Saw a video where the guy took the intake manifold off, but no reason was given as to why. Is it mandatory to remove it when replacing the dist. and water pump?

 

Not at all.
Drain coolant
Remove belt
Radiator hoses
Air intake
Water pump
Harmonic balancer
Disconnect plug wires from opti, mark them
Remove opti

 

Sounds like it should only take a couple hours . But it looks like an all day job .

 

I spent over 4 hours just getting the balancer off. Take your time and work carefully. Dan

 

The balancer is the PITA for sure. Other than that, things go reasonably straightforward. If memory serves, there are two water pump bolts that require sealer, and two that are a little bit of a challenge due to hoses or something like that (and those may be the same two bolts - I can remember).

 

No need but while your in there that gap at the bottom of the intake seems to always leak. I used "the right stuff"
I also pulled the power steering hard lines off and plugged the ports. I could just see myself smashing those lines
Mines a 1992

 

Mark the balancer

the factory balanced some "on the fly"

If you're doing the seals, the puller will fit between the PS cooler and the frame.

 

Balancer can only go on 1 way. Due to the spacing of the bolt holes.

 

I'm glad they did for you. You moved on from your opti-equipped car. I'm about to abandon mine too.

I am about to R&R the opti in my 1992 for the 5th time since October 2022. Here are some random thoughts as to what one can encounter on an opti R&R. R&R #1 was the 30 year old Delco that hadn't been off since the car was almost new when it was replaced because it quit.

The water pump had been leaking; the drive sleeve was rusted solid. It finally came off the stub on the engine but I was unable to get it off the old water-pump. Replacement drive sleeves are not available. I got one from a friend that had installed an electric pump on his Impala, and gave me his drive sleeve.

R&R #4: The water pump bolts (all 6) were badly rusted after 12 months. They came out, but were tight. I always use permatex #2 on water pump bolts, but something liquid rusted these bolts. I had also used felpro blue gaskets, which I don't really like. When the pump went on I used grey gaskets, permatex #2 on the threads, and anti-seize on the bolt shanks. I'm curious as to what I'll see for R&R #5.

The balancer: I bang it off with a long drift from under the car. Leave 1 bolt installed with just a couple of threads, or a longer bolt. When it pops off the hub, it won't fall and damage the hard line on the steering rack.

I remove the knock sensors to completely drain the block. Otherwise the coolant level is at the openings in the block at the water pump and will annoy you by always dripping into your work area. (Even more important if you are removing the opti for other work but not replacing it. You won't douche the opti when you remove the water pump.)

Remove the P/S cooler and let it hang. Access to the balancer bolts is better. Also for hub and seal renewal if you go for oil leaks.

When reinstalling the opti put a smear of RTV on the bolt shanks. These bolts are open to the timing cover gasket. After many years, the cover gasket may have developed a leak path to the bolt holes. The opti bolts will rain oil if not sealed, or the timing cover gasket is not renewed at the same time. Even with a new timing cover gasket, seal the opti bolts. (R&R #4 is still dry after 18 months.)

Oil leaks. When doing the opti, it is a good time to go ahead and address the oil seals and leaks. R&R #4 18 months ago was solely to address the leaks. There's a lot of work, but if the engine is leaking oil, now is a good opportunity to attempt to slow them down.

There are (3) seals in the timing cover. The distributor and crank seals aren't too fussy, particularly if you remove the oil pan and front cover and replace the seals with the cover on the bench.
> Do not attempt to install the water pump seal, (or the timing cover with the seal installed) without the special cone tool made for this installation! You will destroy the seal and have a massive oil leak if you try. The tool is available on amazon, summit, jegs, etc. About $8. Don't try it with out the tool.

R&R the balancer hub.
> You need the correct tools for the LT1. (Traditional SBC pullers will not work on the LT1!) Look in the center of the hub, you need to put a long bolt in the hole, or you'll just be pushing on the hub body and bend the ears.
> Raise the engine so the puller and installer will fit over the rack. Remove the nuts on the bottom of the forward mounts. Raise the engine about an inch and block it there for safety.
> When you reinstall the hub, there is no keyway. Rotate the engine to TDC #1. (Remove the spark plug and use a probe to find the piston top. Not critical, but get it close.) There is a nub on the balancer. Install on the crank with this nub at 12:00 with #1 on TDC.
> Torqueing the center hub bolt is a challenge. With the engine raised, the cooler out of the way, it is possible to get an impact on it. For a 6-speed put the trans in 4th, set the park brake hard, and use a breaker bar. For an automatic, good luck. (I wrap a piece of 6mm Spectra sailboat line CCW around the pulley and tie the end to the a-arm. The line will hold the crank from turning and allow adequate torque to be applied to the bolt. You could also try stuffing a cyl with rope through the plug hole. Be sure the cyl is on TDC firing, not valve overlap so nothing gets bent. I've never tried this method.)

TL;DR, but there's some of the things I've encountered during 4, about to be 5 opti R&Rs in the past 3 years.

Good luck.

 

Have to agree. I hate loosening and tightening the water pump bolts.

 

Sorry, should have been more specific
If you you pull the mount, it doesn't use the key
it's just pressed on.

 

@spluce : What brand / source are you going to use for your replacement opti?

I'm curious. My 2-1/2 year old Petris died 10 days ago. Petris has not responded, I think they will eventually, but I drive this car regularly; I need to get it running again.

I just sent an email to Brad "opti doctor" to see if he's interested in rebuilding my original Delco. I found a thread on bob is the oil guy where a guy claimed good success with Cardone NEW optis. A quick look at O'Reilly's shows it's $307, but special order, not in stock.

So for now, I've got a dead opti with no favorable options for a replacement. Just curious if others have any ideas I haven't thought of yet. Thanks.

 

This is correct. I learned this when doing the gaskets back in the spring.

 

Have you considered the torqhead setup that still uses the oem ecm?

 

Interesting. I had not previously investigated torqhead prior to you mentioning it. They say 6-8 weeks prior to shipping, and my guess is that means 3-6 months. It has a lot of proprietary electronics mounted in the heat of the radiator blowing on it. 1 year warranty, that's what a Petris has. And a $1,300 price. A bit much for a car I intend to sell cheap as soon as it is running again. Thank you, though.

 

Oh, you're definitely gonna part ways with it? I know there's been times that I've said to myself that I'm gonna sell the thing whenever something I didn't feel like messing with any more broke again. And then after I fix it I'm like...eh...it's an okay car, I'll keep it for a while longer.

 

I just noticed all that stuff around the radiator. Good point. For 1,300 one may as well go the full kit.

 

I've been following this thread with avid interest, as i have a 94 coming up on 90,000 miles with, as far as I know, it's original Opti and an LT4, that just had its Opti replaced 1,000 miles ago subsequent to intake manifold leak. The full Torqhead kit looks like it could be a great solution, even more so from the standpoint of converting to OBD-2, if originality isn't an issue. Were I in @IHBD's situation, having made the decision to sell the car, I'd be inclined, Petris willing, or an otherwise most economical route, have the car running so I could sell it and move on.

 

Ok. I just ordered a Cardone "new" distributor (Cardone P/N 84-1832 which is spline drive) from Rockauto. $140.79 plus tax and shipping, so about $160 USD. Cardone has a lifetime warranty, but I don't know how you process a claim if you bought it through Rockauto. It will be here in about a week.

I'll keep trying to get a response out of Petris, and if he's willing to fix the one that broke at some discount, I probably will do that. I can keep it around if the Cardone fails before the car sells (likely) or give it to the new owner when it sells.

Bottom line: I need to fix this POS as it is my second car. I drive it almost every day. When it's running. Thanks for reading. Cheers.

 

I now this thread is getting a little old, but did you get the new Cardone unit installed? If so, did you run into any issues?

Mine **** the bed late last month and I'm getting around to digging into it now. I've heard the same comments on the aftermarket opti's being trash as well, but it would be nice to know if there's some good aftermarket ones out there I could roll the dice on.

I'd also like to know if Sluce got their situation figured out as well.

Best of luck with the repairs for you and all future desperate C4 owners that come across this thread!

Thanks,