Opti install FML!
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 238
Likes: 1
From: Nashville
Opti install FML! Ok here it goes. I get my new opti in the mail I buy locktite rtv ect for the install. Well noone anywhere around me has the right star socket to get the damn cap off. Now what? Oh the water pump was missing the oring on the spline and the bolts was so loose I could hand turn them by hand! Finally get waterpump off and guess what, harness for opti was siliconed in because its JACKED! Its crushed absolutley destroyed. I'm taking pics of this **** so yall can see it. If the dealeship hadn't gotten washed away in the flood my happy *** would be there with a quickness since they replaced pump in feb. So autozone can't get me the tool or harness what am I gonna do now? Thanks for letting me rant
You should be able to get an opti harness online with no problem if yours is beyond repair. Also look online for a harbor freight, or northern tool store in your area. They should have the T5 bit your looking for.
the opti harness can be bought off summit racing or ebay... for ~$40. can you look for one used @ a salvage yard?
the opti install is no big deal i did it when i was 16 yrs old.. while the timing cover is out take a look @ the timing chain make sure its not sagging or loose. take ur time..good luck ill be replacing my optispark again something next week.
edit: purchased my opti harness from lsxtune.com for $28 shipped however if ur in a hurry they are Closed July 17, 2010 - July 23, 2010
the opti install is no big deal i did it when i was 16 yrs old.. while the timing cover is out take a look @ the timing chain make sure its not sagging or loose. take ur time..good luck ill be replacing my optispark again something next week.
edit: purchased my opti harness from lsxtune.com for $28 shipped however if ur in a hurry they are Closed July 17, 2010 - July 23, 2010
Last edited by GUGdaTHUG3; Jul 17, 2010 at 03:45 PM.
A dealership did your waterpump and jacked it all up?! I'd be irate! I got the tool out of Kragen's I think it was, its labeled as like a socket set for Mercedes or something crazy like that. Get the harness from lsxtune, they are a sponsor on here.
Edit: Also when I bought my MSD replacement cap and rotor it had come with a little tool for taking those screws out also.
Edit: Also when I bought my MSD replacement cap and rotor it had come with a little tool for taking those screws out also.
Trending Topics
Ok here it goes. I get my new opti in the mail I buy locktite rtv ect for the install. Well noone anywhere around me has the right star socket to get the damn cap off. Now what? Oh the water pump was missing the oring on the spline and the bolts was so loose I could hand turn them by hand! Finally get waterpump off and guess what, harness for opti was siliconed in because its JACKED! Its crushed absolutley destroyed. I'm taking pics of this **** so yall can see it. If the dealeship hadn't gotten washed away in the flood my happy *** would be there with a quickness since they replaced pump in feb. So autozone can't get me the tool or harness what am I gonna do now? Thanks for letting me rant
If you want to take the cap off just take a bolt out of the top of your throttle body. The piece that is plastic is held on by 6 bolts, the bolt has a E4 head. It even has a place on the bolt were you can attach some vice grips to and not hurt the threads (there is no threads on the bottom of the bolt). The rotor screws are not inverted and they are small. I thought they were a T8 or so but someone said T5 and they may be right. As for them you can go to sears and they have a set with the right size there. Hope this helps.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Five Reasons the Camaro Was the Most Pivotal Player in the Pony Car Wars 2.0
Brett Foote
10 Reasons the LS7 Is GM's Most Extreme Naturally Aspirated V8 Engine Ever
Verdad Gallardo
TECH Resident
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 787
Likes: 0
From: T E X A S
http://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/pro...roducts_id/912
cheapest opti harness i could find online, and it's been working fine in my car.
cheapest opti harness i could find online, and it's been working fine in my car.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,745
Likes: 18
From: Lansing, MI via Bowling Green, KY, Dalton GA, Nashville, TN & Atlanta, GA
What dealeship did your waterpump install, and what part of Nashville? I bought my '85 IROC from a dealer in Nashville. That's been so long ago I can't even remember their name. They used to be downtown, but moved out by Hickory Hollow mall several years ago. I want to say it was something like EB Smith Chevrolet, perhaps.
How is the recovery from the flood coming along? That was messed up. My hometown is Bowling Green, KY, and I also lived in Nashville around 1998 for just over a year. I guess BG got hit pretty hard too, but nothing like Nashville.
Opti re&re's arent that big of a job... messy but not hard. Like someone posted already all you need is one of the throttle body plate screws to take the cap off your new opti or an E4 inverted torx socket. Make sure you new water pump gaskets and good orange rtv to seal it up tight! also make sure you get a new opti shaft seal as they are prone to drying up and going. All preventitive measures to stay away from problems down the road. Opti harness's can be had as said on ebay, summit, and or rockauto.com which is where i shop for most of my parts. Cheap and fast shipping even when coming to Canada. Hope you get her back together and having fun with it again!
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 238
Likes: 1
From: Nashville
The place I bought the car was alexander chrysler in franklin. They basically threw it all together to sell it. There wasn't a single oring on the waterpump. Oh well its water under the bridge now. As for clean up its still going on. We got nailed pretty good here.
Update on install: 5 days to get harness from caspers paid 35 bucks so wasn't too bad. My lovely wife accidentlly tossed my new orings away so gotta replace those. Hope they sell them by themselves but doubt it. I did replace the opti seal since it was leaking a bit. Anyways taking a couple days off from messing with it so I don't get too frustrated.
Update on install: 5 days to get harness from caspers paid 35 bucks so wasn't too bad. My lovely wife accidentlly tossed my new orings away so gotta replace those. Hope they sell them by themselves but doubt it. I did replace the opti seal since it was leaking a bit. Anyways taking a couple days off from messing with it so I don't get too frustrated.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,745
Likes: 18
From: Lansing, MI via Bowling Green, KY, Dalton GA, Nashville, TN & Atlanta, GA
If you want genuine GM parts at reasonable prices, contact Jason Cromer at Sam Taylor Buick/Cadillac in Fort Walton Beach Florida. With shipping, I would be willing to bet his prices will be significantly cheaper than anyone else on most parts.
Always a good idea to collect a whole mess of parts before diving in to do the Opti. I replaced the harness, opti, and put a CSR electric water pump on all at once. I hate when the little parts get in the way of finishing a job lol
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
From: Chicago
I read/heard somewhere that if you remove one of the throttle body plate bolts (there are 6 of them and they require a torx bit), you can use the head of it (while holding the threads/body with vice grips or something) as the tool to remove those bolts. Can anyone verify this?
I read/heard somewhere that if you remove one of the throttle body plate bolts (there are 6 of them and they require a torx bit), you can use the head of it (while holding the threads/body with vice grips or something) as the tool to remove those bolts. Can anyone verify this?
I assume you did NOT read my post.....
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 238
Likes: 1
From: Nashville
Well most everything is back in minus the crank pulley. Just waiting on harness now. The screws from the throttle body worked perfect! Thanks for the advice. And next install will be a lot easier after this one. Once again I appreciate all the encouragement and advice.
