Crankshaft / Camshaft Sensor Code - P1345

[Colorado Yeti]

I have the dreaded P-1345 OBD II code on my 99 Chevy Tahoe with the 5.7 liter gasoline V-8. The truck has ~ 72,000 miles on it and I have not done any work recently on the engine. It runs flawlessly. I reset the code and popos right back on after a few seconds. I disconnected the battery terminals and ground them out to each other for 5 minutes, reinstalled the terminals and the code comes back. I could just replace both sensors (~ $130) but this seems wasteful and I have read that it frequently does not fix the code. So what to do? I'm not going to take it to some idiot Chevy dealer for them to charge me $140 for an hour of labor that I can do myself. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[east302]

Here is the diagnostic table from alldatadiy for a 1998. It’s likely the same for 99, but it may be worth looking into a subscription or getting a copy of the factory service manual.

Best guess is a worn distributor, but you’ll need a good scanner to set the CMP offset when replacing it or to even do the diagnostic. Google CMP Retard and you should be able to find some threads on using an inexpensive OBD Bluetooth adapter and an app (DashCommand or CarGaugePro) to read the offset value. That’s maybe $50.

A Snap-On or Tech2 would also read it.

 

[Colorado Yeti]

Excellent reply, much appreciated. I just wish I could use my old Sun timing gun like on my '76 Jeep.

 

[drakon543]

another free check you can do is to pop off your distributor cap and see how much play there is in the distributor gear. it doesn't take much to throw that code and still run well. there shouldn't be much rotational play in the distributor a light twist back and forth will tell you. i specify a light twist as you can turn it so the distributor gear shaft will try to push up and turn. if there's enough play you can rock it back and forth without it pushing up a bit the distributor gear may be worn.

 

[Colorado Yeti]

Replaced both the camshaft and crankshaft sensor. Did not fix the code so I took it to the Chevy dealer. They ran the code, re-set the timing and it went away. Cost $260 for everything. Guess that's not too terrible.