Printable View
Gonna order an opti and waterpump (stock) one of these days. I'm looking at either a Summit opti or the GMPP opti, whichever is recommended more on here. How is the opti-install? Is it straightforward? How about timing? Is it just a 'keyway' of sorts that just lines up slick-as-shit or will I have to do something special? The harmonic balancer has to come off as well, right?
Summit opti I belive is a new GM opti but cheaper. What year is the LT1? There where 2 different drive systems used on the LT1 opti's. I belive the H/B dose need to come off. cant remember, haven't done one latley.
Its a 97, so im pretty sure its the vented one.
Damn, good look with it. As far as the 97 not to sure but the 94 the waterpump and the balancer have to come off. I dont think timing will be off, atleast it didnt affect it on the 94. Good look and I would buy a the book for it to make thing easier.
I havea haynes manual, but they're very vague and don't always know what they're talking about. Hence why I always ask these things on here.
I have a spare out in the shed I'd have to look at once the sun comes up. I belive that there are 3 ways the Opti drive will engage and 2 are going to be wrong. Finding TDC on #1 and marking where the rotor tab is when you take it off would be the best way to change it. Oh and yes the water pump H/B and possibly the power steering pump will have to come off. Here is what the Chiltons says about installing the distributor.
Do not try to fully seat the distrib using bolts! If it will not seat by hand it's not properly aligned with the camshaft. Rotate the crankshaft until the engine is at the # 1 Cylinder TDC (camshaft sprocket Pin at the 9 o"clock position) Rotate the distrib coupling until the camshaft sprocket pin slot aligns with the distrib base timming mark. Install the distrib using hand pressure to fully seat the disrib.
Hope that helps abit. Good luck with it and I'll look at mine in the morning and post back to refresh my memory.
There are a few good write ups on the web covering an opti install... with pics. Brent Franker has one on his page.
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/fbody/guides.htm
Thanks, but all the links on that webpage are dead! :-x
Wouldn't it be easiest to just pull the opti straight -off the drive pin, align the new one, and put it back on the same way it came off? Kinda like changing a timing belt without moving the cam/crank gears at all?
There are other links on the net, just gotta search for them.
on the 95 you will have to turn the motor over so that the #1 plug is firing. You can feel for it. When this is done the pin will line right up. And also on the 95 the timing is all in the computer. Dont have to worry about it. But don't know if the 97 is the same.
I think from what i've gathered is 93/94 had the non-vented opti, and the 95-97 had the vented 'gen 2' opti. Whether the pin drive system is the same or not I do not know. Whats the easiest way to find TDC with this engine?
You don't have to find TDC on any Opti install. I have changed few of them over the years and it's not hard but is time consuming. GM changed the drive system in mid 95 when they went to the vented design. Other than that, the installation is straight forward and there is no way that you can get the timing incorrect unless of course...you mix up the firing order of the wires.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zapper2003
http://www.z28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47479
http://shbox.com/ci/opti_mounting.jpg
http://shbox.com/ci/opti_vent.jpg
http://www.fierolt1.com/lt1_95_up_OptiReplace.htm
seems pretty straight forward then, pull it off, align the pin on the new one, and replace. Is it possible to put the new opti on '180 degrees out'?
i would rather change the opti than change plug wires i hated it.
I'm catching that drift now, that the opti change isnt THAT hard, just expensive. The plugs and wires were a MOTHERFUCKER. 4 nights to change 6...neighbor kid changed the last 2 for me, my arms were simply too big to fit between the manifold and strut tower.
http://shbox.com/1/opti_back.jpg
the slot with the index mark is the one you place over the pin on the camshaft. also take the time to change the optiseal and the w/p seal while you are in there . don't lube the big opti seal. It has to be installed dry. http://www.impalasuperstore.com/nais...TOPIC_ID=30984
dead link and dead picture, sounded helpful though :lol:
Can you see it now?
Yes, and thank you! Seems SOOOO easy now, cept for the seal part. About that water pump shaft seal and o-rings..should they be done as well? Anyone priced those pieces out?
Opti's are easy, like stated just time consuming. MAKE SURE you remember to put the water pump drive coupler back on! Alot of folks forget to do this and then can't figure out why it is overheating.
that shit fing sucked, i had the hardest time getting my 94 opti lined up, i had to take it to a shop, cost me 200 bucks for them to take it apart and line it up right.
I just put my new opti together yesterday and it was very simple not what I expected. My install was very easy because I just got my 383 back and it is still out of the car. Tha balancer and the water pump do need to come off. I found the biggest pain was getting the cam lined up with that hole. I amagine it is very time consuming with everything in the car but diffenatly easier than changing plug wires.
opti is really easy to do, i didnt have no experience whenever i did mine on my 96 lt1 last year, it would fire up or nothing so i changed out the opti and that wasnt even the problem it was the damn coil pack but owell everything is new now...just be sure to track down and have a t4 male and female !!! isearched 30 places and finally had to track down the snap on truck to buy them cause no parts store or tool place carriend them that small, they were expensive little bastards from snap on, so now they sit in a glass case lol !!! but be sure to have them before u do it. torque drive 4 male and female !! its very easy to do just pretty much watch how it comes off and it goes back on, ther harderst thing which isnt even hard will be taking the water pump off lol so good luck bro and be sure to TAKE UR TIME !!!
I plan on changing out the entire opti, not just the cap and rotor. I've read about getting the halves of the opti apart to change the cap and rotor, and that most c/r kits include the special bit, but maybe i'm talking about something else here.
I had wondered about also changing out the coil as well, however, from my research everything points to optispark or ign module, as the 'breakup' is down lower in the RPM, not high.
thats exactly what my car did. we did the opti waterpump, plugs and wires. turns out it was a burnt plug wire. when we took the opti off and spun it between my fingers it free wheeled and growled so im glad we replaced it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zapper2003
i have said this before and ill say it again id rather change the opti than change plugs n wires gawd what freakn pain.
well now that i have lt's plug and wires arent as bad BUT are still a pain just not as much, but u can go get the ignition module tested at advanced or auto zone for free, thats what i did, oncei found out it wasnt my opti and all then i just started trying stuff out, first i got the ignition module tested and it was good so i just got a new coil pack and it fired right up, it was the coil pack the whole time, and of course it spit and sputtered and then i changed plugs and wires and it was peeeerrrfffeeccttt!!!!
I changed mine over the weekend. I still have to put the water/antifreeze back in it and bolt down the cai. I have 7 hrs in to it so far. I should only have 20 min more, but the bleeding out the air in the system is always a pain. I had a hi rpm miss/studder. Besides the ignition module, everything else has already been changed out. If the opti doesn't fix the problem, I will be a little pissed, but hey it lasted 15 yrs. How did they test the ign module? This is the little piece that is mounted with the coil right?
if i remember withouth going to go look at the ignition module, it has 2 bolts holding it down and has a plug on the top, looks like a little module, rectagular and about 3 inchs long and a bolt or screw on each side of it (2 total) and u just take it up to auto zone or advanced and tell them u want to test out ur ignition module and they will find the plug thats for it and put it on and in about 1 minute or so it will say if its bad or not