Yeah, you're right. Let's just hope the dealer can get it donefor me!

 

Where are you located? Might be a good idea to ask questions when you get there. Make sure they have someone that's familiar with camshaft retard and crankshaft position sensor relearn. Talk to them, see if you feel comfortable with them. Explain to them that you know what it does and that it needs to be adjusted because of the work you have done. Be honest with them, put your cards on the table.

 

SW Pennsylvania. I will ask some more questions this time. I just didn't appreciate the mechanic trying to play me. I may not know a lot about vehicles yet, but I'm definitely not stupid and I can read people pretty well. I just feel bad for the next poor old lady or more gullible person who gets scammed by that guy.

 

They have no idea how extensive your background is, so if you explain what you have learned here about camshaft retard and the crankshaft position sensor relearn, they probably won't BS you.

 

Yeah, I'll just ask if they can perform the advancement/retard and the relearn. I think if they know that I know that much about jt then they will probably be real with me.

 

I just called the dealer today abd talked to their technician. She said that they can do it
I explained my problems snd that I had the distributor out and she said that my problem is most likely the retard/advancement. So she does know her stuff. She said they're booked pretty heavily until next Wednesday and said to call her back monday. She said the starting pprce woulld be $80 and can go up to a few hours of work depending on how much they need to reprogram.

 

That sounds better! Camshaft retard is a matter of rotating the distributor, half hour max. The relearn involves pushing a few buttons on the scan tool to initiate the relearn procedure, then hold the rpm at 4000 and your PCM takes over and does the rest... 5 minutes max. There is no reprograming involved for either one.

 

Yeah, she said she really doubts I need a new position sensor and that's It's not very common.. unlike the mechanic told me. Will it harm my engine to drive "out of time" until it can be fixed?

 

My 98 blazer did the exact same thing after I replaced the lower intake gaskets. I got the distributor 1 tooth off, autozone told me I needed a new distributor. Took a little while but I moved it a tooth one direction which made it worse so I went the other way and finally got it right. Once it was back where it needed to be everything was perfect, didn't need to be relearned.

 

Nope, won't hurt it a bit. Just make sure the P1345 is gone when you take it in to have it adjusted. Whenever the distributor is installed, camshaft retard needs to be checked and adjusted, it's part of the job. The odds of installing it within specs are astronomically against you. Just because P1345 is not present, does NOT mean camshaft retard is within specs. It means the distributor gear is properly meshed with the camshaft, and that camshaft retard is within ~25 degrees. The DTC does not set unless it's off more than ~25 degrees. The farther off it is from spec, the more crossfire you'll have inside the cap.

Why they call it "camshaft retard" is beyond me. As far as I'm concerned, it should be called "camshaft position sensor alignment". It needs to be correct, just like the throttle position sensor and the crankshaft position sensor. If any of them are incorrect, you will have performance issues.