I helped out the other day at the shop that did it for me (friends of mine), and it took about 3 hrs.... with the right tools and a lift.... Dont forget to pull the fan also... more room to get stuff off. No one here is a little girl, because they have a hard time doing something... just because its the same motor (LT1) doesnt mean they all come apart and go together the same....
PS... I replaced my water pump with an electric summit one a few months ago... when the old one crapped out... so I obviously stayed with the same one....

 

What is the teflon thread sealant for?

 

4 year old post by the way.

Anyway, thread sealant is preferred over teflon tape. Needs to be applied to the water pump mounting bolts (6).

 

manuals didnt call for it... was wondering because I noticed something on the ends of the bolts...

know of any other sealants or anti-seize not called out in the manuals?

it doesnt call out for any lube on the wp coupling... just clean it and reinstall dry with new o-rings?

 

Which "manual" are you talking about?

Any o-ring I'll usually coat in oil to prevent it from chafing on the install.

 

The factory service manual and Haynes.

I meant the water pump coupling sleeve and drive splines...

 

A little grease on the splines and coupler and new o-rings.

 

Use a pliable, non-hardening sealant like Permatex "Form-a-Gasket". Like RamAir said, you need it on the water pump bolts because they penetrate the water jacket.

 

Only the driverside bottom waterpump bolt goes into the water jacket, the other 5 do not need to be sealed.

 

Are you sure about that? I don't have a block in front of me to check. Sealant won't hurt, even if it is not needed.

 

From the "How To Rebuild.... LT1/LT4 Engines".....

 

100% positive (on my block anyway, but why wouldn't they all be the same?). I just had my opti/water pump off last night.


*Edit* just checked my old '95 lt1 block and it's the same way too.

 

Wierd. I did my opti last week, and chased all the threads with a cleanout tap. All 6 penetrated the jacket. Maybe different assm. lines for block machining did it different?

 

The 4 long ones had something applied from the factory... looks like white thread sealant. The two short ones (one bolt and the stud) were clean. The knock sensor and block plug both had what appeared to be the same white sealant.

Already ran the knock sensor and block plug back in but, I may pull them back out and put some sealant on them too before I refill the system.

Got held up cleaning the old wp gasket off... it was fused onto the block. Gasket scraper and Scotchbrite is getting the job done but, its awkward and slow.

Anyone have an opinion on the MSD optispark? The order for my factory replacement never showed up... maybe it's a sign to go aftermarket. :-)

 

I dont think thats right. Reason being all of my six bolts came out rusty and corroded.

Also here is a good opti install tip. Once the opti is on and wired up. Start the car without the waterpump just to make sure it is indexed and working correctly. It wont hurt the motor to run for less than 30 seconds without cooling. Whole lot better than having to pull it apart again because something was done wrong.