remove knock sensor for winter to ease quick winterization

[slhesten]

Hey All,
I live in VA and use my 2004 SAN 210 most winter weekends, so I need to frequently winterize (like, 4 times a month!). I use quick drain petock on the exhaust manifolds and left side of the block. Now I would like to put a quick drain petock on my right engine block where the knock sensor is (and remove the knock sensor for the winter). Besides a likely hit on efficiency, I wonder if there are any real drawbacks from removing the knock sensor for the winter. If I do this...then I can winterize without any tools and all I will do is drain the water from the block and exhaust manifolds each week. Your thoughts on the knock sensor or how to quickly winterize my boat?

[DanielC]

Your engine needs the knock sensor. If you try to run without it, I am guessing you will get a trouble code set, and your check engine light will be on, and you will not know if there is a real problem with your engine.

Once you remove, and replace the knock sensor a few times, you should be able to just feel it, disconnect the wire, and unscrew it from the block. It does not have to be all that tight in the block, You could probably get away with it being as tight as you can get it just by grabbing it, when you put it back in.

Do not use any sealer on the knock sensor. It has to make good electrical connection to the block.

[IDSkier]

Why not put a brass tee in the block, and the knock sensor in one port of the tee, and your quick drain in the other?

[DanielC]

The knock sensor is sensitive to vibration. When you change how it is mounted to the block, it changes how it "hears" the vibration.
It may make it more sensitive to the engines normal vibration, or it could make it less sensitive to the vibrations caused by the engine actually knocking. I do not know, I am not the engineer that designed the system.

My suggestion is to just unscrew it when you want to drain the block, and screw it back in when you want to use the boat.

[slhesten]

I can live with hand-tightening the knock sensor

Your engine needs the knock sensor. If you try to run without it, I am guessing you will get a trouble code set, and your check engine light will be on, and you will not know if there is a real problem with your engine.

Once you remove, and replace the knock sensor a few times, you should be able to just feel it, disconnect the wire, and unscrew it from the block. It does not have to be all that tight in the block, You could probably get away with it being as tight as you can get it just by grabbing it, when you put it back in.

Do not use any sealer on the knock sensor. It has to make good electrical connection to the block.

I can live with hand-tightening the knock sensor...then (at least) I won't need tools to do my quick drain each week. Thanks for the advice.

[eldercaddy]

Is there any tool on removing knock sensor for winter? If so, kindly give them? Thanks.

[shonuff]

Other than a crescent/open end wrench?

[ClemsonDave]

Once you pull off the wire, you can get a socket on it too. After you get it off once, just hand tighten/loosen it. The torque setting is not much more than hand tight.

[countiemountie]

Once you pull off the wire, you can get a socket on it too. After you get it off once, just hand tighten/loosen it. The torque setting is not much more than hand tight.

I bought a torque wrench that would give me the proper spec, and it wasn't easy finding one that goes down that low in torque setting!

BTW, northerntool.com

[G-man]

It's a 22mm Deep socket I believe