Nuts and Bolts with Buffalo Jim

Dear Buffalo Jim,

I am a single mom without a lot of money and need a solution to my problem. Please help. I have a 1997 Ford Taurus GL with a 3.0-liter engine. At the moment it runs great and gets average gas mileage, but it recently failed a smog check because the check engine light is on. The codes on the failed test were P0340 (camshaft position sensor) and P1131 (n/a). After many phone calls and e-mails to Ford, I was told it is a common problem. After removing the old sensor, however, the new one ($38.50) wouldn't fit into place. At that point, I was told I needed an alignment tool (Mac Tools, $28), and now I'm told that unless I buy a whole new synchronizer assembly ($182.50), the problem will not be fixed. Ford will do the work for $500-plus, but in your opinion will this be a solution and enable a smog pass or is it just a very expensive band-aid?

--M. Mauri

Oh, sister, are you ever opening up a can of worms. I first ran afoul of the cam position sensor several years ago, when a chiropractor friend of mine brought in his car with a problem similar to yours. What I didn't know at the time was that you have to be very careful to orient the new sensor in the same position as the old one. I eventually had to pack him off to the dealer, who charged him more than $400 to take care of the problem. Needless to say, that chapped the Buffalo's hide.

Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, I did some research and discovered the little tool you mentioned in your letter. I also learned that the car will run fine without the cam sensor because the computer simply falls back on standard injection. It's not quite as efficient as the optimal injection, but it'll get you to work and back. The car won't pass smog, though, because the OBD2--that's your on-board diagnostic computer--will always tell the smog computer that the sensor is bad and your check engine light is on. That's where the tool comes in. It lets you line up the No. 1 cylinder at top dead center, and then you can just drop in the new sensor and be on your merry way.

As for the synchronizer assembly, I can't remember a time when I had to swap one of those out. I know that there are times when it's probably necessary, but if you look inside when the cam sensor's off and the assembly isn't all scarred up or damaged, it's probably okay. In my honest opinion, it sounds like your mechanic is overcharging you for parts and jacking you on the labor. In the past, I've swapped out cam sensors in 20 minutes, so it's hard for me to believe the job could possibly cost $500. Bottom line, you'll need to take it to a reputable independent shop and get an estimate. I expect it will be substantially less. And remember, once you get the problem taken care of, you might have to drive the car a few miles before the warning light goes out. Just don't smog the car again until the dash is dark.

Buffalo Jim is the owner of Allstate Auto Marine. E-mail him car questions at buffalojim@lasvegasmercury.com.