RaijuRainBird

I guess I'll need to unbolt the water pump and check to make sure it was installed properly then. Which sucks.

I got a temporary moving permit yesterday and used it today to drive the car and do some before and after testing. I reset the computer and went for a drive to see if the p0336 code came back. And it did, but it only does so after the car is run at operating temp for a while and then is shut off and started up again. That's the only thing that sets the code. I tested it multiple times today. I also replaced the crankshaft position sensor and then reset the computer and tried this again. Same exact behavior with the brand new sensor.

Still haven't put a multimeter on the wires that lead to the crankshaft position sensor so I'll make sure to do that before I go through unbolting the water pump.

I'll post updates as they come. Very bizarre behavior honestly, as the car runs great. I haven't been allowed to drive it for so long that I really enjoyed flying through some backroads. It honestly sucks being banned from the road with expired registration.

Anticipating a manufacturing defect in the autozone opti I went to the website to look at the Cardone remanufactured unit. Looks like those are all sold out and are not being restocked.

Wtf man. This isn't supposed to be how my car ends it's life as a road car. I'm becoming concerned that if my opti is installed correctly, that I will forever have the p0336 code since Delco distributors are discontinued. I would consider EFI connection conversions, but those are technically illegal in Ca I think, but I might be able to get an exception if the discontinuation of the factory part is what causes my car to fail emissions. I've seen similar exceptions for discontinued parts before.

Injuneer

Any way you can have a dealer (or anyone with a Tech-2) check the angular difference between the Opti and the CKP sensor signals, BEFORE you start pulling the water pump and Opti?

RaijuRainBird

There is a dealership nearby. But I don't think my funding source is willing to pay for more diagnostic work. I'm pushing it as it is with them. I did call to see how much they'd charge and was told it was $165 to check it and that the fees would apply towards repairs. Which, of course, isn't really what I want. I'm far better off buying a tech2 scanner to own myself, and my funding source would be far more willing to do that than throw money at a shop for labour costs. Doing a quick Amazon search shows a windows one is available for about $120. That's not too bad for a scanning tool. Of course, I don't have a windows computer. I only have a macbook. Know any Tech2 scanners for Mac?

*edit* I found a stand alone GMTech2 scanning tool here: https://www.cnautotool.com/goods-156...ANdi++TIS.html. I could probably order this thing and use it to see what's being read by the computer itself.

Injuneer

As far as Chinese clones and illegal software, I have no knowledge at all of how well they work, or how reliable they are. I accept no responsibility for your selection of these devices. You are on your own in that respect.

The parameter you need to read from the PCM is “CKP:LoResolutionAngle”.

Here's the thread from another site where I tracked down a misaligned camshaft dowel pin:

Opti Problem?

See if there is any similarity to what you are experiencing. The only symptom

RaijuRainBird

Yeah the issue is pretty similar. Though, I get no stuttering or backfires. Runs like a top. Top end screams actually. I want to get a millimeter at harbor freight to just verify the wiring is okay to the CKP, but since I did not have the p0336 code before installing the auto zone opti I get the impression that there's nothing wrong with the CKP. I looked in the hole and the reluctor tooth I saw looked just fine. As far as the timing chain, I mean I don't think looking through the little hole can say anything about that but I didn't have any issues before replacing the optic to fix my misfire so I'm not really that worried about it.

I called auto zone today and it looks like all you need for the warranty is a phone number. So, I figure I may as well just learn how to get good at opti swaps and just start swapping new units on it until one works. That's why I bought one with a lifetime warranty in the first place. I'm just going to abuse the hell out of that warranty and get good and doing the swap myself. I'll need to stock up on some dexcool and distilled water for all those swaps, I'm going to need a catch can and a puller for the harmonic balancer as well. And a torque wrench to get it back on without it falling off. Last time i replaced the opti i accidentally loosens the belt tensioner when I was loosening the belt and I hand tightened it as much as I could and the damn thing ended up flying off the car as I was driving down the road. I don't want my balancer to also fall off the crank while going down the road I definitely don't have an impact gun. I do have a breaker bar though.

Injuneer

I think you mean “multimeter”.

RaijuRainBird

Yes. And really I don't know how to use it. Based on the fact that I didn't get this code before the new opti install, I'm going to go by my intuition and skip the CKP harness testing even though it has exposed wire at the connector. If it worked before, and nothing changed, it should still work now.

I'm going to face my fears of swapping the opti and practice the job until I can do it well, unless I break a bolt, I should be fine.

I'm going to pull the radiator fan housing off from the top this time for more room to fit tools. I have all emissions parts, so the air pump stuff is in the way of the opti.

The book says 6 hours. I believe it, so I'm not sure if I'll start tonight or tomorrow morning.

Something else I don't understand, intermittently my ABS inop and ASR off lights both come on at the same time. I wonder if this has to do with running open loop? I don't know if it's related, but I don't think I have ever seen this happen when the car is warm. Only when it's cold. It might be totally unrelated, or it might actually be related. I'm not sure.

And, despite what the documentation says. The Delco CKP sensor does affect how the car idles and cold starts compared to the Autozone CKP. So I'm thinking the wiring is working well enough for the sensors to send a signal. I can only assume that the two sensors are sending different wave patterns to the PCM and that based on whatever's going on with the opti the car is adjusting something based on those different signals because apparently it's reading a difference in the range that sets the p0336 code. I can't imagine both sensors send identical signals because the materials and shape of the parts that go into the timing cover are different (Duralast is a pointed plastic tip, Delco is a metal flat-ended cylinder).

Injuneer

The AIR pump has to come off to remove the water pump. They share a single bolt.

The ABS and traction control (ASR) systems are controlled by a separate computer called the EBTCM. I can’t think of any reason it would be logical to disable ABS and ASR just because the PCM is still in open loop.

I explained in post #4, paragraph 4, why a defective replacement CKP sensor could cause the engine to run differently. Is shares the same ground as the Opti low res signal.

I could explain the nature of the square wave pulse signals from the CKP and the Opti, but since you don’t want to accept my statements on the purpose of th CKP sensor, and don’t believe what I've been telling you, or the detailed example of solving this problem on another site, appears I'm just wasting my time trying to help you.

shoebox

How you can rationalize leaving those bare wires on the the crank sensor connector is beyond me. You have an obscure problem that you don't know the cause of and yet are willing to pull off the opti and leave those wires exposed, not knowing if they could be part of the issue. Even if they end up not being part of the problem, they need to be repaired. So, why not repair them first?

RaijuRainBird

I don't disbelieve what you're saying. I don't want anyone to get that impression, I definitely agree with your explanations and appreciate the help and insight. It just blows my mind that the duralast part could be so bad that it causes electrical problems because of sharing the same ground with the opti low res signal. I'd think that if a company sells a part for a car, that it should just work so it's just really surprising to me that auto zone sells parts that can cause such serious issues. Doesn't mean I don't believe you, just means I'm pretty shocked at how bad auto zone parts can be.

Tomorrow I'm going to drain the coolant and get started on that project. i might hookup the scope to the CKP just for kicks before i pull the drain plug as well, because I've got nothing to lose by doing so before unbolting things.

RaijuRainBird

Alright got about halfway done with trying to unbolt the optispark. Got stuck at the harmonic balancer. Thing keeps spinning when I put the breaker bar on it, and I have an automatic transmission sooo, looks like I'll need to take out the starter to jam something against the flywheel to keep the engine from turning over.

Incredible how much work it is to check a distributor. The harmonic balancer blocking the distributor is even worse than the water pump also blocking the distributor IMO. It's a good thing I love this car so much to be doing this just to keep it, seriously.

WhiteWS6

I'm fairly positive you can just put the vehicle in park, the balancer shouldn't be held on there very tight considering it wasn't off long ago. 65ib/ft is the torque spec if I'm not mistaken. You can whack it with a rubber mallet lightly to try and loosen it up some if it has some rust.

RaijuRainBird

Hmm. Well that's good news because I just went to unbolt the starter and well guess what the exhaust mid-pipe needs to come off to get access to the second starter bolt. And to get the stock midpipe off the steering column needs to come off.

Bad news is that even with the transmission in park the balancer was still spinning. Does that mean something is broken? The car doesn't roll backwards while in park. Does the transmission being in park physically block the flywheel/flex-plate from spinning?

I could go out there make sure it is in park and try twisting on it to see if it ever reaches a locking point. I didn't spin it very far. Maybe 1 revolution at most.

I'm pretty sure the shop I went to used an impact gun on the bolts. I don't how it is in the rest of the country, but in Ca all the mechanics I've seen ignore torque specs for bolts and just smack everything on and off with the biggest impact gun they have. Of course I don't really know if an impact gun was used, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I've got a puller to remove it after I unbolt the three bolts. But I can't right now break the bolts loose.

RaijuRainBird

Okay so I just read this page:https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/...c-transmission to see how the automatic transmission works when in park. I can confirm that my car does not roll backwards while the transmission is in park. It rolls like half a foot before catching and bouncing a bit before resting solid.

I wonder how strong that piece that holds the engine still is in specifically our transmissions. I didn't know this was how it worked, and I've never used the parking brake in the past ever. This explains why the car always 'thumped' when I shifted out of park into gear. I never knew it was because a little thing in the transmission pressing against the flex-plate was being pushed around by the weight of the car. I guess I thought it was more sophisticated than that. So I guess I'll start applying the parking brake before putting the car in park in the future. I never knew.

That said, I did slide the transmission lever without putting the key in the ignition just to see if that would change anything. I tried putting it into 'drive' to see if the balancer would stop spinning but I guess since it's computer controlled and the battery was disconnected by me while I was working on it that didn't do anything but move the lever?

Maybe I should go tighten my one loose starter bolt, reconnect the battery, turn the key to turn on accessories and then shift the transmission to make sure it gets into park and then go back and put the breaker bar on the harmonic balancer bolts and start spinning it as far as it will go before it locks up.

That's the new plan. Will post an update with whether or not it worked.

RaijuRainBird

Alright so I got the starter bolt tightened back up. Reconnected the battery and got in park, and I let the car roll back onto the transmission brake so it's engaged and locked up. The car doesn't roll further, just bounces and then rests.

Now, jacking the car back up back underneath the car with my breaker bar the harmonic balancer just keeps spinning. No wheel spin or anything. I can hear whooshes of air when I turn the balancer. At first I could smell gas as well. But after turning it a while the gas smell goes away.

Like, I turn it a quarter turn to the left and then I hear a 'woosh' like the sound of a wastegate on a turbo car relieving pressure. Could this mean my engine has really low compression? Could this mean my engine is bad and needs replacement?

I guess low compression could cause the p0336 code? I'm not doing a compression test on it in the immediate future because that's a huge PITA needing to remove the shorty headers that block access to the spark plugs.

I'll only do the compression test if this issue I'm having with the harmonic balancer is indicative of low compression.

Okay, all that aside I was looking to youtube for ideas and I found this . Different engine, but he slides a small handheld pry bar in the balancer and jams it against the timing covet or accessory brackets anything that can hold it. I have one of those small prybars, so I'm going to try that as my new plan. I'll update the thread with how it works after I try it.