My first post, registered to thank the OP! Thanks, very helpful info. Paint was a good idea, piece of mind if nothing else... Had a shop do the cleaning in 2008, time flies, and the problem returned. They did not replace the sensors then.
I will add my 2c.. I have a 1997. Bought 2 new sensors in case I needed them for 41$ from O'Reilley's (L and R specific).. Did the L first. Found I had amazing amount of rust and a dirt shield blocking my view after rotor was off. Could not (and should not) remove hub studs to remove it, so I did what any self respecting hack would do, I bent the crap out of it until I could get at the sensor nut. It was a 5mm hex. I found a air compressor was almost a necessity to remove the junk from around the sensor. It also helped with drying the paint and thinning it to not have it be too thick. Bending the shield back seemed to go easy. I used a small piece of paper towel to plug the holes during cleaning and painting. I too had the plastic cover stay behind and used a fine and bigger hemostat to remove it. It took all of 2 hours for the first one, then before I could do the other side, I got called into work and had to drive it.. Guess what, it's fixed! So I'll return the R side sensor and wait another year or 2... Why fix now what may never break??
I sort of thought the R side would be more likely to have rust as it sees the roadside slush a bit more, but that logic failed, and my L bearing has made more noise so I luckily went there first.. I was due a break!
Thanks again for the write up and pics.
