98 3.1 24x crankshaft sensor removal

recently started getting a 336 code indicating crankshaft positioning sensor out of limits.
removed the 7x sensor but it seems ok and the car does start ok. checked the ECM input of the 24x sensor and I never get anything but straight 11.2 volts when crank turns. checked at the 24x connector and get the same. (green lead on B connection).
problem I have is getting to the sensor. The crank pulley bolt just will not let go! I've tried impact gun set to max,(typical DIY type gun, not the best) and tried a breaker bar with hammer.
I hope this bolt isn't a reversed threaded bolt! Let me know if you know please.
Does any out their know or have any good ideas on how to get the crankshaft balancer off.
Any other info on the 24x sensor would also be helpful.
Thanks in advance
Rex

No it is not a reverse thread......does the engine rotate backwards with the impact gun? If it does, you will have to remove the tranny inspection cover, and using a prybar on the teeth of the flexplate, and holding against the case to prevent the flexplate from moving, now use the impact gun....you'll need another person....

No it is not a reverse thread......does the engine rotate backwards with the impact gun? If it does, you will have to remove the tranny inspection cover, and using a prybar on the teeth of the flexplate, and holding against the case to prevent the flexplate from moving, now use the impact gun....you'll need another person....

I don't see hardly any movement of the crank when the impact is going on. maybe a 1/4 inch in 10 second. But it must be absorbing the impacts rather than breaking the tight bond it has.
..
a second question, I have been told that turning the crank backwards has some unwanted effects on the engine. More than unwanted, harmful. can someone explain what happens that is bad when the engine is turned backwards?
Rex

Thanks TechII
Good news; The bolt finally let loose. I thought i'd give it one more shot with the breaker bar. Added a pipe extension on the breaker bar(now three feet long) and a brace at the end of the socket extension were the 90 bend is at. Then with a 4 lbs single jack, I let it have it. Didn't look like it did any good so I tried about 10 times. each time the balacer moved backwards about 1 inch or so. Then went back to the impact wrench and it came right off. I didn't really want to have my wife crawl under the car and hold the tranny from moving! Although she would have done it. Wonderful wife she is.
Now for getting the pulley off; it has three threaded holes to accomplish this, but one hole is higher than the access from the wheel well allows. A two pronged puller will fit across the pulley, or short bolts (1.5 inches) can fit into the threaded holes behind the wheel well. I hope I don't have to make a custom puller to fit these holes.
Any Ideas?
Thanks Rex

Usually is enough room.....you might need shorter bolts on the puller to keep it as close as possible to the balancer......I don't recall having to drop the cradle on that side for access...

The Task is completed;
here is some conclusions I found (I'm not a professional, but a good handy man);
This engine has two sensors, the 7x between the rear of the engine and the fire wall and the 24x between the engine front pulley and the engine itself.
The 7x sensor is practically impossible to get at, but it can be done. it is held on by a single stud and nut. getting to the nut is by feel alone, since it is hidden behind the power steering piston and frame bracing. I took the wheel off and the mud splash guard, turned the wheel as far to the right as it would go, sat under the the wheel well and wormed my hand past all the power steering mechanisms and bracing. With my arm extended fully (short arms)then I could feel the nut behind it all. There is enough room to get a small socket on it and it came right off. the electrical connector is standard and has a clip the secures it on. lifting the clip and pulling takes it right off. All done by feel alone.
Getting the sensor out was more difficult. it is held in with an o ring seal. By twisting back an forth the seal let loose and after a while it worked it's way out of the hole and it was free to remove.
This sensor interfaces directly with the ICM and if it fails the engine will not start. It provides the low rpm timing of a start. This was not my problem so I put it all back together. further study dictated that the 24x sensor was also on the engine.
with the wheel and splash guards already off, the serpentine belt needed to be removed also. Their are only a couple of inches between the front of the pulley( harmonic balancer) and the fender. the pulley's center is about 1/2 inch below the fender bottom and allows for the center of a puller to fit. I needed to get three short bolts to drive into the pulley's holes since nothing In the puller kit was short enough. The bolts were 1.25 inches long. Put a bolt in one side of the puller then turn the engine 180 degrees to allow the other bolts to be fitted.
It took a lot of force to pull the pulley off, Had to brace it with a rod so it wouldn't turn, but it came off great.
Once off, the sensor is accessible behind everything.
Now I could get at the wiring connector found on the engine in a mounting bolted to the engine.(Wire from sensor barley is long enough, no extra slack) It fishes behind the AC compressor and tubes. I had to remove this mounting to be able to disconnect the sensor connection since the leads are so short.
Here is were I found the problem. As the wires enter the sensor side of the connector, the insulation has broken off and the hot lead was directly touching the sensor lead. That is why I had a constant 11.2 volts across this short, although it did drop the volts from the corrosion it had accumulated from 12v to 11.2v.
If the connector would have been installed without a twist in it, these wires might not have ever touched, but in the original installation, it has a complete twist causing all the wires to be against each other.
I replaced the sensor and then used an installer to reinstall the pulley. This also took great force to get the pulley back on. One might have been able to use the fastening bolt that hold it all together but I was very glad to have the installation tool since it took such great force. once again I had to brace the pulley from turning the engine over, and use my largest wrenches to get it back in place.
I retested the signal afterwards to find a 0v, then a 10.2v alternating signal as the engine turned slowly by hand.
It works great now.
I hope this helps someone in the future, and thanks for any help I was given.
Good luck on your projects.
Rex

Thanks for the writeup.

One of the reasons I've always kept my motors clean is that it seems to reduce hassle down the road.

My harmonic balancer (crank pulley) went bad a few months ago, the rubber ring was failing and the outer portion was wobbling. I decided to replace the timing chain, sprockets and damper while I had it off. My HB came off surprisingly easy, first blast from the impact (also a cheap Harbor Freight model) spun the bolt all the way out....and with my balancer puller kit that I bought years ago and never used, it came off the crank with little effort, didn't have to brace the crank from turning or anything...

When it came time to put it back on, I just centered it up, ran the big bolt in as far as possible by hand, then hit it with the impact....it took several rounds of depleting my small pancake compressor to fully seat it on the crank nose, but it worked.

I'll probably regret not changing the crank sensor while I had it apart, but it was clean, the wiring looked good, so aside from moving it out of the way for the job, I left it alone. One thing I've noticed is that aside from a clean motor being more pleasant to work on, and things not rusted/cheezed together so badly, is wiring seems to last a lot longer...the acids and salts in road grime and oil really degrade it over time. All the wiring I've messed with on mine the insulation still feels flexible and healthy...with 16 years and 200,000 miles on the clock...most by then are brittle and will crack if flexed...