1st opti Ive ever changed...advice and such...

Given that the 95 probably wont sell, i need it to run so i bought an opti, seal/gaskets, plugs and wires. And it'll be a plus if someone did want to buy it The car is literally frozen in the snow bank(as it gets no sun) in my driveway with no way to work from the front, only the fenders..

I got the hoses, connectors, and intake junk out of the way. The water pump was easy, and it dpoesnt appear to be leaking yet, tho i know its practical to change it at this point, but theres no cash for that at the moment, unless i get a real cheapo.

Next is the the balancer. What it the best way to pull it. Im new to this as its my first...lol. I need advice, tips, what not to do, and what to do when it comes time to pull the opti.

Installing the opti questions and queries will follow another day.

Thanks

Heres what I found, very dirty, oil seal leaking everywhere etc. No wonder it doesnt work right.

get a puller for the pulley. i got a way with using a steering wheel puller that i had. next time ill use the right puller.. three 10mm's i bielive take off the opti. make sure u are careful with the vent tubes for it. the small and can brake easy if there old.. then spray down thefront of the motor with break cleaner and what not. make sure 2 do al ur seals. its worth the cheap money while u have it all apart. and getting the new wires in is pretty easy on the drivers side but the pass. side is alittle bit of a pain with tge ac comp. in the way.. have fun with it and make sure u line up the new opti back on the shaft right!!

New seals are a must while you have everything apart.

As far as seals go, I ordered the whole kit. Gonna spray it down some more before I leave tonight, and in the morning. When i pick up my huge shopping list at Advance tm, i will get a puller that fits my needs Is it possible to screw up the allignment of the opti? Does the balancer have to go back on a certain way? Should I mark it? I dont think it matters. Doesnt hurt to ask...

Here is my opti tear down. And yes to what Tim said. You need to replace both the opti seal, and water pump drive seal. Both go on dry, and you
need a tool for the w/p drive seal. You can make one out of a magic marker. Buy the felpro front cover kit. It comes with all gaskets and seal
including the two that go on the back snout of the opti. Just a dab of oil on them before reinstalling. You will need teflon tape or liquid teflon for the
six water pump bolts as they go into water jackets.
https://badass-of-ne.forumotion.com/t341-tearing-down-and-rebuild-of-a-opti

And page one takes you through the steps of replacement.
https://badass-of-ne.forumotion.com/t2280-my-new-winter-beater?highlight=my+winter+beeater
Crovo has a good writeup as well on the national forum.

There is three bolts that hold the balancer to the hub. The pointy spot on the balancer lines up with a little pointer on the hub between two bolt holes, and will leave a mark on the back side of the balancer where it was.

Check the FelPro kit for the right seals. I got a couple with missing or the wrong parts.

Next time I'm going to try Chandler Motor Sports for an opti. There's a bunch of folk on the camaro forum that use them.

I would replace or at least check the vacuum harness.

You can rent a puller from Auto Zone.

Also sand and oil the hub snout, and the hole in the balancer it goes into. You can then just tap it on with a few light hits of a hammer during reassembly.

You will use everything in this kit, BUT the front main seal
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Felpro-Timing-Cover-Gasket/1995-Chevrolet-Caprice/_/N-j1erqZ8znn8?counter=0&itemIdentifier=73664_188051_0_

Another good Video from Goldmaster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwDuoebEAJE

Good luck Brian. These guys are steerin' ya right.

And it seems they all look like that when you pull the water pump off.

Brian, you can test start it once you have the opti and associated wiring hooked up, just for a few seconds though. BTW , DON'T FORGET TO INSTALL THE WATER PUMP DRIVE COUPLING!!!!!!! I've heard stories of people that have done that.

'

alright, we had a warm day sunday, so the car would actually start now, put it back together to bring to a friends shop. New opti, plugs, and wires done, car has the same problem. Original plugs black as hell, all fouled out with a rich condition that resembles a 70's dragster. Runs at 150rpm and quits. Checked ground on pcm, ran again long enough to catch a code 36 for the opti. Bad opti out of the box. GM tech friend says its a hit or miss even with GM stuff. What a garbage system the opti is. Swapping a loaner from the parts store in the morning, and we'll see what happens...Ive been carless(in a sense of preservation for the 9c1) for two weeks. Its time to break the 9c1 out and just wash it every week until i can buy a newer car.

That sucks. Did you try swapping the opti harness? Just try swapping the one out of your 9C1 to see if it cures it.

I dont want to tear my 9c1 apart for this car. I paid too much for it and have put a good amount of $ in to it since. I want to see it go.

It just takes a second to swap it over and see if it fixes the problem, then put it back.

if its not the opti, that'll be the next step then. where does it end at? Ive never bothered to follow it...

I know your discouraged Brian, but don't give up. I've been there. Did you change your Oxygen sensors?

I would check the coolant temperature sensor/wiring. Scan it and see what the temperature reads. Or search the web for a resistance/temperature chart.

Also try this,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRcgdo4tfFo

No need to drain the coolant. Just hold a shop vac hose near the sensor and make the change quickly.

Im not discouraged really. I am not feeling, the work that this needs right now. The 02 sensors would throw a code,but havnt. how would they effect the problem at hand? It wonnt even go into the loop if the car cant warm up. pulled an 02 sensor anyway, no difference. The car ran great, then it got freezing out, and it runs(if at all) like striaght garbage. The guy I bought this car from, knew about the problem and that pisses me off. I even got steered in the wrong direction. Caprice for parts $1000. It has Bonnies Just waiting on the new-new opti, and we will go from there

Heres how it happened. Put the new opti in, the car wouldnt run and spit out a code 36. So, after some assorted testing, we ended up going back to exchange the new opti. 2 days later, we went to pick up the new one, it was for a honda... so, when the new one came in, hooked it up, now it runs. so, wires, opti, and my last shred of patience, and we are done. water pump goes on tomorrow and I can go back to my regular routine. Im not gonna sell it, Im gonna do some touch up paint/detailing, undercoat, repair the rust, gas tank straps, heater core, and what not over the next few weeks pending the weather forecast Thanks for your help eveyone!

Heh, so that debacle made you want to keep the car after your work? I don't blame ya.

Yea, I tried to jump the gun on this project. I popped some riddlin and sat on my hands this time around.

MASShole9C1 wrote:

Yea, I tried to jump the gun ........

Looks like you fit right in.
Looking forward to your next 4 FOR SALE posts...