So I was having an issue where my ‘98 5.2l 1500 would die while driving, threw code for crank position sensor. Ended up replacing that, and it drove mint for maybe a month. Then it just died while parked, now not throwing any codes through OBD2 but I know these older OBD2 ports don’t give much live data so if it’s dead, my hopes aren’t high there. What are the odds that it works if I slap another sensor in it? Are they commonly faulty? Or maybe there’s an underlying issue causing the sensor to short or something?

Another point of interest is that I’m not getting full-strength spark. I replaced the coil, but could there be a separate distributor issue? Does anyone know if the crankshaft position sensor causes weak or no spark?

 

How old are the cap/rotor? What brand crank sensor did you install? (these trucks don't care for the aftermarket sensors, they want genuine mopar sensors.....)

I would verify if you are getting spark, or not, before spending any money.

 

I'm guessing the distributor parts are original (142k miles), but I'm not sure as I bought a year ago at 135k. The crank sensor was a off brand with good reviews from amazon. Where can I find the OEM version?

To reiterate on spark: It's very dim on some cylinders, maybe even completely non-existent on others, hard to say. I'm using an in-line spark tester which is at least 2x as bright on other vehicles.

 

That's a sign of a poor quality sensor...... You can look up the mopar part number on any of a number of Dodge sites, then just do a google search on that part number, and find a decent price. Just make sure it ACTUALLY IS a Mopar part, and not just a 'mopar equivalent'..... (read that: aftermarket....) The mopar sensors ARE more expensive, but, they actually WORK...... But, before doing that, I'd be awful tempted to pull the cap, and have a look at what condition they are in.... They are maintenance items every 30K, I do believe.

 

It's obsolete so it's going to get harder to find. Looks like the price went up also. Mopar 56027870 Sensor-Crankshaft Position 1997-2003
and https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=9674668&cc=0&pt=7196&jsn=457You might want to look at the plugs also. If you replace them only use plain copper.