Crankshaft Position Sensor

Hi Guys, I have a loud chirping sound coming from the acessories section of the 3.8 litre engine. I listened to the various items using a stethescope and narrowed it down to the water pump area. I changed the WP out and the noise was still there. The van has 240,000KM on it so I thought I might
as well change some other stuff as well. I ended up changing the power steering pump, the alternator, the bearings in both the Idler and the tensioner pulley as well. Guess what! The noise is still there. Then, smart guy that I am, I decided to checkout the forum and lo and behold, I find out that the noise is probably the Camshaft Positioner unit. The Hayne's isn't to clear where it is. Is it behind the top of the water pump? What do you think? am I on the right track finally? how hard is it to change out?
Thankks, Terry

What engine? What year?

OK, now I read "3.8". BTW, I think you are on the right track. I had to replace a chirping synchroniser on my '99. The '99 3.8 was slightly rearranged, compared to '98 and earlier, on the engine front. On the '99 3.8, the synchro is on top of the front cover (just inside right-front fender). I had to remove the power steering pump tubing to be able to withdraw the synchro.

CAUTION: If you must replace the synchro, you must carefully note (digital camera?) the location of the original synchro and sensor wand before upsetting anything ... otherwise you will have to set the timing from the git-go!

Thanks for the info. I tok it out this afternoon and like you said it meant removing the Power Steering pump to get clear access. Got the little bugger out and sure enough it was doing the noise when I turned it by hand. I did identify the positiion wand before I removed it. Will pick ut thr part toorrow morning from Ford and let yo uguys know how it went

I also had to remove the upper water pump y tube to clear the way for removal of the Synchro unit

I also had to remove the upper water pump Y pipe to get acces to the synchro unit

Don't discard the old unit just yet. My "new" synchro body did not quite match the "old" synchro body ... which meant the new body could not be located exactly like the old one ... and maintain the exact wand-to-sensor (rim gap) relationship. You may not have this concern, but its best to check.

Luckily I had made a digital image before loosening the old synchro.

Hi Guys.
Thanks for all the information. I picked up a new synchro from Ford today and installed it, it was the answer, no more noise Yea!! Thanx to 12 Ounce, I was very carefull to note the position of the base of the Synchro relative to the crankcase. before I remomed the old unit, I marked both the old sensor and the crankcase boss to the exact position relative, to each other and I also scratched a mark on the inside of the old synchro, aluminum casting on both sides of the sensor target (that's the small piece of aluminum that is the part that rotates past the head of the sensor) When I installed the new Synchro unit into the crankcase I matched the new part to the marks that were on the old unit. I had to remove the new synchro and rotate it one less tooth on the drive gear to make it line up correctly. It was actually pretty easy to do. The squeeking noise has finally disappeared, thank goodness. I also changed the sensor unit, as the original had a broken outer plastic case. All of the parts cost me about $300.00 Cdn (From Ford) Nobody else had them!