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were is the crank positon sensor located on the mx3 gs i know in the distributor or at least that is what i was told does anyone have a pic or a diagram of the gs distributor

That is the cam position sensor on the disty. The crank angle senor is on the bottom front passenger side by the crank pulley. Right about where the dipstick goes into.

How hard is it to change?
I replaced the disty, assuming the CEL referred to the cam sensor, but I've still got the code. It's the same code for both, right?

Yup, same code. As for replaceing it mine was run under a bracket that holds the timing cover on so it would've been a PITA for me to just replace the sensor. However, if yours is run that way and you know it is a bad sensor then just cut the wire to get it out from under the brackets. Make sure to secure the new wire out of the way of moving parts.

Lesley wrote:How hard is it to change?
I replaced the disty, assuming the CEL referred to the cam sensor, but I've still got the code. It's the same code for both, right?

I think I got NE02 for the CPS?

For a diagram, take a look at the Online Shop manual page F2-153. To get the proper perspective, imagine that you are looking at the diagram from the position of the right front headlight.

As to how hard is it? A pain. Not the most pleasant job but not impossible. I have very limited mechanical abilities and my garage has about a foot of space on any side and i did mine last august. It is however one of those things where if I had to do it again it would probably take me a tenth of the time.

I bought a used CPS from a board member and took the following approach:

Jacked up the front end of the car and positioned wheel chocks at the rear.
Removed the plastic fender liner from the right (passenger) wheel well.

Pointed a work light at the area.

Scratched my head.

Apart from corrosion on the retaining bolt, the main issue in doing the replacement is the infernal snaking path of the cable linking the sensor at the bottom to the wiring harness at the top. It basically winds around between the dipstick tube and pullleys on one side and the engine block on the other. The concern would be if the cable was not similarly contained, it might get caught in the belts or pulleys.

So removing the old CPS is pretty easy. Installing the new one and making the connections and testing it is pretty easy. Running a cable that is about 1/4 inch diameter but has 1 inch connectors on each end through a path that is maybe 1/2 inch wide is an annoying piece of work.

At that point, you really have a choice. I originally did what it sounds like Pat did, not trying to wind the cable thorough the convoluted path, and tied the cable off using a tie wrap around some wire loom just to keep it out of the way. If you decide to go this route, i would strongly suggest that you test the new install to make sure it works before cutting the old cable.

After determining that mine worked i considered cutting the old one, but then thought i would give a try to removing intact and feeding the new cable through the path. I loosened but did not remove the idler pulley, dipstick tube and whatever else was in that area just so that i had about a half inch of play. removing the old cable went quickly which probably deceived me a little because winding the new cable through took a lot longer. It's just awkward.

So I don't recall exactly how long it took me. A few hours. The better part of an afternoon. I think if i had to do it again, it would take less than half an hour.

And again, I have no idea what i am doing, have no one to help, and no space to work.

Thanks, that gives me a good idea of what I'm up against.

Fortunately... I belong to the local motorsports club who get together frequently to wrench on each other's project cars. My skills are, shall we say, less than stellar, but I can always be counted on to go on coffee runs. I think our next get together will have a "fix the MX-3" theme.
Phase two will probably be "how in hell do I change the fuel filter, followed by "fuel pump - hey at least you don't access it through the muffler"
Thanks for your help guys, I'll print off your answers and let you know the outcome.

Yup, it was just as you said.
Removed plastic liner, removed passenger front wheel. We also loosened the bracket holding the dipstick in place, and the belt tensioner -- that made it much easier to run the new wire, with room for the sensor, through and behind as the original piece did.
It fired right up, and other than a bit of a tick which disappeared after fifteen minutes once the lifters plumped up, it's running good after sitting five months. CEL is gone, but I'll wait a few days to see if it comes back.

thanks everyone for your help.