I just bought a 91 pickup 4x4 with the v6. I really do know to much about toyotas I have all ways been a ford guy so I thought I would try them out. My check engine light keeps comeing on after driving the truck for about a blocks or two then the thing loses a lot of power. So I got a book ran the code and it said knock sensor so what what I really need to know is where in the hellis it located the book really does not tell anything about it or if any one can tell me a way to over ride it. Thanks

 

Most likely the PIGTAIL going to the KS rather than the KS itself. It goes under the intake manifold; be prepared to disassemble the entire top of your engine....

 

The knock sensor on your V6(3VZ-E) is placed in a VERY inconvenient location, unfortunately. It sits directly atop the engine block. Equally unfortunate, there's no way to make the engine run right without it. Sorry.

You'll need to remove the entire intake to access it. That means the throttle body, intake plenum, EGR valve, and the intake manifold w/fuel rails and injectors . Along with all the vacuum lines, coolant hoses, throttle cables, fuel lines, and electrical connectors attached to those parts. Many of these parts have non-reusable gaskets that will also need replacing.

It's not a job that I'd recommend to anyone without a fairly good amount of mechanical know-how or experience. You'll need to be pretty meticulous to get everything apart and back together again in the correct manner. If you have a digital camera, taking pictures of what things look like before disassembly will aid greatly in reassembly.

Below is a link to a factory service manual.
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/

You'll find the knock sensor is shown in the engine block pages. All other procedures required to do the job of replacing it will be described in the other sections of the manual.

Enjoy!

 

Wow sounds like a good fun weekend job. But I guess that's a Toyota all well thanks guys

 

so how do i know if my knock sensor is bad? I bought the runner w/ blown head gasket. I had the gaskets,water pump, timming belt, tstat, raditor replaced. also new temp sender. i now have a check engine light after 2500 rpms. it goes away every time i shut the ruck off. My mechanic says i need a knock sensor? off course this means ripping of the upper half again. the ruck seems to run ok? i am not to familiar with how it should run, i bought it with the blown gaskets. any help would be appreciated.