IS replacing the opti spark a hard job or is it just taking of the water pump and crank pulling and removing the opti unit and sliding the new one on or do you have to mess with the timing . Anyone have any tips thanks

 

pretty simple all you have to do is take out the fans from the bottom ,drain the coolant, take off the hoses and sensors, then take off the air pump and then the three bolts holding on the waterpump. also take off the harmonic balancer, it will make it a little bit easier. also to make it easier put the motor at top dead center that was my problem and it is why i need to do it all over agian cause i think i have the opti in the wrong slot somehow. be very carefull how you put it on, make extra sure it slides into the right channnel. when you have the opti on start it up before you put the water pump on to make sure it runs good. good luck. its not too hard

 

how do i make sure its top center cause i dont wanna end up messing with the timing

 

Your post is a little vague. Want to try again?

 

Also learnt the hard way - that is to start the motor & listen for knock before
replacing waterpump - beside the time to redo the timing it also saves gaskets & sealer . If your car is a Auto blank off the hydraulic hoses going to the radiator or reconnect them while running without all parts refitted & checking timing. Found this job easier than changing sparkplugs

Goodluck

Patrick

 

He started a new thread, rather than responding to his own previous thread. I'll merge them.

 

There is nothing technically challenging about it. It is a straightforward bolt-off and bolt-on.

But it's not _easy_ because some of that stuff is a PITA to remove especially if it's original.

Just need to be careful and patient.

 

Depends on your personal mechanic level. I myself found it to be pretty easy. It's just time consuming if anything. If you aren't mechanically inclined and you try to do it yourself, you may think it's hard as hell. I had a friend of mine talking about replacing his tranny in his maxima by himself when he can't even handle doing an oil change right (he drained the tranny fluid instead of the oil).

 

Straight forward replacement. There is some mis-information posted above.

The engine doesn't need to be place at TDC for any cylinders

The waterpump is retained with 6 bolts.

Drain all the coolant, not just what's in the radiator if you don't
want the opti to get wet when you loosen the waterpump. This may not be important to you if you're repacing the opti.

The most common mistake is people don't properly align the opti when it's being installed. Shoebox has some great photos on his site. http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech1.html

 

I just did this not too long ago, it is pretty straight forward, the hardest part was getting the harmonic balancer and pulley off (they were rusted on). before you pull the old opti off just mark it so you put it back on the right tooth, i'd run it on for a few seconds before you go and put it all back together to make sure it runs right.

 

He has a 95 (guessing from his screen name - a "signature" with basic info about the car is always a good idea).... so he doesn't have the splined driveshaft like your 94. He has the three holes, which requires matching the correct hole to the cam dowel pin. Shoebox has the photo he needs to do that.

 

I've never taken them out of the bottom. After you remove all of the hoses, you can slide them out of the top.

 

I have done several opti's and they are a PITA at first, but after your first one you will learn all the tricks. 6 bolts on the h20 pump is important, there is one hiding toward the pass side and a little difficult to access. There is also a bolt on the drvrs side, I believe it holds the smog pump abd water pump. My point is that when this bolt is removed, it allows all the coolant inside the waterpump to flow out and splash you in the face, so be careful. However, in 94 there was a crossover from a non vented to a vented opti, just make sure you know which opti you need. Patience and some cuss words and you will get it done...........