96ws6ramair

well i started to change my opti today all was good untill the crank hub. Does the crank hub have to come off and how? Bent one puller all ready this thing is tight. any help will be great

camzaro28

should not have to come off.

93z4me

when doing this there is an arrow casted on the hub for #1 cylinder. so make sure its at the 12 oclock position.cause theres no key for this hub. then remove the 3 bolts to move the balancer out of the way then dont for get center bolt also then find a hub puller to remove hub you might be able to use three way puller just be carefull not to damage crank bolt threads. i bought a puller/installer made job very easy.

96ws6ramair

i was using a puller the puller bent hub will not move

dhdenney

iTrader: (53)

Really I think you should have to remove the pulley only.

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

Take the 3 bolts out and get the Balancer off. You can do it with the Hub on, just turn it to where it clears. I did it last week.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

People wipe out pullers by pushing on the hub while trying to pull the hub, the LT1 setup is a little different than many others and usually requires a trip to the hardware store to get the right bolts to make it work. You need either a long bolt that threads in to push on or something that will reach the bottom of the snout hole without damaging threads in order to pull the hub. That said the guys saying you only need to pull the damper/pulley are right.

No need to turn the motor to number 1 TDC either the pin only goes in one of the slots on the opti or in the case of the older ones is splined to only go in one way.

The number 1 TDC crap is leftover from people dealing with conventional distributors where such measures are important.

REBORN Z28

iTrader: (1)

CamaroZ28, If you can swap an Opti without pulling that damn thing off ,come on over and show me. And while your at it show me a fast Mustang.

The hub HAS to come off. The Hanes manual, if I recall showed some nice holes for a puller. Of course mine had none. So a few tries with the three jawed puller and I had it off. 96 Capricemgr is right (of course) about the positioning when you put it back on. In my case, the bolts only line up one way on the shaft. Imagine a bolt hole at each point on a pontiac symbol, and trying to bolt something with the same bolt pattern on turned 90 degrees. AINT HAPPENIN.

moehorsepower

iTrader: (3)

I can tell you I have NEVER pulled the hub off to change out the opti, The ears on the hub are not concentric and if you turn the crank you will see that positioned correctly the opti will just clear the hub and come right off, If you want to pull off the hub you need to put a longer bolt in the crank and keep it threaded out otherwise you are not pushing against the crank when using the puller.

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

Basicaly what I said up there..^^

SAPPER

iTrader: (10)

Well, whatever was said in all this. But the hub, itself, does not have to come off for an Opti change. Period. As for the dampner/pulley. You do not have to align it any way when removing. It only goes on one way. The bolt holes only liune up one way. And for good measure, put some anti-seize on the part of the hub that the pulley slides on to. It goes on easier, you're able to turn it to align the holes, AND makes removal 100 times easier the next time you pull it.
Make sure to use a thread locker on your pulley bolts. Loctite, etc.

If you're trying to get it off the hub, After the 3 bolts are removed, LIGHTLY tap on the outer edge in a 12, 6 3, 9 o'clock pattern with a Rubber or plastic dead blow hammer to break it loose. Then grab it, wiggle, pull and turn. It'll come off. Oh and WD-40 or PB blaster works wonders.

maybe2fast

iTrader: (4)

are you sure the opti will only go on one way? there are three dowel slots (one bigger, the right one) and the two others. are you sure the opti will only go on one way?

ZFan88

iTrader: (4)

I went through the same thing until someone told me to rotate the hub. The spaces are not equal on all sides, and one will allow you to put the opti on pretty easy

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

Put the Dowell in the larger slot, or your timing will be off..The OPTI functions the same as a normal Distributor, it rotates inside firing on that Cylinder.

KTM

This is probably a dead issue by now...but just in case there is any doubt...the guys saying the hub doesn't have to come off are correct. I've done 4 opti changes (93 corvette, 94 T/A, 95 T/A, 95 camaro). Didn't take the hub off of any of them. The dampner (pully) has to come off - but not the hub. The opti will only go on one way correctly. Yes, there are three slots in it that appear to able to accept the pin - but only one of them is actually big enough for the pin to go in. You may be able to force the pin into the wrong one...but it should be clear if you look closely which one it goes in to.

maybe2fast

iTrader: (4)

thank you, and yes the balancer has to come off, but not the hub.

REBORN Z28

iTrader: (1)

The balancer has to come off. Not the hub. My bad. I think I was drinking when I did my original post.

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

^^ He sees the light...