Over in General I posted pics of my ongoing OptiSpark replacement. My hands and back are currently killing me.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...oor-hands.html

I have some questions as I wait for some RockAuto parts to be delivered. Hope those of you who've been down this road before will share some knowledge.

1. When I was taking off the accessory bracket I got my mounting screws mixed up. Is the one behind the tensioner a short one or a long one? Help me understand the lingo on the heads of each of the screws (halfcircle vs. full circle). I know it's something I should know at this point , but I'm usually good about putting screws back where they belong or matching broken or stripped screws with the same.

2. The power steering hose between the reservoir and the pump - can it be replaced to a rubber hose the entire distance. The current setup looks to have leaked and also doesn't appear to be very efficient. Rubber clamped to metal, metal goes the distance of the pipe and under the crank, then back to rubber to the pump.

3. There appears to be a hole in the crossmember that has a lot of nastiness in it. Is there a way to get in there to clean it?

I'm sure there will be more, but I'm exhausted.

 

Power steering hoses are built this way to handle the pressure..

 

If the high pressure hose has been leaking replace it with the hose from DRM.

Why did you take off the accessory bracket to change the opti and waterpump?????

Which part of the cross member?

 

I had already loosened the p/s pump for better access to the middle bolt of the WP. Both the tensioner and the idler pulleys needed to be replaced. When I removed them, the grime was so bad built up in the grooves that it was better to just take the whole thing off.

This part - the hole is directly across from the steering rack mount (see how dirty the whole area is?).

 

I used "cold" oven cleaner...put some old newspaper under the crossmember, spray it and let it soak in a while. I used a plastic spatula (for bondo work) to just scrape the grease and grime out and fling it down onto the newspaper, then followed up with some rags and diluted Simple Green. Don't forget to wear gloves!

 

The P/S hose you are referencing is the one from reservoir to pump, correct? If so it is 5/8" ID, but you need to use oil resistant hose. I understand O'reilly's sells it in 3 ft lengths, not sure how flexible is will be. Then the present hose has mounting tabs to prevent vibration and subsequest leaks.

 

Correct.

I found this at Napa - http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...207_0282548807

 

you must use unique power steering hose (looks different, has a lot more 'reinforcing' threads to it).

Its hard to find it in 5/8" size.

Napa didnt have it, Oreilly's didnt have it, Advance Auto Parts didnt have it.

But Autozone did have it.


Do not dare use 5/8" heater hose. I used this and it swelled up.

Also, what brand optispark are you putting in there? Is your car a 92-94 or a 95-96?

The only brand I trust is AC Delco (not remanufactured, but a new one). However, its a catch 22 because there arent any new ones around for the 95-96 cars, just remanufactured AC Delco units. Though the 92-94 optisparks are still available new.

I bought an AC Delco remanufactured unit (no other choice), installed it, the car ran for 2 mintus then died and would restart until 6 hours later (until it had cooled). Tried again, the same deal. Now, the car wont restart period.

I had to take it all aprt (sucked). Turns out the remanufactured part is they replace seals/bearings, but they do NOT replace the optical sensor. It had the correct OEM mitsubish optical sensor, but it had a crack in the housing that was covered up by some black paint they slapped on it.

When I initially disassembled this part (before installation) I was not able to see the crack in the optical sensor housing due to the black paint they put over top of it.

Good luck.

 

It's a 94. I'm going to be using a Petris Opti. Heard good things about them.

Thanks for the advice diz. Trust me, it's not falling on deaf ears.

 

Ouch, be VERY careful spraying anything around the fiberglass spring. That is very close to this cross member. I would not get oven cleaner anywhere near it. It has been known to damage the spring. I would use a gentle cleaner perhaps just Simple Green???

 

I've been promoting the Petris for a while..

 

How to clean that crud?

Plastic spatula, rags, degreaser or simple green. The power steering line is not leaking, that is the Opti's O-Ring seal.

I clean mine once a month, the crossmember collects dirt, gravel, moisture and the infamous oil leak. That leak may extend through the drivetrain. You don't perform PM on that infamous LT1 "disease" and the crud will grow to be very thick.

The crossmember's hole you are referring to is for the monospring. How to clean it? Use your imagination.

 

Thanks PLRX. Being on the site since 05 and seeing some of your rebuild adventures, I view you as sorta the Godfather of the CFC4 and the LT1. Thanks for your advice!

 

Rent a power washer. You'll have that looking like new in about 5 minutes.

 

But cover up that damn opti...

 

Opti won't be on when I do it, but I'm probably going to go with the slow and steady route of scraping and scrubbing. My luck with power washers would have the grime explode everywhere else on the engine when I hit it with the spray.

 

I meant for future cleanings..I wouldn't blast a power washer in there either..to many chances for error...

 

The inference was to be careful with the application - I wasn't saying to hose the whole area down with the cleaner. OP seems to be meticulous, I would have figured he'd know this.

Upon further review, I just realized I had the entire front end out (including spring) when I did mine, so I didn't think about the spring. Good catch, 93Rubie.

 

It isn't hard to do. I've done it on my car toys now with the power washer at work and had no problems fully assembled. Just don't be a dummy where you point the wand.

 

Me too, You should be good since the 92-94 optisparks are still available AC Delco new and not remanufactured.

Again, I too have heard good things about Petris. too bad they dont make a gen II opti (for the later model timing covers), or I would be buying one.