ok guys my opti needs changed and also my wires..... i was quoted $200 for labor do to the job .... my question how hard is it to change the opti?
Should i just take it to the shop and let them do it? Any special tools for doing the job?
any help would be nice
thanks
-mike

 

For that price, if you don't have great facilities to do it at home fairly easily then I would say let them do it

It's not too bad to do but it can be a pain.
The hardest part of changing the opti is really just getting to it. You need to remove the Coolant, Water pump and Pipes, AIR pump, Radiator fans, plug wires, Pulley, and finally the opti.

You will probably need a 3 pronged pulley remover tool ($20-25?) Some gaskets for the WP, WP Orings, the O-rings for the opti etc.

I changed my outside when it was raining lightly in fall. Was a miserable half day experience You could probably do it in a 3-4 hours if its your first time and your organized.

 

The $200 for labor isnt that bad if you can find the parts at a discounted price instead of dealer prices. Jason Cromer and Dal are discount dealers people use on this board and you can get an opti for about $210 last I checked. Do a search for thier phone numbers.

 

$200 doesn't sound bad for changing opti and wires, but high for either alone If you do it yourself, you will probably find the wires harder to do than the opti.

 

Difficulty wise is not all that hard, just time consuming. As stated above their is so much to be removed to get at it. But overall that sounds like a good price for install. I would assume that shops around my way would charge much more for that type of task.

Did the cap and rotor go out on the opti? Or is it the optical pickup portion?

Also have you considered getting a Delteq setup for your car? I've had my Delteq since April with no problems at all. My opti was going out and i decided not to hassle with taking it out and putting another on in that might fail shortly down the line (happened to my friend after 2k miles). The Delteq's are great systems but a little pricey, although install for them is straight forward and easy. Did mine by in about 3 hours (hardest part is running the wires).

 

I'm pretty good at changing optis now. I've put 3 on my car within the last year. I have 2 in a box waiting just in case. I agree with Jps though, the wires are the hardest thing to change IMO. The plugs are pretty easy. Oh, and no I don't have a rack, I do all my work on the ground with 2 car ramps.

 

I agree with all the above posts. Time consuming due to all the bolts you have to take off. Access is cramped in places. But the install is straight forward with good instructions. Shops charge plugs and wires for 400+ so if these or just wires are included then 200 is a steal. For the first timer, it will take most of one day (give yourself the whole weekend though). There's always the added benefit of learning about your car. If you just want the thing done then pay the man.

 

If you've put that many opti's on you are either doing something wrong or putting on some cheap junky opti's.

 

I agree. I put in an autozone opti and it has about 27k on it. Your doing something wrong.

 

they said i need a new cap and rotor but i have a 93 z with 68k on the clock has less than that i would assume because the 4.10 gears have been in it for a year racking up some unwanted miles. But I decided to go ahead and replace the whole opti it would be stupid for me to replace the cap and rotor and it work for a bit then fail then i need to put in the whole thing. as far as the other system if it wasnt 700 for it i would go that way hell if it was 500 i would do it. Any one know where to get one cheap?
thanks
-Mike