92-C4

I've owned this baby for a couple months now. Super clean inside and out -BUT- in need of some regular up-keep.

Threw on a skip-shift eliminator right away so I could retain my dignity. Replaced the motor oil, rear end & trans oil and lube'd the suspension. New air filter, fuel filter, PCV valve, weatherstrip, blah blah.

One of the biggest jobs so far was replacing the rear Hub Washers, I had a lot of the classic popping cracking sounds and it was driving me totally nuts. The job was quite easy because of all of the great info here on this site (but that didn't help with those 6 large torx bolts, grrrrrr)

Next in line is the big project I have been putting off until my broken finger gets out of this cast... -- Going to replace the Optispark, plugs/wires, thermostat, serpentine belt, opti/water pump seals, flush coolant... (and replace the squeaky bearing in my alternator)

My question is, while I have everything pulled apart up front is there anything else I should replace??? Please help me reduce the chances of having to pull this thing apart again any time soon. Should I replace the water pump while I have it off? The car has 96k, and I have no idea if this is the original WP or not.

I already love my Vette, and this site has been so helpful. THANKS TO EVERYONE for all of the helpful info and discussion!!

ps. I'm second generation. My Dad bought his first Vette in the 60's before he had his drivers license. At 67 years old he out-wrenches my *** any day.

HeavyLifter

Welcome - nice looking car.

Since you'll have it all apart, and you're not sure if the WP has been replaced, I'd replace it as cheap insurance. Also, take a look at the radiator. If it hasn't been replaced, it's not likely to last much longer. My original 1996 radiator lasted until about 98k miles, at which point, the plastic tanks were cracking and leaking pretty bad. Inspect the inlet and outlets of the radiator closely. It's incredibly easy to replace when everything is apart already. P.S. Don't forget to remove the knock sensor to properly drain all the coolant.

vg305

I am going through the same process with my "new" 96, love it... Checking or replacing your timing chain while you are there. If you are thinking about swapping in a new cam you would already be half way there for that too. If you want to bypass your throttle body water hose replacing your ugly 92 upper radiator hose with a 95-96 one will do the trick. And changing your valve cover gaskets should be on the list.

touyech2883

Get a timing cover gasket set ($8) and replace the opti and water pump seals look at the procedure on the water pump seal replacement cause its a tricky seal to install. I'd also get a 160 degree tstat. It's nice to keep the lt1 cooler seems to help the life of the radiator and water pump. Your where I was 1 year ago with my 93. Another nice cheap insurance part to keep newer is the rad cap.

dizwiz24

Id leave the water pump alone as the replacement ac delco made in china water pumps arent as good as the original. Theres somebody out there that rebuilds them and thats what id do is get yours rebuilt when/if it leaks.

Installing a weep hole hose to the water pump is good insurance to keep any leaks away from the optispark

You mentioned plugs/wires . Good idea. Note I had bad luck with msd wires (shoddy made, spark arcd). Be sure to use dielectrical grease on all the connections.

When you replace the optispark... You say you have a 92....so thats gen 1 . Is it an original ac delco? If so, take it apart and clean it up. Replace the cap/ rotor but dont dare put in a junk $69 ebay special. Youll know if you have an oem optispark if it has a mitsubishi emblem on the optical sensor. That is the heart of the unit . You can also spin the shaft and make sure bearings are ok.

Please do convert it to a vented unit. Buy a vent harness (comes with check valve and flow reducer) and late model gen 2 optispark cap. You can block off two of the 3 weep holes. And enlarge the 3rd with an 1/8" drill bit. Then use a high temp rtv to glue in an 1/8 plastic pipe. This is the air source side of the optispark harness. Terminate the air source in your intake manifold ducting.

Use the gen 2 cap for its vacuum fitting and that bcomes the vacuum side of the vent harness. Connect the other end up to a manifold vacuum source.
Use silicone sealer all aroundthe perimeter of the optispark when you put it back together - including where the wire harness goes into it. I even put some sealer on the back side of the optispark around the edges of the shaft seal to be extra ****

The suggestion on 160 tstat is a good one. Ive reprogrammed fans to come on earlier. I dont ever see greater than 174f when cruising on the interstate (even in 90f weather) and that cooler temps keeps your optispark happy also.

92-C4

Wow, THANKS!

Venting the opti seems like a real solid move. I will see if I can find all of the parts and some pics/ video to help me through any tricky parts. I will see if it's the original Opti and try to clean it up if I can.

would these be a fit for my 92?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/371164752362?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Also going to follow your advise and keep the wp and add a weep hole hose and have the wp rebuilt if it fails.
I've been thinking a lot about how it's likely that these low cost China aftermarket parts must be lower quality, for that reason I decided to put the old wheel bearing assemblies back on when I replaced my noisy Hub Washers a few weeks back.

dizwiz24

Yes, that looks like it is. I believe the caprice optisparks were all gen 2....but im not 100% sure.

That picture shows an after arket replacement oem cap (you can see the visibke wire traces). The oem caps were tan epoxy and you couldnt see the wire traces

I think the caps are pretty hard to screw up (but ive been wrong before)....

Also, i might have had the connections mixed up. Use one of the weep holes at the bottom as your vacuum source. Use the gen 2 optispark cap fitting as the air source.

This way any liquid or carbon.that gets in there can get sucked out the bottom and not the higher above hole, where the junk matter could potentily go past sensitive electronics

Though its prob not a big deal, im just over analyzing.

mtwoolford

at the very least I'd replace the timing chain; I'm sure there's a fair amount of slop there; of course that requires pulling the crankshaft hub and removing the timing chain cover so a new set of seals in the timing chain cover will also be part of the rehab.

now, removing the timing chain cover usually upsets the oil pan gasket...so that means dropping the oil pan to replace the gasket...which exposes the lower end...so are you going to roll in a new set of rod and main bearings? or at least the number five (rear) main bearing since it is also the thrust bearing which in a manual transmission car is subject to wear? and the oil pump?

none of this is particularly difficult or expensive, but it is labor intensive, especially the laying on your back under the car part. Good luck; let us know how it all goes.