Is this Pulse sensor worn?

[camaroman]

Hey guys...take a look at this pic and tell me if it looks like this Pulse sensor is worn. My car is an 89 325i. I took the sensor off today to clean it after doing an oil change (the sensor was getting caked in road crap), and this is what I found. In the pic it looks more like a dent than it does in person, in person it looks like rub marks(like the teeth on that pulsewheel are scraping it). As far as I can see, the sensor looks like it just barely misses those teeth by the thickness of a hair.

Should there be more space than that? If so, is there supposed to be a shim there?

If the casing on one of these sensors gets worn like this, will it affect the sensor's operation and make the car run crappy? ( I ask because it's not running too well at the moment)
edit*** I already did a resistance check and it's perfect

[binaryfarms]

for what it's worth, mine looked the same when I pulled it and cleaned the caked junk off of it too. It has a small rectangular impression in the middle of the face - I don't think it's teeth rubbing, I think it's just the way it's made.

From what I've been told, the pulse sensor is kinda an all or none thing. If it's bad the car won't run, or it's fine and the problem is elsewere.

When you say it's not running well, do you mean it's missing or idling rough or what?

[camaroman]

It has a rough idle and misses while accelerating until you hit about 2k on the tach....sometimes it's pronounced and sometimes hardly noticeable. Also, the horsepower is dwindling.

The motor was rebuilt back in January, new valves and piston rings and all of the seals, compression is where it's supposed to be. So the problem has to be in something electric....though I am now beginning to suspect the fuel system too. I have to rent a fuel pressure tester and determine what the fuel system is doing. If that's bad, be it the pressure regulator or the pump, then hopefully changing the bad part fixes the car up to good shape again. But if the fuel system is good, then I am stumped. I think that the Mass Air Flow Sensor is faulty, but I won't know till the new one comes in on Monday and I can test it and compare values between the two. The one currently on the car has the values increase as you push the flap in, but has flat spots, and in some spots the resistance DECREASES slightly and then comes back up.

The exhaust has also developed a nasty leak. That shouldn't affect the engine that much though, right?