I don't know why I am just now realizing that you have a 1995 with a 1994 or earlier engine (or at least front cover and opti).

 

You are making up for their mistakes by making more of your own. You need to be aware of the correct (and incorrect) ways of doing things on these cars. Study these forums some more and it will make owning an f-body MUCH more enjoyable than what you're experiencing now.

 

I think its a different timing cover and opti. Because you can see where the guy plugged the hole on the intake where the vacuum line would run from.

Also my opti has that different back on it that I mentioned earlier, the (non cloverleaf) one, and I've had everything apart since late last night and I cannot for the life of me get the gear to go back in and lock in.

I got it once last night and hooked up the coil and opti and it wouldn't start.

But I wasn't for sure that I got the opti on correct because there was like the tiniest side to side movement when you wiggled it.

Does anyone have any tips to getting this thing in?

And I'm aware that "im making more mistakes" but my philosophy is to learn from your mistakes.

I've known some very good Technicians who have never looked anything up, and they too learned by screwing things up.

Idk that's my 2 cents.

But if anyone has an easy way to get that thing on there it would be helpful, very helpful.

Oh and also, if you look at the gear on the opti, all of the teeth look the same except for a certain one.

Is that significant? I've tried lining that up with the top channel thing but no luck.

Thanks!

 

As usual, Shoebox has the answer:



By hammering it in, you may have damaged the key on the Opti shaft, or in the cam sprocket. And, there is a similar "key" where the splined shaft pushes into the back of the Opti.

You need to change your signature to indicate your car has a 94 engine, because this is just one of the differences.

 

I don't think my car has a 94 engine, due to the ecu and 15 pin plug in and what not and the other 95 specific things.

But yes I'm slowly learning that Shoebox knows just about everything.

Imma be pissed if I find out its a 94 engine.

 

Not 15 pin.. but obd 2 style pin thing.

But it would make since if it had a 94.

If you crawl under my car you can pretty much tell the motor has been pulled, oil pan gasket and all the other hard to get to ones have been done.


But another thing, my timing cover doesn't look like that.

It doesn't have the 3 bolts, its like all sealed off with just the open hole hole for the gear.

 

The PCM is identical for 94 and 95. The 16-pin ALDL connector has nothing to do with what year engine your car has. You can verify the year of the engine (again, thanks to Rob/Shoebox):

http://shbox.com/1/block_vin.jpg

It's one thing to learn from your mistakes... it's another thing to disregard or disbelieve the help others are trying to give you. It's very frustrating.

 

I can assure you I'm not disregarding what you guys are saying.

I literally havent read what you guys have said and done the opposite or anything different.

Like the tapping the opti in, I mean of course no one told me to do that.

But no one told me not too either.

I'm 18, and I'm stubborn and think I know everything lol sound right?

I have a lot to learn but I'd rather be doing work on my car than going to the mall everyday in the 2013.civic my dad bought me like most others my age.

 

Line up the index slot carefully and slide it in without turning it. That's how people do it. It would be unlikely that someone put an earlier timing cover and opti on a 95 engine. It is more probably that the engine is a 94. The opti is the only real significant difference between the two, anyway.

 

Okay that sounds interesting, think someone swapped in a 94? Or a 94 from the factory?

And man I wish it were that easy.

I can't even see the channel on the timing cover side, its like way down in there.

And the past hour I've been rotating the opti side gear like a tiny bit each time and been trying to get it to go in...

No Luck. Probably the most frustrating thing I've done.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I could find where the channel is on the timing cover side?

I'm strongly considering driving to the junkyard and pulling a gear from a Buick and using it with some pliers to find out where the timing cover channel is.

Like keep rotating it until and locks then find the channel.

But that's a stretch.

 

Got the opti on right for sure this time.

Hooked the necessary items up and all it does is crank.

Still spits out smoke and sounds like the timing is off.

Pulled one of the plugs on the drivers side and its full of gas.

Which would be from trying to start it.

Do you guys think its time for a new opti?

And I never heard anything about the coil readings,

All sockets read at 9.19

Isn't that too high?

 

Sounds like the firing order is incorrect.

 

Well what exactly can a bad opti do?

But I've had wires switched before and it never caused the car to not start.

And the only wires that could be off are on the drivers side, because I never unplugged the passenger side wires.

Would like 2 wires cause the car to crank and blow smoke out and almost start randomly only from 2 bad wires?

 

I wouldn't have said it if it couldn't.

 

Firing order is correct.

Now I'm down to coil or opti.