LT1 starting issues - opti/timing belt...i need a car please help!
 

Hey guys, well here is the story. I was driving home the other day and out of nowhere the car dies, as far as i remember no pop or noise or anything, just quietly died. I check for spark, no spark. I try a coil and ICM, no luck. I do the tests on shoebox's site, and it leads me to the opti. I order a new opti, it comes in, and, since i have everything apart already, i decide to make sure its not the timing belt, just in case. Anyways, i turn the crank by hand, with plugs in, so its really hard to turn but I had a girl looking through the valve cover at a rocker, said it didnt move. I also heard hissing while turning the engine. So im thinking maybe the belt went? or she couldnt tell it was moving? How exactly can I check, the easiest way, if the belt is intact? It has an ewp so i cant check the drive on that, the opti can come right off, could i take the opti off, leave the gear for that sticking out, and turn the crank to check cam operation that way? Would that be possible? Also, im sorry, one last question, i go to put the opti on, bolts right up, then i go to put the crank pulley on, i hear a crunch, and it has crunched into the opti. Why did that happen? The bolts do not clear this new opti? But anyways please help me with this issue, i would be so grateful, thank you!!!

If you hear "hissing" the timing chain is probably allright, and it sounds like the opti isn't seated against the timing cover.

First, give the year of your car. With the opti off, you can observe movement of the drive or the cam and tell if the timing chain (there is no belt) is still intact. That does not mean it could not have skipped a tooth or something (that's not very common).

If the opti is all the way on, the hub should not be contacting it.

Thanks for the quick replies, guys, the help is very much appreciated. Im sorry that I forgot to mention the year, it is a 94, so a non-vented opti. The opti looks flush so i dont get how it is contacting the pulley bolts. Any chance of an incorrect part? Also, im sorry I said "belt" not "chain," I am aware it is a chain, but relatively new to the domestic world so i have been known to slip up, lol.

The Opti's have all the same dimensions whether they are vented or non-vented. There is no "incorrect" part # in that respect. And you obviously got a non-vented Opti if it got the teeth for the splined shaft to engage correctly. Are you sure the splined shaft seated correctly, with the odd tooth correctly aligned, in both the back of the Opti and the cam sprocket?

Are you using the stock bolts for the crank hub? Did your car have an underdrive pulley at some point?

I just bought the car less than a year ago so not too too sure on the mods or too muich about certain things.

The chain is junk. I pulled the cover off enough to see. NEW PROBLEM ARGGGG! The crank hub WILL NOT come off. I am using a puller and it mushroomed the end and will not pull it off...any ideas?

Did you remove the crank bolt? Did you use a hardened rod inside the bolt hole to push against? The hub is not open on the inside like an SBC damper. That's the first mistake people make.

I bought the Puller designed for doing just this from the local Snap On dude for like 150. Comes in handy.

still wont budge. but anyways, i have a non-vented opti and an ewp. which chain set do i need to go for?

OK got the hub off. Chain is a mess and a tooth is missing from the crank sprocket.

Non-vented opti users are pretty much stuck with a stock timing set.

Ok i will order stock timing set and gaskets. Well, it appears tons of debris got in the pan so im pulling that off. I cannot seem to get it off...GRRR this is so frustrating.

When i put a cam in my car I bought the Comp Cam timing set. worked fine with my non vented opti.