2005 chevy trailblazer exhaust camshaft position sensor location

Ok.. I have an issue... Wife just bought a used Envoy.. its an '05 6cyl.. 4wheel drive SLE I think.. The book says Denali.. but it is real basic , so I think its the wrong book,,.. I need to know how to find out exactly what Model and trim etc it really is.. But thats not my problem..

as soon as we got it we drove it down the road.. after bought we had a stalling type issue.. turned on the A/C and turned to the right and the engine shut off.. it did it twice one after another .. we took to dealers mechanic and the had no clue.. but when the took off the intake tube I noticed the seal was pinched.. I told them,, they cleaned the TB and said it was really dirty .. and replaced the tube without it being pinched... we drove it and it worked flawless... I had an emergency in my home state and had to drive 1000 miles.. i stayed here for a few weeks and my wife drive back to SC another 1000 ..she drove fine for about 2 weeks .. now the engine light come on and she said same mechanic cleared code and whenshe restarted vehicle code came right back for EXHAUST CAM POSITION ACTUATOR SOLENOID..... well they said it needs replaced..

I can not find this part at normal parts stores.. Do I have to get it from the dealer.. ??? Where is it located in the engine bay ??? Can I replace it myself ?? Is the part expensive ?? Or does she just need to check for loose wires ,loose plugs, leaking oil, get an oil change .. clean somethin and call it good.. disconnect battery for 45 minutes.. I am truely puzzled .. I have a few posts on here and hopeing I can be directed in the right way before blowing hundreds out the door.... .

Oh and before you ask.. the warranty expired after the first 1000 miles.,, but if I can track it back to the first issue of stalling having something to do with the code that is produced now, then maybe dealer might help...I'm not counting on it ,.. but you can always hope !!!

Thanks in advance for any help ...

I will try to ask the wife what the Code number was and post it,.. but the important part is what the MECH. said was wrong according to the code... the code is p0013..

It's your lucky day, sort of. That code (P0013) is a very specific one, unlike some others that can have five different causes, or more. It is just a wiring diagnostic of the camshaft position actuator solenoid. Another member just had an oil leak relating to this item, and posted the following picture;

GM part number 12602516, available for $65 or so from discount on-line GM dealer parts4chevys.com. Not certain there's an aftermarket supplier of that one. Make sure you inspect and replug the wiring harness first just to make sure it isn't covered with oil and gone intermittent. Or damaged. If you do find a wiring problem, it will take three driving cycles to clear the Service Engine Soon lamp.

The stalling was almost undoubtedly due to a dirty throttle body. Some folks clean theirs every 25000 miles to make sure they don't get the symptoms. Just something about the engine that it loves to dirty up the throttle body and make the butterfly valve sticky. And disconnecting the battery for a half hour after (or during) the cleaning is an ESSENTIAL part of the repair.

Replacement Owner's Manuals are available under the "Resources" pull down menu, as are the RPO codes so you can interpret the sticker inside your glove box that details the options your vehicle was built with.

Welcome, and good luck!

Thanks alot... I told and showed my wife via email your response... I was still out of town when she scheduled a diagnostics of the Envoy.... well after having the vehicle a few hours... about 4-5 ... they found that the plug was not plugged in all the way.... sheeeshhh... Go figure.. I told her to unplug the plug and wipe it off and make sure its plugged back in... or even just check to see if the plug is plugged in before the diagnostics check... well of course she didnt listen... luckily they only charged her $20... damn.. there goes more MOD money.... Argghhh !

thanks again... she now has ANOTHER lesson learned... !

If the worst your wife does to you is waste $20 here and there by not obeying you when you're out of town - count yourself very lucky and shut up about it. :thumbsup:

Save your arghhhhs for bigger stuff, like plumbing disasters that flood the basement, or going out for drinks with your best friend(s), or taking the car to Jiffy Lube whose monkey fails to put in all 7 quarts and destroys your engine. :sadcry:

$20? Feh. :weird: :no: :raspberry

If I correctly understand this series of events, the problem was the plug wasn't fully seated..... if so, wonder why the mechanic didn't diagnose the problem initially? I'm sure if they'd replaced the solenoid and plugged the connector back the problem would have been fixed and you'd never know it was just the connector...
BTW that connector has a tendency to seep oil. Wonder if before you bought the vehicle it was unplugged to clean out the oil and never got plugged in all the way...
In the interest of fairness, the wife should be given equal time!

One more thing to check:

The cam position actuator solenoid has several oil passages passing through the middle of it, covered by a fine mesh screen. If your oil is old, sludge can build up here. If you are not sure of the oil change history, you may want to look at flushing the crankcase at the next oil change. If you don't know the last time it was done, do it now and reset the oil life monitor.

You can trust the oil life monitor instead of going by fixed mileage numbers, so if you have access to a service record and oil changes were done every 6000 to 12,000 miles, depending on the severity of the service, it was probably changed regularly when indicated. (Don't forget this engine takes 7 litres of oil, so longer change intervals are normal.)

If you have no service record, take the VIN to any GM dealer and they can run a history on it if it has ever been serviced by a GM dealer.

If you suspect the oil may not have been changed regularly, dump one can of Seafoam in the crankcase just before the next oil change. Run it for 100 miles or so and then change the oil. (Don't run Seafoam in the crankcase for longer than 100 miles or so.) Also, consider switching to synthetic oil and be sure that only the recommended 5W-30 is put in the crankcase.

I do not know the history of the oil changes.. I could prob go by the dealer.. but had a bad experience the last time I went there.. I asked them the KeyFOB # for this year model etc... and they told me 15051014....everything I checked out is that this is not for even an Envoy... the just didnt act like they wanted to help at all... when I had my Avalanche it seemed as if everyone come running to answer any question I had...

as far as the plug.. I'm not sure why the mechanic didnt check that first .. we used the Used Car Dealers Mechanic..which is a hole in the wall shop... I was the one to point out the seal was pinched when they removed the intake in the beginning of the trouble... .. but after he dignosed the system .. he noticed plug was loose.. he plugged in .. cleared the code and started it .. no code... unplugged the plug.. started it .. code appeared.. plugged back in cleared code and called it good...

and as far as the wife goes... lol.. I simply asked her to look at the picture on the above posting and asked her to check to see if its plugged in .. or unplug it then wipe it off then plug it back in... she is a type of person that would do something like that .. but since I asked her to.. then there was the problem.. if she would have read the post before me.. then it is a great idea and she would have tried it and jumped for joy when she solved the problem.... Oh well.... You win some you lose some... :laugh:

Should I be able to twist the cylinder part clockwise and counterclockwise when properly installed or is mine not threaded in all the way into the block. By this I mean right now I can give it about half a turn either way until the point the wires don't allow the turn any more while plugged in. Is the cylinder part not tightened enough????

It's your lucky day, sort of. That code (P0013) is a very specific one, unlike some others that can have five different causes, or more. It is just a wiring diagnostic of the camshaft position actuator solenoid. Another member just had an oil leak relating to this item, and posted the following picture;

GM part number 12602516, available for $65 or so from discount on-line GM dealer parts4chevys.com. Not certain there's an aftermarket supplier of that one. Make sure you inspect and replug the wiring harness first just to make sure it isn't covered with oil and gone intermittent. Or damaged. If you do find a wiring problem, it will take three driving cycles to clear the Service Engine Soon lamp.

The stalling was almost undoubtedly due to a dirty throttle body. Some folks clean theirs every 25000 miles to make sure they don't get the symptoms. Just something about the engine that it loves to dirty up the throttle body and make the butterfly valve sticky. And disconnecting the battery for a half hour after (or during) the cleaning is an ESSENTIAL part of the repair.

Replacement Owner's Manuals are available under the "Resources" pull down menu, as are the RPO codes so you can interpret the sticker inside your glove box that details the options your vehicle was built with.

Welcome, and good luck!

The part # depends on the year model

2002-2005 licensed GM parts catalog illustration TS00-402
PART #12615873 camshaft position actuator solenoid valve (#421)
PART #12584079 camshaft position sensor (with angle connector) (#908), includes seal

From the licensed GM parts catalog illustration TS00-410 (http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=53997) is for the 4.2L for 2006-2009 thus a different part # " 12602516 "

All this info was from a fella from www.GmPartsDirect.com

Removing the exhaust cam position actuator solenoid?

Anyone removed this unit before Help on the process!

Yep. Really simple. Take the serpentine belt off. Take bolts out of power steering pump and lay it over to the side. Remove bolt holding selenoid and unplug and slide it out.

My Haynes Manual walked me right through it. 15 minutes and it was out.

HEY thanks on the assistance

Job completed very easy thanks to all you guys again!

I have read in several posts about rough idle and stalling pointing to the TB Cam sensor and crankshaft sensor. I am having similar issues, but notice that it only idles rough when in gear, not in park or neutral. Does this lead toward one of these more likely than the others?

Might be motor mounts (MM's).....

Does it rough idle only when in drive @ red lights and stop signs?
Does it rough idle in reverse?

If do I'm havin the same problem I was to my last straw and took it to the steelership only for them to tell me
it was the motor mounts and they would do it for $550. (yea RIGHT!)

They also said the recomm to clean the TB, replace fuel filter, air filter and flush fuel injectors.

I've dome all if the above except the MM's
Order 2 MM's from rock auto and willl have them installed hopefully sometime next week.
I will keep you posted.........

I think Im going to replace mine because I cleaned it completely less than 2k ago and its once again covered in oil. Looked at Craigs when he was over a week ago and his is dry.

exhaust camshaft position actuator solenoid valve

Rockauto.com has it - manufactured by Dorman for $40.79 +shipping
Part # is 917010

2002 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER 4.2L 256cid L6 FI (S) DOHC : Engine : Variable Timing Solenoid
DORMAN Part # 917010

RPM drop and engine stalling

I have a 2002 TB LTZ in which for the past six months was dropping RPM and stalling once a day-- from a cold start. After a quick search on the Internet I did the followings:
1- Cleaned the Throttle
2- Had the throttle body under vacuum test over night
3- Changed the gas filter
4- Changed the air intake sensor

Guess what , I did all of the above to no avail.
For the past two weeks, the RPM drops and stalls were occurring every five minutes at all times. I was freaking out and fuming. After taking it to a garage the guy visually found the culprit. It was the exhaust cam shaft solenoid, which was leaking oil. I hope you learn from my experience.

I have a 2002 TB LTZ in which for the past six months was dropping RPM and stalling once a day-- from a cold start. After a quick search on the Internet I did the followings:
1- Cleaned the Throttle
2- Had the throttle body under vacuum test over night
3- Changed the gas filter
4- Changed the air intake sensor

Guess what , I did all of the above to no avail.
For the past two weeks, the RPM drops and stalls were occurring every five minutes at all times. I was freaking out and fuming. After taking it to a garage the guy visually found the culprit. It was the exhaust cam shaft solenoid, which was leaking oil. I hope you learn from my experience.

Can you post a pic where is parts is located? Thx!