how hard to change opti 
how hard to change opti
Yeah i cleared my photobucket album without thinking twice.. when i do the opti on my friends impala ill take thorough pictures
First of all, are you sure it's your opti? Do a search and do some research regarding symptoms of opti failure.
If you're sure it's your opti, it's not hard, actually the hardest part is removing the air pump/emissions stuff. You have to take off the water pump and if you know it's been a while since it's been replaced, you may want to take care of that too. Be careful and note which bolts come out of which holes for the water pump, they're not all the same length. Since you have to drain the radiator, now would also be the time to replace any hoses that look bad. You will need a wheel puller to take off the damper - rent it from the auto parts store. I did not have to take out the radiator, only the fans. I'd say three hours tops, about two for us "experts" who had to do it more than once.
Make sure you get a true AC/Delco opti. Don't get the eBay knockoffs, even if they say they are GM parts.
If you're sure it's your opti, it's not hard, actually the hardest part is removing the air pump/emissions stuff. You have to take off the water pump and if you know it's been a while since it's been replaced, you may want to take care of that too. Be careful and note which bolts come out of which holes for the water pump, they're not all the same length. Since you have to drain the radiator, now would also be the time to replace any hoses that look bad. You will need a wheel puller to take off the damper - rent it from the auto parts store. I did not have to take out the radiator, only the fans. I'd say three hours tops, about two for us "experts" who had to do it more than once.
Make sure you get a true AC/Delco opti. Don't get the eBay knockoffs, even if they say they are GM parts.
Keep in mind, that you only have to pull off the outer part of the crankshaft pulley by removing the 3 bolts, not the center hub. That is, if you have the OE pulley on there, and not an aftermarket piece, such as Fluidampr, TCI, etc...
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Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 49
Likes: 0
First of all, are you sure it's your opti? Do a search and do some research regarding symptoms of opti failure.
If you're sure it's your opti, it's not hard, actually the hardest part is removing the air pump/emissions stuff. You have to take off the water pump and if you know it's been a while since it's been replaced, you may want to take care of that too. Be careful and note which bolts come out of which holes for the water pump, they're not all the same length. Since you have to drain the radiator, now would also be the time to replace any hoses that look bad. You will need a wheel puller to take off the damper - rent it from the auto parts store. I did not have to take out the radiator, only the fans. I'd say three hours tops, about two for us "experts" who had to do it more than once.
Make sure you get a true AC/Delco opti. Don't get the eBay knockoffs, even if they say they are GM parts.
If you're sure it's your opti, it's not hard, actually the hardest part is removing the air pump/emissions stuff. You have to take off the water pump and if you know it's been a while since it's been replaced, you may want to take care of that too. Be careful and note which bolts come out of which holes for the water pump, they're not all the same length. Since you have to drain the radiator, now would also be the time to replace any hoses that look bad. You will need a wheel puller to take off the damper - rent it from the auto parts store. I did not have to take out the radiator, only the fans. I'd say three hours tops, about two for us "experts" who had to do it more than once.
Make sure you get a true AC/Delco opti. Don't get the eBay knockoffs, even if they say they are GM parts.
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Verdad Gallardo yea i did a spark test an i have no spark, an i was thinking my opti was goin bad because the car felt like it had no *****, it felt like it wasnt performaning like it should and i did some research an they said opti is one of the reasons an like a week later the opti went bad, an i have new waterpump so i dont need to change that an just all bout my hoses have been changed out too so i should be ready to go, so i assuming that if i mark the opti for the timing an the timing is off i have to put everything back on an check the timing an take everything back off to adjust it?
Launching!
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 201
Likes: 0
A quick way to get it started is to get the front of the car in the air, and unplug the petcock screw in the bottom Passengers side of the rad to get coolant draining. While it's draining, get the air intake, coil, AIR stuff and WP off. This is a good way to go, as you're making efficient use of time.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 49
Likes: 0
well i thought since the opti is the distributator like on my mustang wen changing the distrib. u have to adjust it just right to get the timing of the car just right or the car would run like **** until it was adjusted just right, so its diff with the opti u just have to put on place an bolt on an not worring bout marking it so it dont throw the timing off the car off an make it run like ****? or is that was the computer is for.
well i thought since the opti is the distributator like on my mustang wen changing the distrib. u have to adjust it just right to get the timing of the car just right or the car would run like **** until it was adjusted just right, so its diff with the opti u just have to put on place an bolt on an not worring bout marking it so it dont throw the timing off the car off an make it run like ****? or is that was the computer is for.
yea i did a spark test an i have no spark, an i was thinking my opti was goin bad because the car felt like it had no *****, it felt like it wasnt performaning like it should and i did some research an they said opti is one of the reasons an like a week later the opti went bad...
Don't see anything there that identifies the opti as the cause of your no spark condition.
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Syracuse, NY
I believe the original symptoms were, no start, backfiring out the intake when he tried. Then in another post he indicates that the engine will start(?) after a while.
