Opti Replacement

[ar0ck]

Has anyone replaced an opti themselves in their driveway? How long did it take, what did you need, and what else could I replace while im down there?

Im looking to replace the unit soon, or at least put in that new MSD Opti Replacement cap & rotor, top it off with some good plugs & wires.

Any suggestions?

[Blackbirdws6]

would love to give you an exact time, but I took mine off when I was going through a heads/cam job on my car. Most basic hand tools will be fine for the job, but someone that has done it more recently can give you a better idea. My guess is roughly a couple hours from the time you lay a wrench on a car. I dont remember it being bad at all, Takin the fans out will give you a lot more room btw.

[Squirrel]

Originally Posted by TransAm4Life

Has anyone replaced an opti themselves in their driveway? Â*How long did it take, what did you need, and what else could I replace while im down there?

Im looking to replace the unit soon, or at least put in that new MSD Opti Replacement cap & rotor, top it off with some good plugs & wires.

Any suggestions?

i'd suggest replacing the whole thing with a GM unit, because what if the failure didnt occur in the cap and rotor?, youd be doin it twice

[ar0ck]

Anyone know where I can get one at a real good price?

[bad64chevelle]

I can possibly get one for you at a decent price. I will h ave to make a few phone calls. It really isnt all that bad doing the opti, more of a PITA. I dont know where you are located, but I may be able to help you if you bring the car to me and I can toss it on my lift. Let me know.
Jon

[Pampered-Z]

You'll need to remove the cooling fans, coolant lines off of the water pump, intake ducting, the AIR pump and AIR pump bracket (to get to one of the studs AND the crank pulley. You'll need a three fingers puller to sperate the pulley from the hub.

Before you remove the opti, make sure the hub ( the three "fingers" where the pulley bolts to the hub ), and facing to form a Y. This will give you enough room to get the opti off without removing the hub.

If your water pump is old, replace that too. When the waterpump goes bad they normally leak on, and kill the opti. So replace the pump while you have the system drained.

Might as well do a 160 thermostat while your in there!

[Fastbird]

Originally Posted by TransAm4Life

Anyone know where I can get one at a real good price?

Call Jason Cromer, the parts guy at Sam Taylor Buick Cadillac. He can get you a brand new GM vented opti for $239. www.samtaylor.com 877-726-8295

To do the opti:

Disconnect battery.
Jack up car, get front end up in air enough to get under car and access the front of the motor.
Use a 13mm socket, and remove the serpentine belt.
Using a 5/8 socket, remove the three retaining bolts from the crank hub (remember to have the car in gear if it's an M6).
Using a 3 prong pulley puller, remove the crank pulley.
Make sure that one of the crank HUB arms is pointing straight down, this helps with opti removal.
Go topside, and remove the intake ducting, including elbow.
Open the two bleeder screws on the coolant lines and remove the radiator cap.
Go back down below and drain the radiator. Once it's drained, put the plug back in. **User Preference** I don't drain the block, I let the residual drain down the front of the motor. It's not going to hurt the opti since you're replacing it. If you want to, find the block drain plugs and drain the block.
Disconnect all coolant lines from the water pump. BE PREPARED for a mess.
Once the lines are properly drained, move them out of the way.
Remove the radiator fans. Disconnect the electrical connectors and free the wires from the holders. Push up on the whole fan assembly, then let fall back and remove from the bottom of the car.
Back up top, using a 14mm bolt remove all six water pump screws.
Remove the water pump.
Disconnect the plug wires from the opti.
Using a 10MM socket, remove the three retaining bolts from the opti.
Pull straight back and the opti will come free.

Installation is reverse of removal. The opti drive has three holes in it, only one of which the cam dowel pin is supposed to go in. That one is the one with the rectangular extension in it.

Should take you about 2 hours from start to opti off. It's not all inclusive, but this is most of the stuff. Any questions just shoot me an email.