Quote:
Originally Posted by greenberet123
I just installed a new ESS, but I'm wondering, why can the old sensor not be reused after taking off all the oil? Does a little bit of oil in the terminals on the top really make it stop functioning?
Also, for the new sensor, suppose I have another leak and a little bit of oil gets in the terminals, will it have to be replaced again? Is the sensor so finicky? Asking coz it costs 200 bucks and am worried about having to change it again in case my valve cover starts to leak again.
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Nobody said you can't reuse it. You could easily clean it up and reuse it, but then it will just leak again. It's not just oil on the top of the terminals. The oil leaks through from underneath the sensor, through the sensor, and comes out the terminals on top, none of which is good for any electronic sensor. If you're going through all the work removing the valve cover to remove the sensor, you might as well replace it with a new one instead of trying to clean it up only to find out that it's still broken.
Leaking valve cover gaskets and leaking eccentric shaft sensors (not the sensor gasket leaking but oil coming through the sensor) are not related issues, though they can seem to happen at the same time on a car with high mileage that has never had either of them replaced. If you just changed it, take a deep breath and relax and don't worry about it. You're good to go for a long time.