Some advice?

[dkishton1486]

Ok well it finally came down to it I ordered a water pump and when I get it im doing the water pump and the opti. Got any advice ortricks on easy way to do this? Or tips to help through the process any help would be appriciated thanks

[lt4ever]

Remove serpentine belt= 13mm bolt located on belt tensioner
Drain radiator
Remove all coolant hoses from water pump... becareful on lower hoses... as fluid will pour out... need container to catch fluid draining from each hose you disconnect. If you want and are able... open the engine block drain bolt located near the oil filter on drivers side & knock sensor on passengar side.
Next label each spark plug wire with a piece of tape & the corresponding cylinder it goes to. Just remove the wires from the opti... they also make wire clips with #'s on them that attach to the wire. Remove the balancer with appropriate size puller. Next... remove the cooling fans. now unbolt the water pump bolts, which are 9/16 I believe or 15mm. Not sure. Be ready with rags and towels as you'll still have some coolant leak out. Next remove the distributor cap. Remove just the cap for now. That's the puky yellow thing of the distributor. Now take a magic marker and draw a reference line on the timing cover that corresponds with the direction of the rotor. Or make a mark on the rotor itself and line up the marks on the rotor with the mark on the timing cover/ or engine block (where ever you made your mark) Lining up the rotor in the correct orientation/ direction is a bitch if you don't. At least it was for me the first time I did it. Second time I made a mark and it slipped right into place the first try. While you're in there... might be a good time to replace the seal on your camshaft where the pin inserts into the back of the distributor. You'll need a special seal driving tool for that. I have the P/N at home. Private msg if you want that P/N. Basically just looks like a magic marker cap. BTW- this is for a 96 & above... 95 and below has a different distributor drive mechanism. (Pin driven verse cam driven) Then installation is the reverse. Make sure to fill your radiator and bleed the air out of the coolant system. I've gotten to the point where I can tear down the front of my engine in about an hr.