grayml

Hello all,

With what the stealership wants to do this job ($1400 including parts) I want to attempt it myself. I'm a decent shade tree mechanic and have no fear of turning a wrench

Any tip, tricks or techniques that anyone can recommend I'm listening, and how much time can I expect it to take since this is my first time doing this job?

The dealer's labor rate is up to $100 an hour, just ridiculous. They wanted $500 labor to put on one halfshaft u-joints, so I did the job in my driveway in 2 hours.

Thanks!!

pianoguy

Figure on a day as you will probably run into a few snags - removing the balancer pulley can be time-consuming, as can cleaning off the old water pump gasket material. Here's the long and short of it:

1). Drain the cooling system, by opening the petcock on the radiator, and then by removing the knock sensors on each side of the engine block
1a). Disconnect the battery negative cable
2). Remove the air cleaner bellows and serpentine belt, disconnect electrical connections to MAF and water level sensor
3). Disconnect radiator and heater hoses, and remove the water pump (you may also want to remove the radiator hoses to get them out of the way)
4). Remove the harmonic balancer pulley (3 bolts) - you may want to spray some PB blaster where it mates to the hub, and also mark the pulley's position. Note that the pulley bolts must be roughly at 10, 2 and 6 o'clock in order for the opti to clear the hub. The pulley will likely be rusted to the hub - I used a 2x2 up against the back side of the pulley (from underneath and behind) and tapped with a hammer, rotating the pulley, until it came loose.
5). Mark the spark plug wires and vacuum hoses, and disconnect from the opti
6). Remove the cap from the opti and mark the location of the rotor
7). Remove the opti
8). Check the seals around the opti and water pump drives, replace if necessary, and clean the water pump mounting surface.
9). Install new opti, noting rotor location - make sure it mates easily with the front cover without force
9a). After plug wires, etc. are attached to new opti, install the balancer pulley, connect battery and start the car briefly to make sure opti is functioning properly
10). Reinstall everything in reverse order - note - check the o-ring on the engine shaft for the water pump to see if it needs replacing. A new water pump will come with one o-ring for the pump, so you may need to buy another.
11). Make sure to bleed air from cooling system when refilling.

You may find that removing the belt tensioner and the coil gives you a little more room to work. Also, this is the optimal time to replace the plug wires - you will find that loosening the power steering pump to allow you to pull it forward a bit is helpful. This is also a good time to replace hoses. Make sure to use sealant on the bolts for the water pump, and it's also a good idea to let it sit for at least several hours, if not overnight, before refilling the system.

xlr8nflorida

If you know how to do it, you can do it in 2 hours if you are kicking some butt.

I'd say 4-5 hours if you have never done it before.

pianoguy

Forgot to mention - put some anti-seize on the mating surface of the balancer pulley before you reinstall it.

Greg Gore

Try to loosen the damper bolts and start the engine for a few seconds before you get too far into it. Removing the damper can be very difficult otherwise because they are usually rusted in place. It will be an easy slip fit back on after the mating surfaces are cleaned up. The damper hub does not need to be removed, just the damper unless you are changing the front crankshaft seal also. If you have oil leaks that need to be fixed this would be the time to do it. Usual culprits are manifold ends at the RTV joint and front timing cover seals. If the front crankshaft seal is leaking you most likely have a wear groove on the hub also which will need to be addressed. Good time for plugs and plug wires also along with coolant hoses.

donivan3

May the force be with you! I'll probably tackle this task one of these days.

RogerZ06

I did it by myself. I had dealer tell me $1,000+ just for labor and local shop tell me $700 labor. So I decided to do the work by myself with just basic tools. Hardest part was the spark plugs since I needed them and wires too.

coors2003

its not bad, just take your time and think about what you are doing. also be prepaired for either sore knees ( if you do the stand on the tire and kneel on the radiator) or the sore back ( hunched over to reach) otherwise if you are a shadetree mech you can do it

i replaced my buddys in his 94 and got it all back together only to realize i was a tooth off on the opti. so i had to tear it all back down. 2nd time only took an hr to do

Rex Ruby

How could you be a tooth off on the opti isn't the shaft indexed?

Redeasysport

It can be and has been done many times. People put it on and instead of it sliding in easily they bolt it on.This occurs on 92-94 cars.

94z07fx3

To the OP:

Some find that slightly rasing the car helps the lower back. 2"x12" boards or even low ramps.

davidf4925

i'm in the middle of this right now.. I'm still trying to the the balancer pully off. will try the 2X4 trick the next time i get a chance.. other than that it has not been that hard.. but I did do this on my 95 camaro.. just take your time and have fun

grayml

Thanks for the info everyone.

Can the balancer pulley be removed without getting under the car? I wonder if the pulley could be doused with PB Blaster to loosen it?

Also, should any sort of sealer be out on the waterpump gaskets?

grayml

How did you rotate the pulley by hand? Didn't you have to crank the engine over?

pianoguy

I just turned it using the center bolt on the hub. Others have just bumped the starter.

I would recommend having the car up on ramps for the whole procedure - you'll need to get under there to remove the knock sensors, and likely to remove the balancer (if you use the 2x2 method from behind).

I used Gasgacinch on my WP gaskets.

coors2003

i dont really know how it got a tooth off but it felt like it went in place ( i was wrong) i turned my pully by hand, i had some mech gloves on and just grabbed the pully and turned it a little at a time

Greg Gore

I guess you didn't read my post. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to help, apparently not welcome.

Allieboy

balancer needs to be marked?

RogerZ06

On mine the bolts would only line one way.

pr1mu5

On the balancer, there should be a big metal arrow on it (pointing in a direction, it's forged on there)... just remember where it is pointing, and you'll get it on right. It can only be pointing in one of three directions with the bolts lined up right.

And serious. Buy a 2x4 to get that balancer off. HIT IT with a 2x4. Like a piledriver.