Is there a trick to installing a Crankshaft Position Sensor?

Hi Everyone,
I recently bought my first Tundra and have been baselining it as the second owner with new tires, fluids, and brakes. The truck (2008 5.7l) seemed to be flawless until the first cold morning came around. I went to start it and it had a long crank but did not turn over. I turned the key to off and tried again and it fired right up. It basically will do this each morning if the temp is low enough. Where I really got into trouble was one morning my daughter was playing with the key fob and clicked the lock button 3x, which is how the automatic starter works. From inside the house, I could hear the truck go through a very long crank, as I was not there to turn the key to off, and then I came out to many dash lights on. Fast forwarding, the code was P0355 for the Crankshaft Position Sensor. I had the code cleared and picked up a Duralast sensor. I replaced the sensor which is pretty straightforward then tried to turn the truck on. Now it just cranked and cranked but would not turn over. I tried several times to the point where I felt any more and I could damage the starter. I put the old sensor back in and have since been living with the failure on the first start attempt and success on the second. I dont know how long this will be manageable and dont want to be left stranded.

My questions are, should I try to get an OEM Toyota (Denso) sensor and see if that works? Or is there actually a trick to installing a new CPS I'm not aware of? I had unhooked the battery when I replaced the first one but wondering if there is more to the process to get the vehicle to "recognize" a new sensor. Thank you all for any help or recommendations.

 

Noooo, don't put a non-OE sensor in there! At least I would get an Import Direct from Oreilly or the Denso one from Napa.

P0355 is an ignition related code, I would guess you had P0335?

I would start by taking your truck in and having the battery load tested, as a flaky battery could have created this whole mess from the beginning. If the battery checks out OK, you can roll the dice on a replacement Denso CPS, if you have access to a high level scan tool and a scope, you could cold start the truck and capture what the ECU sees from the CPS and interpret issues based on that information. There are other problems that can cause what you're experiencing, though they are not super likely.

 

Besides testing/replacing your battery you may need to consider the starter.. I got the same code before my starter left the building.

 

@audiowize ok thanks for the suggestion. I mistyped the error code, it was -335 you're correct. Sounds like I will start with a battery test and go from there.

@blackdemon_tt the starter will be my next step if the battery checks out. If the truck can routinely start with the current sensor, the battery or starter would both seem to be more likely as culprits. Thank you both!