Whatever engineer designed the front end of the LT1 engine needs to suffer a long and lingering death. All I wanted to do was change my plugs and plug wires. I'm into day two, and still have four wires left to be put on.

Why did'nt they just put the Optispark inside the engine. As much stuff as they have installed in front of the optispark it may as well have been. Yes it's my turn in the barrel. All those who have gone through this have the scars to prove it.

How much do you have to take off the engine to get to the boot plug in? You know they tease you on one side, you can reach the 4 boot plug in's but the spark plugs are a night mare, then on the other side, plugs are fine but you can't get to the optispark plugs.

You know auto manufactures could roll out a new design every year if they did'nt spend so much time on making them impossible to work on. I know it's how they make money after the sale. For crying out loud, that engineering department needs to be shot. Any tips from the experienced?

Had to vent to those who have been there...

 

Now you know why my "adult" car came from Germany!

 

Ahhhhh...Good old C4 engine compartment space. Yup it really sucks. Especially for doing plugs and other mods....

I hear ya..

89'

 

I must be nuts but I don't think they are bad to work on. Even when I had my stock manifolds on I did plugs and wires in about 2 hours.

 

How did you do it in just two hours? I haven't done it yet, just getting my homework done since I have heard all of the horror stories.

 

We all know what ya mean man... the best time to change the wires is when your waterpump kills the optispark, and the optispark needs replacing. Waterpump = $200, Optispark = $600, and wires = $60, your time = 8 hours or so. I'd like to get my hands on the guy that designed the optispark on the front of the engine below the waterpump as well!

 

yup. I have done this on a camaro. NOT FUN!!! :nonod:

 

Richs you must have tiny hands. Did you tear off all the hardware on the front of the engine or what. I'l be doing that tomorrow. It needs to be cleaned up anyway. I will never bitch about a C3 engine compartment again... :lol:

 

I change my plugs and wires in about a half an hour....Its so nice NOT to have an Optispark. I think the thing that takes the longest is jacking it up to get at a couple of the rear plugs.

 

I changed the plugs on my L98 and they were not all that fun. It's getting to where one cannot work on his/her own car.

 

I know what ya mean. First time for me took 4 hours. Now I can easily do it in 2. The trick for reaching the drivers side optispark is to take off the serpentine belt and unbolt the tensioner. Just leave the tensioner in the compartment ('cause I couldn't figure how to wriggle it out). You may have to reposition the loose tensioner periodically, but it does give enough access to positively engage the plug boots on the Optispark.

 

A buddy of mine and I did the plugs in my 92 last fall... and it was not that bad... the wires were done during the opti swap... but the key to getting these things off, is the use of a long pair of angled needle nosed pliers.

we did the plugs in about an hour... I cannot remember how long it took for us to do the wires, because we were doing the opti at the same time...

also, the opti is about 320 from carfan18, Jeff is the parts man from Heaven!!! you can reach him at 1-800-728-8267, tell him you are a forum member...

 

I felt the same way the first time...

I found out it was much easier in my case to get the car up off the ground so you can crawl underneath it... Reach up around the front of the motor from underneath and attach the wires to the opti that way... It's almost impossible to do so otherwise if you haven't taken off the water pump...

 

Another tip for getting to the spark plugs for changing is to take off the plastic wheel well (this especialy helps on the driver side, as it lets you get under the ASR box and everything (at least on my '92). I have gotten down so that I can do a spark plug change in about 1 1/2 hours or so. If you can get a good small U joint on a socket with a head that can change angles, it makes the job go much easier.

 

Nice ride big todd. Your ride looks hauntingly familiar (down to the non-stock wheels)

 

The procedure was written up in Corvette Fever's Noverber 1997 issue.

1.Remove left side splash shield.
2.Unbolt ASR, do not disconnect wires, move to side.
3.Remove serpentine belt and tensioner.
4.Remove A/C bracket.
5.Loosen wires from plugs first.
6.Unbolt and Remove wire loom as a unit.
7.Remove right side splash shield.
8.Loosen wires on plugs first , unbolt and remove wire loom as a unit.

They also stressed that you run the wires using the stock brackets as the LT1/4's are prone to cross firing. Guys running the larger than stock wire usually drill or file the clips to size. I think you can use slightly bigger wires, 8mm, and not modify your clips. Hope this helps. BTW, I checked my service manual and it had none of this info. Good luck on the change.:)

 

I think the engineers did a good job, you enjoy driving a Corvette don't you. I mean they have a car that makes 300+ horespower, meets all emission laws, and gets over 20mpg. What do you have to complain about. Thank you to all the Corvette engineers who might see this, keep up the good work.

 

Yes, it is a bitch. I agree on the crappy design. I can change out all 8 plugs with not too much problems. It takes a different socket setup for each plug because of the different angles and spaces. I remove the ASR on the driver's side and that provides more room for working. Concerning the wires, I replaced the 4 on the passenger's side and after seeing what a bitch it would be for the driver's side I never completed the job. Ended up selling that car with only 4 new wires and 4 old wires.

 

Been there and done that...some jobs are such a PITA to access you wonder why they were allowed to leave it there for final production in the first place.
Maybe its so easy to work on an engine wearing a white coat and working around a engine stand and tables.

Since th 80's,GM has used Distrubutorless ignitions and they worked off a independent coil pack that doesnt work with the water pump.I have that on my 91 Chevy Lumina.
Why didnt GM use this design instead?

And yeah,they even mounted this right under the exhaust manifold!
On other cars it was on top of the engine somewhere,more accessible and not prone to exhaust heat.

Keep in mind though,as bad as some things are,if you work n your car enough,everything gets easier each time.You know exactly where to go and what to remove,and what tools to have ready.
Thats why the first time jobs seems to take even a day or more.
Instead of trying to get somthing off,then realize ya cant reach it,then decide to move this part,then that didnt work,then move something else,etc...youll know next time to cut to the chase and remove everything that needs to be off first.Do a job 3-4 times its easier and easier.

But I will say this..Im glad I dont have the LT1 opti..Tune up and ignition parts should never be that hard to remove or access.
Whats next,brake pads that require 5 hours to get off?
:)

 

ditto on removing the wheel well shields.
also take the belt off, you can then hold the tensioner back so you can plugs back on.

BTW if yours is a high milelage car, take the easy route and remove/replace the waterpump, changing the plug wires in between.