicles such as Jeeps, etc. are usually manufactured to last at least 125,000 miles.

I've had their OEM alternators on older Jeeps with over 150,000 and 200,000 mlies still working well.

It's mainly I think many of the aftermarkets sensors are complete junk and don't last and the OEM's don't have any reason to compete with junky aftermarkets. Also for their new vehicles it's likely they order sensors at bulk prices to install on their new vehicles.

Well, my local Napa has the Echlin one in stock for around $50, and I found the Mopar one on Amazon for $93. I really dont want to do this job twice, but I also don't want to pay more than I need to for the part .

Now that is weird. The one for my Jeep costs more then yours from Napa but the Mopar one is less then yours on Amazon.

I came across a new Napa CSS611 on eBay for $21.61with tax and free shipping.

However I'm uncertain if it's the right one as I see there is one for single bolt and another for two bolt mounting.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...678e879919.jpg


Perhaps my 95 ZJ with 4.0L requires a CSS613 with two bolt mounting?

Looking in my Jeep OEM parts manual the oem p/n is 5602 7280

Which on eBay shows an OEM 56027280 as a single bolt. So the single bolt should install ok?

I tried looking under the engine hood, but haven't been able to get a good view of the cps, as there's other wires, etc.

Mopar 56027280 Crankshaft Position Sensor NOS OEM 1994 - 1996 JEEP 4.0L


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...dba76d443e.jpg

What engine is in this? Cause on the Napa site for an '04 WJ there was three choices. Which would explain the difference in prices maybe.

The OP title shows 4.0L for an 04 WJ

Searching Napa for a 04 Wangler and selecting 4.0L engine

Results with automatic transmission are

ECH CSS634 $29.99

For manual transmission

ECH CSS630 $104.99

For the 4.0L with an automatic the ECH CSS634 appears to be a good deal?

Is the quality of the Echlin suppose to be better than other aftermarkets such as Standard Motor Products?

I could have gotten a new Mopar CPS for the 95 ZJ 4.0L for ~$60.00 but I don't know how the quality of a Mopar OEM CPS compares to an Echlin? or even a NTK or Standard Motor Products

I've been using a Standard Motor Product CPS in a 98 XJ 4.0L for over ten years (~80,000 miles) without any problems.

You didn't answer my question about the quality of the Echlin CPS.

I know at least some OEM parts are built with better quality to last. However if your vehicle as mine XJ 203,000 miles and ZJ with 227,000 miles I think twice before installing an OEM.

There's some sensors that don't commonly fail even if aftermarket. I think perhaps if you cut an OEM open and compared to an aftermarket may provide some insight on the build quality. As most of these sensors are manfuactured overseas, some perhaps in Mexico, others in Taiwan, China, etc.

Why, mostly because the cost of living is lower in other countries and the manufactured don't need to pay their employees the same type of wages as in the US.

I use to work in the Shipyards as a journeylevel shipfitter until foreign companies started winning bids on contracts due to the cost of living and lower wages.

This true with the automobile industry that outsources many items to foreign companies that have lower wages to produce automobile parts and products.

How much better and reliable is an OEM part? Most "seem" to be better quality and more reliable than aftermarket.

Sensor manufacturing such as the CPS I wouldn't be surprised if only a few companies are manufacturing OE sensors for different auto manufactures world wide. And then they're labeled and sold for specific OEMs. Most likely Chrysler has a contract with a foreign company to produce it's sensors. However if Chrysler contracts with a company such as Motorola then I think a sensor would be built better than an aftermarket at a higher cost.

I don't know you may need to cut a few of them open, perform some testing, etc. to determine actual quality.

For the XJ I now carry spares of all my sensors including a spare PCM and TCM.

I can remember driving along a Pacific Ocean beach in heavy sand on a hot day and all of sudden the XJ's engine just stopped and wouldn't start. I was a few feet from the shore with the tide coming in and sorta wondering if I could get the Jeep started before being washed out to sea.

So I calmly let the engine cool for around 30 mins enough time for the OEM CPS to cool off and the Jeep started up again, before being washed away. After getting back home, replaced the OEM cps with a Standard Motor Product cps which has lasted and working well for more than eleven years.

So I don't know your OEMs also have limitations and have been known to fail.

I think a better thing to do is carry spare backups in case of an emergencies. With the XJ I've gone hundreds miles off road for several months at a time. The last thing I want is to get stuck hundreds of miles from any parts and/or service.

I'm trying to slowly do the same with the ZJ, i.e. is start a collection of spare sensors. I probably first look around in a local JY.

After reading about issues with lower cost sensors sometimes failing quickly I decided to go with the Mopar CPS on my 2000 XJ for risk reduction. It is not easy to get to the CPS to replace it and the failure mode, which can include shutting the engine down while driving at highway speeds, is not desirable. I am sure there is a quality aftermarket or rebranded OE manufacture part out there that sells for less but I did not want to take the chance. My sensor for the XJ 4.0 is a different part number, 56027866AE. The list price at my Chrysler dealer was $131 but I usually get a discount by asking for it. I paid $91.

If you are changing it yourself you will likely need lots of socket extensions, a universal or two and a bit of luck. If it has two bolts holding it on take the top bolt out first to minimize the risk of dropping it down into the bell housing. Bottom bolt goes in first on installation. If you pay a shop to do it the standard time charge should be around 1 hour.