Help! WP gasket removal from engine ?
My WP bearings are toast and it destroyed the Opti in the process. Anyway, I am old school and I am trying to remove the old gasket material from the fron to the engine with a single edge razor. What a major PITA !! Is there a special tool or easier method to get the old crap off. It is not coming off easy like some other cars I've done. It must be the old permatex making it so difficult....
Here's a pic of the WP bearing failure :

But nothing beats a razor blade, so try this: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...pecialty+Tools. It is basically a handle that you attach razor blades to. I used a razor blade (in my hand) for removing the old gaskets from transmission internal parts - expect lots of cuts (the old-fashioned way of course) if you do it by hand.
Hope that helps....
My WP bearings are toast and it destroyed the Opti in the process. Anyway, I am old school and I am trying to remove the old gasket material from the fron to the engine with a single edge razor. What a major PITA !! Is there a special tool or easier method to get the old crap off. It is not coming off easy like some other cars I've done. It must be the old permatex making it so difficult....
Here's a pic of the WP bearing failure :


I was laid out over my passenger front tire, elbow on the TB gettin' a scrape-on on the block too!
Doin' it blind too almost. Whatcha' need is one of them laser guided smart scraper - or a seein' eye razor!
Don't be scared to shoot a few more pics as you go...
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
I started out using a variety of razor and xaxto knife blades, thinking that I may have to do this job in a parts store parking lot some day and wanting to do it with hand tools. It was a pain so I got out the air tool and had the surfaces nice and clean and shiny in a few minutes.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
I started out using a variety of razor and xaxto knife blades, thinking that I may have to do this job in a parts store parking lot some day and wanting to do it with hand tools. It was a pain so I got out the air tool and had the surfaces nice and clean and shiny in a few minutes.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
I started out using a variety of razor and xaxto knife blades, thinking that I may have to do this job in a parts store parking lot some day and wanting to do it with hand tools. It was a pain so I got out the air tool and had the surfaces nice and clean and shiny in a few minutes.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog
I started out using a variety of razor and xaxto knife blades, thinking that I may have to do this job in a parts store parking lot some day and wanting to do it with hand tools. It was a pain so I got out the air tool and had the surfaces nice and clean and shiny in a few minutes.
I wonder if a dremel tool would work ??????? I don't know if dremel has an attachment that wouldn't score the aluminum surface though.....these things spin at such a high RPM....
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Thanks for the torque info. and gasket removal methods. I ended up doing it the old fashioned way, single edge razor and bloody hand. I did wrap the razor with electrical tape to make it easier to handle. After I finished, I flushed the coolant system and refilled with ~70/30 prestone/distilled water.
If I ever do this job again, I will invest in that snap-on surface prep tool. I must have spent an hour or so scraping off that old gasket material.
And that 'aint no fun when it is 103F outside...Arghh
Anyway, job finished. Took it out, drove about 20 miles, let it cool, topped off coolant, checked for leaks, no problems.
Just FYI, I have seen alot of threads about the HB not being keyed to the hub. Well, it is true that it is not keyed in the traditional sense, but there is a raised "barb" on the hub that you match up with the triangular arrow on the HB pully. See the first pic to see what I am talking about.
Hub is oriented at TDC(this makes it easy for Opti coupler install. The "mark" on the
coupler will align at 6:00 o'clock:

OEM Delphi Optispark mounted(Note: job much easier if you remove the belt tensioner which is to right:

Opti Test: BEFORE YOU INSTALL YOUR WATERPUMP.Hook all the electricals up,
and start the engine to ensure your Opti works. It only takes a minute to plug in all the sensors.
There is no risk to damaging anything without the waterpump installed and no serpentine installed.
If you look closely, you can see that I even plugged in the coolant sensor which is just hanging there

WP installed, all buttoned up, ready to go(It's a shame that the Opti dissapears after WP install !!):

Last edited by MikeC4; Aug 3, 2008 at 12:52 PM.
Thanks for the torque info. and gasket removal methods. I ended up doing it the old fashioned way, single edge razor and bloody hand. I did wrap the razor with electrical tape to make it easier to handle. After I finished, I flushed the system of all old coolant and refilled with ~70/30 prestone/distilled water.
If I ever do this job again, I will invest in that snap-on surface prep tool. I must have spent an hour or so scraping off that old gasket material.
And that 'aint no fun when it is 103F outside...Arghh
Anyway, job finished. Took it out, drove about 20 miles, let it cool, topped off coolant, checked for leaks, no problems.
Just FYI, I have seen alot of threads about the HB not being keyed to the hub. Well, it is true that it is not keyed in the traditional sense, but there is a raised "barb" on the hub that you math up with the triangular arrow on the HB pully. See the first pic to see what I am talking about.
Hub is oriented at TDC :



















