ok guys just spent 12hours doing a bunch of stuff to the formula. well it didnt start. i lined up the opti with the one notch that was square. or basically the one that doesnt look like the other two. now the car wont start. everything is connected and the plugs and wires are in the correct order.

also will the opti seat itself against the timing cover if lined up correctly? or will there be a little space like no more than 1/8" in. i replaced the opti drive seal too thats why i ask the flush thing. i figure maybe the new tight gasket wont let it seat against the timing cover.

oh and plug wires suck big floppy donkey ****. thanks trey

 

I could be wrong, but I think the dowel will only go into 1 slot. I have an old opti and cam laying around in the garage, I will check to be sure then post my findings.

 

Naw, people get them wrong all the time.


Did you a basic check for spark?

 

I just came back in from the garage and can confirm that yes...the dowel on the cam will only fit into 1 of the slots on the opti. Check the coil wire, the fuses, and the ground wires.

 

Does the car even turn over, or do nothing at all? It sounds like you got your opti right, but how did you check it so quick with the wp and everything on top of it?

 

Fit properly, yes, but I have seen plenty of posts of people that forced it on in the wrong place and had to pull it apart and remedy the situation. <shrug>

 

It sounds like you don,t have the opti on properly.
You make an allusion to the fact that the opti did not seat fully and that you thought it was because of a gasket. From what I know the opti should seat fully flush and you should not have to draw it down with the bolts, if you did then its wrong and you need to redo it.

 

Yeah...I'd bet that the opti spun slightly as you tried to seat it and the dowel hit the next slot or something...once you do it a few times it's pretty easy, but the first couple times you put on an opti it can be a bit annoying to get it into the right slot.

 

It shouldnt stand off from the timing cover at all if it's on right. You might try putting a little motor oil (clean of course) on the timing cover seal, along with the camhole, the otpi o-rings, and the opti piece that will touch the timing cover seal. That will make the opti much easier to side on, and if you're not forcing it as much, you'll stand a better chance of not moving it around, which should help in hitting the right dowel pin hole.

 

Either you guys have a smaller cam dowel or your opti slots are bigger than what my old stuff were. When I mated the opti to the cam a little earlier, there was no way I could get the cam dowel to fit in the 2 other slots besides that 1 slot.

 

yes its turning over and no i didnt check for spark. everything was working yesterday morning when i pulled into the shop. im gonna check for spark this morning.

as far as lining up the opti. i didnt force it on. it slid in and what was left was no more than a 1/8" gap between the opti and timing cover. it bolted down easy and smooth. however it did seem to fit all three of the notches(keyways). thats why i ask which one. im gonna check for spark then try realigning the opti. its been greased so it should slide right on. thanks trey

 

If you were left with a gap, then something is wrong. Either you did not get the new opti seal flush, the opti is not indexed to the dowel pin correctly or your dowel pin is too long. You said you did a "bunch of stuff" to the car. Did you replace the cam? If you run it with the dowel pin too long, the opti will be destroyed in a short time.

 

thanks everyone. well i dont know what was up. i took it apart this morning and put it back together. it runs fine now. i dont know what happened i swear i didnt make any changes to the location of the pin and keyway on the opti but it must have done something. cranked right up like it should. the cars feels stronger too. unfortunately the previous owner forgot to mention he put a 160 thermostat in the car. so now i have a stock 195? thermo in the car and i hate it. man i wish i had checked before i filled it with coolant. oh well guess ill be draining the coolant again. thanks. Trey