Borg Warner 1356 Vehicle Speed Sensor

[OldIron82]

Hello everyone. I pulled the cab off of my 1990 F350 pick up today. Seeing as how it was determined that I have to remove the transmission, I figured instead of dealing with all that nonsense underneath I might as well just do my cab swap since I have the excavator there anyway, and then work on the transmission like a gentleman.

The only thing that gave me grief was trying to get the speedometer cable out of the vehicle speed sensor. It was a block of rust so I removed the 10 mm bolt and tried to pull the whole thing out of the transfer case and you can see how that turned out.

Is there more that needs to come out of the transfer case, or is the housing finished and I need to find a new housing? Thank you, everyone.

 

[david85]

Nope, the sensors are only retained by that one bolt and the steel clamp that it holds down. Probably galvanic corrosion that caused the aluminum sensor to seize inside the magnesium extension housing (at least, I think this era of 1356 is magnesium...). Since the sensor is toast anyway, you could try using a chisel to shock the sensor by pounding inward around the edges. The sensor body is not clocked to the bore, so it should normally be able to turn freely in either direction. If you can get it to twist back & fourth slightly, it should loosen enough to come out.

You could try soaking it in your favorite penetrating oil (assuming you haven't already), then apply a small amount of heat with a propane torch or even a heat gun. Not too much though, this is only aluminum/magnesium alloy, so it should heat up quickly. And no, it won't explode like a hydrogen bomb either. Magnesium will eventually burn, but you need a lot of concentrated heat to get it going (unless there's lots of magnesium dust; that's a more dangerous situation).

And if all else fails, you could try removing the tail housing and having your way with it in the shop. Unfortunately, those torx screws may have a similar attitude problem. Although looking closer, that RTV tells me it's been removed at least once in the last 35 years, so they may still come out. Some careful amount of heat may help there as well. But again, don't over do it.

 

[OldIron82]

Thank you for the information!

 

[onetonjohn]

I need an excavator to help with my truck projects. I envy you guys with giant shops, lifts, and heavy equipment.