Its that Time.. Opti+WaterPump at 110k Any one have any tips on doing these 2? Any pictures or sites i can look at to help me in my Optical Adventure?

 

http://www.streetillusionsracing.com...ll/install.htm

 

wow great page thanks a ton

 

Ok...

That page is a great thing, thx for making that...

But... I've got a few things that you may want to add to assist...

I did mine Friday nite... but had to do it twice.. for this reason I didn't get the Dowel pin into the correct spot. Got it all back together and had to do it again ebcause the car wouldn't start.

A quick easy way that I figured out to align the pin to the slot was to mark on the seal with a sharpie the location of the pin in the end of the Cam. Make sure it's aligned center of cam, pin, mark on seal, lookin at it from the top of the car distorts where the pin actually is in relationship to the center. Also mark the Outer part of the Opti where the slot is, align the 2 marks and everything should pretty much just fall into place.

Good luck.

Mike.

Oh, it took me about 4 hours to do it twice...

Mike

 

I just got my 94 Z back together after 6 weeks of slow work on it. Just a couple hours here and there, had an extra car, thank god. Let me reference this with the fact that I have no (ZIP/ZERO) experience with cars besides changing oil and brakes. (I did the plugs and wires also, which I found to be the harder of the two, luckily I have skinny arms and hands, otherwise, forget about it, pay someone to do it and save your knuckle skin.)

Anyway, here are some things I found very helpful, sorry if I am repeating what others have said.

1 - Some of the bolt sizes and things that I see on these sites that help with the install were not exactly the same on mine, not sure why. I had a lot of 14/15/16 MM bolts where others had something like 9/16 and the like. I even had to buy a whole new metric set to get some of the ones I needed that were odd and not in the normal craftsman set.

2 - Your car, like mine, is one of the first years of this style and thus, if yours is like mine, the bolts are pretty stuck and old and possibly a bit rusty. Make sure you have the exact right sockets and just tug them till they break loose. A lot of the sites say that the pully, harmonic balancer, whatever it is called, will tap off with a hammer. I don't know if it was just rusty or what, but you may want to get a three toed pulley puller (like I said, I have no experience and did not even know what it was, but this was a necessity and life saver for mine). I cranked it pretty hard and with the puller, it let go.

3 - You sound handier than I, but I marked everything with tape and a Sharpie. Most people would not have to mark as much as I did, but it really helped on the re-assemble.

4 - What I did not do that I should have. I did not drain the coolant the proper way I don't think. I drained it all out of the radiator after it was on the ramps, but I think there is a way to also get it all out of the block and everything. I did not and when I broke the waterpump loose, I found the other 4 or 5 quarts that I thought were missing.

5 - Take your time and remember that in the end you will have more knowledge than when you started.

Overall, took me probably 8 hours for the opti part if I parsed out that time, took me another 8 to get the plugs and wires. But like I said, I am the rookiest that it gets. And if I had to do it again, I think I could cut that in half, maybe. And I would definitely pay someone else to do the plugs and wires part. I think that was only $350 at the dealer and that included the parts. I paid $100 for the parts for that and would now, in hind site, gladly pay someone else $250 more to tackle it.

Tim Rorris
--------------
94 Z28 M6 159,000 Miles Stock except K&N

 

You may not want to hear this, but, if you're that far in, you should consider replacing the timing chain set.
I just did mine at 106K and it was stretched pretty good. This will require balancer hub removal/reinstallation. If you go this route, it helps to heat the hub a little (I use my gas grill!) and then install it on the crank before it cools. This works well on the crank timing chain sprocket also. Just remember to put the crank on TDC prior to starting the work.

Another thing to consider is replacing the water pump with an electric one. I used the CSI ($136 from Jeg's) and am pleased with the results. The wiring is a little bit of a hassle but my car now runs 20 degrees cooler and a bit more responsive. I had a relay that just happen to match the ones in the underhood relay box and I used an empty relay socket to make for a factory looking install.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for all the input guys.. The good thing is i have alot of time to do this.. ( the whole winter ) So its ok to leave it all apart.. I know what im doing with cars.. the WP will not be a problem and plugs wires ect.. ive just never tackled an ignion system.. but i guess theres no time like the present

 

The install page referenced above will get you through this job. I found it to be a lot more useful than my manual when I did my opti a few weeks ago. Skip the part about removing the air pump. It's not necessary on our cars. Also, it helps to have an impact driver for the crank pulley bolts. Also, you will need a pair of water pump gaskets and it's a good idea to replace the water pump drive shaft seal and the opti dirve shaft seal.

 

One more thing that might be helpful ... Fel Pro part number TCS 45953 (for a '94, '93 may be different part #) contains all the gaskets/seals you'll need. It has the waterpump gaskets, timing cover gasket, waterpump O-ring and all three timing cover seals (crankshaft, Opti and waterpump drive). It was only $12 and change from Advance Auto.

 

One tip I would like to add since I am completing my second opti replacement on my 94Z with 220K miles. A trick I learned was to hook a C clamp through the balancer and around the torsion bar. You don;t even have to tighten it. It works great to hold the balancer from spinning while loosening/tightening the 3 balancer bolts or hub bolt. Hope somebody finds this useful!