[Peter1255]

Good morning

I am planning to replace the interruptor on my son's car, as my mechanic is fairly sure that this is what is causing ongoing issues when stepping on the gas (car misfires, hesitates, pings). MAF, fuel pressure, ignition is all good. Crank and cam sensors are new.

He told me that the timing cover needs to be removed to do this job, which is kind of a pain on this car, since an engine mount needs to be removed to even take off the serpentine belt

I see some links online that it may be possible to change the interruptor WITHOUT having to take off the timing cover and waterpump. Has anyone here attempted this.?

Simple 3800 Cam Sensor Magnet Replacement - Reatta Owners Journal

 

[Peter1255]

Hello, any input on this? Has anyone replaced this magnet in the manner described on the link, so that the timing cover does not need to come off?

 

[dezldave961]

There's a ton of things that can cause misfires, and one of the last items worth looking into would be the cam magnet somehow being a concern. It's a pretty stable item, and what's the shop gonna say when he digs that far in, going past 3-4 timing items more likely to be of concern, and it's not fixed after? Is he reading the signal from the cam sensor and not getting the pulse count expected (doubtful, due to year of car)?

Things like a loose harmonic balancer, faulty ignition harness/grounds, ignition module, and a ton of other systems need to be optimally running to avoid this. Unfortunately, on a 95 there's less ability to live monitor the systems, but it's still possible to do by a decent shop before they start digging in to replace things willy nilly, at your dime.

 

[Peter1255]

Hey Dave. I wish I had even 1% of your knowledge! You pointed me in the right direction- thanks. Magnet was fine, problem turned out to be the ICM. Swapped a good ICM out of my 3800 SC Fiero and problem solved. I think I was supposed to use some kind of thermal paste on the bottom of the ICM but could not find it to buy anywhere. Hopefully it is not a big deal?

 

[dezldave961]

Just recalling various high-percentage issues from the years. Glad you found it.

There's not necessarily a need for paste to ensure grounding for the ICM, but if you wanted to put a thin coat of anti-seize on the various surfaces/fasteners in there to prevent corrosion, that's never a bad idea.