What exactly is this thing used for?

And does anyone know where to get a new one along with a new woodruff key and any idea how much they'd cost?

Thanks for any info. Got some damage to these, not really sure how

 

I have one. Pm me I will let it go for cheap.

 

The crank position sensor (CKP) consists of a Hall-effect pickup in the bottom of the timing cover and the reluctor gear on the crank. It's only on the OBD-II engines (96/97) and its used by the PCM to identify misfires. The PCM compares the minor crank rotational velocity changes to the known firing pattern for the engine, and determines if there are velocity changes outside the normal range, indicating a misfire. The engine will run without it, but you will have an SES light, unless you have the code programmed out of the PCM.

 

Oreilly's sells the woodruff keys. My local lowe's sells them as well for a bit cheaper, so you might want to try there as well. They are in the hardware section where all the nuts and bolt are.

 

thanks for the info guys

got the plate today from GM, and gonna try the Lowe's/O'reilley's for the key

 

Curious on how it got messed up.

 

Don't know the answer, because my 94 doesn't have the reluctor, but is the reluctor held in place by the longer extension on the crank sprocket key? Is it possible the wrong key was used?

 

I'll make a wild guess based on the pics in the thread. The crank key looks like it has no cut-back (just a little gouge on the end). If so, the key would have stopped the hub from sandwiching the reluctor flat to the crank gear. The small space left allowed the reluctor to wobble and wallow until it came free from the key and flailed around creating the damage to the inside ring.