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I previously posted about the opti failure DTC16 that I had this week. I started taking apart my 94 LT1 today. New Sac City opti on its way.
There were no real surprises. Both the opti and water pump drive seals were leaking oil. Not too badly but will replace both. The balancer was a royal PIA but it finally let go.
I have a couple of photos and questions for the forum.
This is the post on the ignition coil. It, along with the inside of the plug, were badly corroded. It almost looks like something was applied to the post and it lead to the corrosion. It cleaned up ok and will continue to use it. I'm replacing all the wires. Thoughts?
The second photo shows two of the water pump bolts, before and after cleanup. It looks like the bolts were plastered with plumbers sealant prior to installation. Not sure why. I can see sealant being needed on the threads but what a mess.
Anyway, the work continues. More to come
Bob
That corrosion is common on wires that have not been replaced in a while. Once you clean up the post it should be fine as long as the post is still intact. Use dielectric grease when you put the wires back on.
Corvette ownership require dirty finger nails, blooded knuckles and a vocabulary that would make sailors wince.
The other day I told the neighbor he probably didn't want to be around while I was working on the car as I had to say the working on car "magic words" quite often.
The other day I told the neighbor he probably didn't want to be around while I was working on the car as I had to say the working on car "magic words" quite often.
I had a few choice words for the balancer. It's seems to have worked.
Corvette ownership require dirty finger nails, blooded knuckles and a vocabulary that would make sailors wince.
Did you know there's another use for blood? If your Vette happens to be red, if you're careful where the droplets go, they can help cover rock chips in the paint
I previously posted about the opti failure DTC16 that I had this week. I started taking apart my 94 LT1 today. New Sac City opti on its way.
There were no real surprises. Both the opti and water pump drive seals were leaking oil. Not too badly but will replace both. The balancer was a royal PIA but it finally let go.
I have a couple of photos and questions for the forum.
This is the post on the ignition coil. It, along with the inside of the plug, were badly corroded. It almost looks like something was applied to the post and it lead to the corrosion. It cleaned up ok and will continue to use it. I'm replacing all the wires. Thoughts?
The second photo shows two of the water pump bolts, before and after cleanup. It looks like the bolts were plastered with plumbers sealant prior to installation. Not sure why. I can see sealant being needed on the threads but what a mess.
Anyway, the work continues. More to come
Bob
You'll probably be okay re-using the coil if the post cleaned up perfectly. If you have any doubts, just buy a new one. I'd go with OEM, if replacing.
The sealant on those water pump bolts is there because the holes they thread into are drilled all the way through to the water jacket. In the absence of thread sealant, they'll weep coolant. Be sure to reapply before you install those bolts.
And, do yourself a big favor by applying some anti-seize to the damper before you put it back on the crank hub. You will thank yourself (or the next guy will thank you) next time it must be removed.
Another suggestion is to test-run the engine for a few seconds after installing the new distributor and wires, before putting all of the rest of that stuff back on the engine. If there's a problem with the new dizzy or wires, you'll be glad to learn of it while it's all still readily accessible.
You'll probably be okay re-using the coil if the post cleaned up perfectly. If you have any doubts, just buy a new one. I'd go with OEM, if replacing.
The sealant on those water pump bolts is there because the holes they thread into are drilled all the way through to the water jacket. In the absence of thread sealant, they'll weep coolant. Be sure to reapply before you install those bolts.
And, do yourself a big favor by applying some anti-seize to the damper before you put it back on the crank hub. You will thank yourself (or the next guy will thank you) next time it must be removed.
Another suggestion is to test-run the engine for a few seconds after installing the new distributor and wires, before putting all of the rest of that stuff back on the engine. If there's a problem with the new dizzy or wires, you'll be glad to learn of it while it's all still readily accessible.
Live well,
SJW
Great points Steve
Especially running the engine for a few seconds. Do I need to reinstall th balancer before running it? I assume I'm just looking for normal ignition and running, before shutting it down?
Thanks for your help.
I used RTV on the intake manifold pass through bolts and it worked fine. Will do the same for the water pump bolts
Bob
Great points Steve
Especially running the engine for a few seconds. Do I need to reinstall th balancer before running it? I assume I'm just looking for normal ignition and running, before shutting it down?
Thanks for your help.
I used RTV on the intake manifold pass through bolts and it worked fine. Will do the same for the water pump bolts
Bob
Given how easy it now should be for you to remove the damper should you need to, and the fact that its purpose is to reduce harmful harmonics, I'd install it before starting the engine. It's only three bolts. If you've cleaned up the rust at the damper/hub interface surfaces, and applied some anti-seize to the damper's bore, it should always be easy to remove in the future.
RTV will probably seal those bolt threads adequately, but given how far buried they are, I'd go with a good quality thread sealant instead just to be sure they remain well sealed.
The sealant on those water pump bolts is there because the holes they thread into are drilled all the way through to the water jacket. In the absence of thread sealant, they'll weep coolant. Be sure to reapply before you install those bolts.
Gen 1 SBC, true. But bolt holes on the LT1 are blind. I just did mine....checked 'em before I slathered my bolts w/sealant. I ended up not using any sealant, b/c there is nothing to seal.
Originally Posted by SJW
And, do yourself a big favor by applying some anti-seize to the damper before you put it back on the crank hub. You will thank yourself (or the next guy will thank you) next time it must be removed.
Originally Posted by SJW
Another suggestion is to test-run the engine for a few seconds after installing the new distributor and wires, before putting all of the rest of that stuff back on the engine. If there's a problem with the new dizzy or wires, you'll be glad to learn of it while it's all still readily accessible.
[QUOTE=Tom400CFI;1595408187]Gen 1 SBC, true. But bolt holes on the LT1 are blind. I just did mine....checked 'em before I slathered my bolts w/sealant. I ended up not using any sealant, b/c there is nothing to seal.
I just checked the water pump bolt holes. The only one that passes through into the coolant passage is the driver side, lower hole.
Gen 1 SBC, true. But bolt holes on the LT1 are blind. I just did mine....checked 'em before I slathered my bolts w/sealant. I ended up not using any sealant, b/c there is nothing to seal.
I just checked the water pump bolt holes. The only one that passes through into the coolant passage is the driver side, lower hole.
Over the 13 years that have gone by since I've done mine, I'd forgotten which one(s) it was. That's the one that'll need a good thread sealant.
I was fortunate when I remved the pulley as my neighbor had the LT1 factory puller that is shown in fsm.
Cleaned up bolts and used never seize on threads and sealant at the bolt head part of the bolt.
[QUOTE=Drifter36;1595404974]I previously posted about the opti failure DTC16 that I had this week. I started taking apart my 94 LT1 today. New Sac City opti on its way.
There were no real surprises. Both the opti and water pump drive seals were leaking oil. Not too badly but will replace both. The balancer was a royal PIA but it finally let go.
I have a couple of photos and questions for the forum.
Update
The new opti is installed and I was able to fire up the engine for a few seconds. It seemed to run just fine. It threw no codes during the brief run.
The Sac City opti (ASI) seems to be well made and well sealed. It arrived in 4 days, very well packaged.
I replaced the water pump and opti drive seals since both were leaking. I also replaced the plug wires. 7 and 8 are a PIA!
So I'm on the glide path now. Still need to install the new water pump and refill/bleed the cooling system. I took advantage of the strip down to clean the engine bay that I couldn't reach before.
I'm slow as hell and could never make a living as a mechanic.
Bob
Update
The new opti is installed and I was able to fire up the engine for a few seconds. It seemed to run just fine. It threw no codes during the brief run.
The Sac City opti (ASI) seems to be well made and well sealed. It arrived in 4 days, very well packaged.
I replaced the water pump and opti drive seals since both were leaking. I also replaced the plug wires. 7 and 8 are a PIA!
So I'm on the glide path now. Still need to install the new water pump and refill/bleed the cooling system. I took advantage of the strip down to clean the engine bay that I couldn't reach before.
I'm slow as hell and could never make a living as a mechanic.
Bob
Looks like you're doing good, clean work.
Yes, those plug wires are a PITA. Imagine trying to replace them with everything bolted back together, and you'll thank yourself for taking care of that while you have it all apart.
Don't forget to bleed the air out at both bleeder screws.
It's not a race, and nobody who does it for a living would be taking the time and using the care that you obviously are. And if you ever have to do it again, it'll go a lot faster and more easily, thanks to your experience and the fact that you took steps to keep the damper from seizing to the hub.
Good luck with it. I hope the new unit serves you well for a long time to come. Getting reliable replacements seems to be the biggest challenge these days.
Yes, those plug wires are a PITA. Imagine trying to replace them with everything bolted back together, and you'll thank yourself for taking care of that while you have it all apart.
Don't forget to bleed the air out at both bleeder screws.
It's not a race, and nobody who does it for a living would be taking the time and using the care that you obviously are. And if you ever have to do it again, it'll go a lot faster and more easily, thanks to your experience and the fact that you took steps to keep the damper from seizing to the hub.
Good luck with it. I hope the new unit serves you well for a long time to come. Getting reliable replacements seems to be the biggest challenge these days.
Live well,
SJW
Steve
Thanks for the great tips you gave me. I have learned a lot about this engine during this effort and I'm pretty sure I can handle most issues that I might encounter. This forum has really helped a lot.
Steve
Thanks for the great tips you gave me. I have learned a lot about this engine during this effort and I'm pretty sure I can handle most issues that I might encounter. This forum has really helped a lot.
I did some brief forensics on the old opti. It was a GM opti that had the Mitsubishi optics. The internals that I saw were slightly corroded and oil had gotten inside from a leak around the casing. I couldn't fully disassemble it so not sure what the optics looks like. The rotor and contacts were only slightly corroded. Overall, it didn't look too bad. I wish I could rebuild this to keep as a spare.
Last edited by Drifter36; 08-23-2017 at 06:29 PM.
Reason: Wording
08-20-2017, 08:43 PM
Started the tear down to replace opti
