Cracks me up that people think these engines are impossible to work on lol I built the LT1 in my 95 Trans Am from top to bottom in my driveway with only basic handtools!! These old LT1's were very advanced for their time and are great running engines, just different from most sbc and I think that's what scares most people away from them, not me though!! Luv my LT1
Dude not only are you a good personality but you went through all the bullshit im about to face for the second time with the opti. Thank you for going over the seals. Ive also heard that taking the timing cover off to swap out the gears and bearings is an even better refresh. Probably one of the best F-Body videos ever uploaded, thank you brother!
My Z28 needed a new optispark, plugs, and wires a few years ago. I didn't want to mess with it myself, so I let the Chevy dealer do it because everything came with a lifetime warranty. I really enjoyed your video.
DUDE this is an awesome video! I had a '93 Z28 that was having a whole assortment of problems from this exact component! Paid a pretty penny for it to be done in the shop along with pump and plug wires. But after seeing you do this with a camera in one hand, I will be doing this next time on my new '96 Z28 💀 Definitely a pain in the ass job by all means, but 100% possible with time!
Thank you. I'm about to buy a 94 Z that has a leaking Optispark seal. This video just eased a lot of my worries in buying it for my son. We're definitely going to buy it now!!!
Mann i had a 95 Trans Am... replacing the optispark / plugs / wires with the original manifold was a fucking nightmare. Well done brother, give this man his flowers
I’m not great working on cars. I can do a few things, breaks, oil change, blah blah blah… this video made me want to learn how to do all this stuff though. Helps that I have a 94 Z28 as well. This video just played after something else I was watching and I was glued to it.
Im doing this all step by step man I already had to take the opti back and get a machined 1 because of your video I knew right away wasn't machined I just took the fan out getting there thanks man
i was just watching this bc i have an lt1 swapped jaguar and its Lt stuff, but there was so much more useful stuff than I thought in here, bc right now im changing my plugs and wires, and it is the biggest pain in my ass trying to get the odd side of the wires into the opti, but now that I see how easy it is to get the harmonic balancer off it just opens a whole new path of less pain trying to do this. This guy also did a great job at showing how to do these tasks.
If you have a 1997 LT1 It just has a Pin on the Camshaft that slides right in. I've replaced my Opti-Spark 5 Times before I got the 24x kit from TorqHead(LS2 Coils and LS Computer using the stock wiring harness) I also take out my Radiator when I take my Opti out. 25:49 Every LT1 Owner when the Opti goes out. Lmao...This is by Far The Best LT1 Opti install video on RUclips!!
@@woooose If it's a good one than it should be fine but, once it goes out just buy a MSD-Opti (comes w/timing adjuster) for $500 because all the cheaper last about a year at the most. Or you can be like me an spend $1,000 on a TorqHead Kit so you can run a (Tunable) LS computer with Coils and never had to worry about the Opti ever again.
@@woooose I'm at 140K miles on the original opti on my 1997. Still fires up first crank and runs smooth. I did do plugs as wires when I installed my headers a few years ago, but just to give you an idea.
This is one of the best tune up tutorial for camaros and lt1 engines, thanks for share and explain, hello from mexico michoacan i have one z28 94 i purschased in atlanta and travel to michoacan with this one
Really good work, and excellent at explaining it. I'm a retired teacher just getting into car stuff; just bought a '95, and love it. This video is helpful in ways that are not relevant to the repair being done. Wish you lived in my town, bravo, I'll be watching more.
Dee: Awesome vid, I learned a ton from you. My Firehawk has factory exhaust manifolds so changing out the plugs my be slightly less time consuming. Thanks for making this informative vid, we do appreciate it .
What it is is the vac dead ends the two facing rings cut them off the caps were not updated take a set of wire cutters and cut a quarter inch knotch matching at 6;00 on bottom it will suck any water right out and rust gasses etc and wont flex the cap till it loosens and lets water in . Even submerging it in flood has no effect and its 12 degrees at idle touch the peddle and lightning strikes to 36 degrees Thats faster than any distributor in stead of springs and mechanical advance lightning strikes lol optispark fixed my way 50 years before its time I love my opti
U have me Rollin watching ur videos. Some of the things u say crack me up. U have some done some really great work. Specially being at home on your back I am a haveyline tech for a car lot. I have a 98 camaro 3800 that I am working on while using as a daily. Lol the struggle real! Lmao
Nicely done. The only thing that's confusing is how you got the harmonic balancer bracket off. There has to be a proper tool set that makes that part much easier than the custom craziness you had to do.
Nice video lots of information for people who haven't done this before I've replaced so many of these things lol haven't given up on the lt1 yet though
Man what a great video. I have to to this probably soon as I’m still on my original unit but this makes it look quite doable and all your tricks for the gaskets are great thanks!
I just changed out the spark plugs in my 1994 Z28, it took me 2 days. The front 3 sparks plugs on that passingers side I could get to from the top, that infamous back spark plug has to be taken out from underneath, you have to jack the car up and remove the starter to get to it. The front 3 spark plugs on the drivers side I could remove from the top and the back spark plug you have to jack the car up and remove from underneath. Ive replaced the optispark 2 times in 5 years.
Awesome informative video btw, found your channel today and actually considered doing a turbo 3800 myself. Hope your doing well in your endeavors and thank you for the quality content !
Very informative. Having just purchased a ‘95 Z28 with only 54K I was interested in the opti-spark maintenance. The oops with the harmonic balancer bracket could happen to anyone. I generally don’t like hammering on anything like that and the “dummy” bolt into the crank was a best practice so you did not harm the crank or its threads. I hate pulling harmonic balancer or pulleys off. Ever try a water pump drive pulley on a Northstar? The “pressed on a shaft” removal/replacement of pulleys gives me the willies...
GREAT JOB I JUST SOLD MY 1997 CAMARO THAT I BOUGHT 1997 WITH ONLY 200 MILES ON IT NOW 24 YEARS LATER STILL RUNS WELL BUT BODY STRUTTS SHOCKS ECT WERE REALLY FEELING ROUGH I SOLD IT TO MY BROTHER HE HAS IT NOW AND I FOUND A 1995 Z28 AT A CHURCH AND ITS THE SAME COLOR BLACK RACE STRIPES EVERYTHING GOOD JOB THAT CAR SOUNDS UST LIKE MINE AND YES SPARK PLUGS WAY OFF I STARTED LAUGHING SORRY NO WONDER ITS NOT RUNNING RIGHT BRO WHEN I CHANGED MINE OMG VERY TIGHT HAD TO LIFT THE TRANS A BIT MOTOR AND ALL JUST O GET THE BACK PLUG ON GOSHHHHH AND BROKE MY OIL SENSOR IN THE PROSSES LESSON LEARNED [GOOD JOB BRO].....I'M 60 NOW SO PLEASE FORGIVE MY SPELLING TO LAZY TO GO BACK AND CORRECT.
Save yourself headaches, dump the optic spark for Torqhead 24X system. It's a plug and play one coil over every sparkplug system. Not only does it make the system 100% reliable but also a big increase in performace up to 25 hp and 25 tq, plus you get an OB11 computer system from a 2002 F-body.
Nice job. 100 percent right on the aftermarket opti….Crap!!! Always buy the OEM opti spark . AC Delco/ Delphi opti. Unless you like doing the job multiplie times cause you will with aftermarket opti sparks. Do it right the first time with the right part. Very good video!!!
Great video. What's the advantage, if any, to locating the distributer on the front of the engine under the water pump which will leak and destroy the opti-spark? I'm 68 and used to work on my own car( 69' Ford Fairlane) basic maintenance and the distributer was on top in plain site of the engine and the water pump was attached by a few bolts. GM makes everything ridiculous to do yourself as all the Auto Corporations do. You did a great job tackling the problems that came up during the install. I'm a subscriber now. I'm thinking of buying a C4 Corvette but all I hear is don't but the ones with the opti spark. There's a guy named Lyle who owns a Corvette shop in Florida who post videos and what models to buy. He said it cost 1800.00 to do what you just did on the Corvette. After seeing your video that's hard to believe. Unless their is more access problems with the vette. Excellent video and the " jeez Louise" was priceless. That engine sounds like the old muscle cars from the 60's and early 70's. I miss that sound. Excellent job. I'm now going to get a Camaro or Vette with the LT1 5.7. Best part they are real wheel drive, more fun.
Great vid ! Question -why would you have to set to TDC if the splines are machined to only go on one way ? Is this because the opti would be crooked and not bolt on ? I have not moved (turned) my motor since I pulled the old opti off .
Do those ignition wires that's hooked together plugged into the coil do they connect to each other. Or one is from the harness and the other goes to the coil.
Think you did an amzing JOB to be honest i think you took your time and went above and beyond to make sure you didnt just slap her together your friend better be thankful !
Unless he prefers to work alone and/or got paid, his friend should have been there every step of the way in my opinion. I have a 96 Firebird LT1 and have only had to replace plugs and wires since getting it and even that was the worst struggle I've ever had in 50 years of wrenching. I bought a new OEM Opti when I got the car and was going to replace it at the same time as plugs and wires just because I have it, but nope. It's going to get run until it won't before I tackle that at my age and with a 4 time loser back. 🤣
@@DeeStruggles I hear you. If I have anyone around they have skills and experience so I don't have to babysit. Thanks for the video! I just found it but nothing has changed tackling F-body's since you made it. It still sucks. 🤣 Did you ever do more work on this car? Does your friend still have it?
Great video man, very professional. I despise these cars and cant stand working on them and watching u struggle with this car was a fresh reminder why I dont fool with these cars any more. Most mechanics i know will not work on these cars or allow them in their shop, sorry for the rant but anyways great job keep up the good work.
@@nicotoscani8270 oh yes they are. If it's your own car then it's not too bad. But, It if your working on someone else's lt1 car, then you will understand that everything takes 3 times longer than it should and you cant charge the customer for all the extra hours so you have to eat hours of hard work for no pay and if something breaks which will happen then the customer always gets pissed off and trying to find good parts is very hard and some parts are ridiculously expensive. Not worth the risk for a small repair shop to tie up all their time and effort working on one of these cars for a loss where they can turn it away and get much more productive jobs done and actually stay in business. All the repair shop owners I know in my area refuse to work on these cars because they loose money everytime they touch them. Like I said not the worst if it's your own car but not worth it if it's someone else's car.
Nice work Dee! I have to do this same job on a 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham 5.7L LT1 coming up soon, this video answered a lot of my questions. Thank you for posting this, very helpful!
Good evening, my name is Javier. I have a 1992 corvette and I am going to change optispark soon. I am following your video and see the tool used to put the water pump seal with the sharpie marker. I live in Spain and there are not sharpie here. Can you tell me the dimensions of the outer diameter of the marker to look for something similar here, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much greetings and good video. I will follow him for my change of optispark.
Hey Dee.. I removed my harmonic balancer with the same puller you rented.. just use your 3 water pump bolts with the upper shock mount nuts and in the puller kit I used the black long threaded bolt to put in the center of crank and a couple turns on the puller threaded rod the Harmonic balancer comes off all in one piece...
I have a 97 Z/28 Camaro with the LT1. The engine was rebuilt just before I bought it. I am having trouble with the engine running really rough at lower ram. When I get the rpm's up to about 2500 the engine smooths right out and has plenty of power. I have engine codes that read crank shaft position sensor and ignition system issues. I am a Ford guy and I must admit that the Chevy is a whole different animal!!! Any suggestions??I do enjoy your content very much. Any ideas would be appreciated!!
The top seal is actually the water pump seal, not the cam seal. Good video for sure but you don't have to have the motor at TDC to install the Opti on any year of the LT1. I have done this job so many times I can do it in a couple of hours lol.
I'm doing my 97 30th anniversary Z28 going to do rad , waterpump opti , and also gonna do timing chain set while I'm down that far how come he didnt have you do it while you got it down that far still good tips and nice to see someone else do it spark plugs were scaring me with it so far back
Solid job. No shortcuts. Took a few days but, better to take your time and do it right once. The '93-'97 F bodies are great cars but, that Optispark was a complete FUBAR by GM.
@@jacobcarrillo933 Took me about 2 hrs maybe alittle more I had to take off the alternator from on top to make room to do the spark plugs on passenger side... Driver side is easier to do
I have the 94 Z28 t top white/gray stripe and I can do the front 6 plugs/wires from the top and back 2 from the bottom. It’s the passenger side front 2 wires that suck cactus. Awesome car when you get past the plastification.
When you put the top seal in the cover it was done wrong. The yellow seal has to be inverted and so you need a tool for that. That will eventually leak again. Probably all ready is by now. You should have also run rtv under the cap seams to keep any oil or coolant front getting in.
God job man! You’re a very patient mechanic, LT1 engines are not the kindest engines to work on.
Man tell me about it I would have been took that shit to the shop I have a 94 and I be scared just to pop the hood lol
@@AAEPODCAST same!
If this job isnt done right you're going go through a lot of optisparks..Chinese knockoffs are a no! I know this by experience on my caprice ppv.
@@blkpopeye Order the legit product yourself then take it to the mechanic to make sure so they dont buy junk.
You aren’t fucking kidding by the time I was done with mine I wanted to push it out in the fucking yard and burn it.
Cracks me up that people think these engines are impossible to work on lol
I built the LT1 in my 95 Trans Am from top to bottom in my driveway with only basic handtools!!
These old LT1's were very advanced for their time and are great running engines, just different from most sbc and I think that's what scares most people away from them, not me though!! Luv my LT1
I have that engine on my 95 z28
Amber you mean your boyfriend did the work...come on now
@@gmain1977 🤣🤣
Dude not only are you a good personality but you went through all the bullshit im about to face for the second time with the opti. Thank you for going over the seals. Ive also heard that taking the timing cover off to swap out the gears and bearings is an even better refresh. Probably one of the best F-Body videos ever uploaded, thank you brother!
My Z28 needed a new optispark, plugs, and wires a few years ago. I didn't want to mess with it myself, so I let the Chevy dealer do it because everything came with a lifetime warranty. I really enjoyed your video.
This is a damn good upload in my opinion....not over complicated and it's to the point where its easy to understand for ANYONE.
DUDE this is an awesome video!
I had a '93 Z28 that was having a whole assortment of problems from this exact component!
Paid a pretty penny for it to be done in the shop along with pump and plug wires.
But after seeing you do this with a camera in one hand, I will be doing this next time on my new '96 Z28 💀
Definitely a pain in the ass job by all means, but 100% possible with time!
Thank you. I'm about to buy a 94 Z that has a leaking Optispark seal. This video just eased a lot of my worries in buying it for my son. We're definitely going to buy it now!!!
The best damn LT1 video I seen on RUclips thanks a lot bro
I have that very same car 96 z28 lt1 and I believe I have that very same problem crank seal
Mann i had a 95 Trans Am... replacing the optispark / plugs / wires with the original manifold was a fucking nightmare. Well done brother, give this man his flowers
I’m not great working on cars. I can do a few things, breaks, oil change, blah blah blah… this video made me want to learn how to do all this stuff though. Helps that I have a 94 Z28 as well. This video just played after something else I was watching and I was glued to it.
thank you so much for walking this through for the camaro faithful
I did this job and many others on my LT corvette. This is a very good video with lots of tips on how to do things the right way.
Dude your video is awesome and hilarious! Thanks so much for your public service. Bravo.
Im doing this all step by step man I already had to take the opti back and get a machined 1 because of your video I knew right away wasn't machined I just took the fan out getting there thanks man
i was just watching this bc i have an lt1 swapped jaguar and its Lt stuff, but there was so much more useful stuff than I thought in here, bc right now im changing my plugs and wires, and it is the biggest pain in my ass trying to get the odd side of the wires into the opti, but now that I see how easy it is to get the harmonic balancer off it just opens a whole new path of less pain trying to do this. This guy also did a great job at showing how to do these tasks.
Thats still going to be pain you take off alternator and jack it up Buy moroso wires 7mm and they are numbered
its getting them in line over behind the power steering pump in line up groves thats hard
Good job and very informative! I have a 97 Z28 and have been a little scared of the optispark system, but not anymore!
Hey I am currently building my 97 z28 and I have a few questions
there easy just be at top dead center,
I thought I was the only one to run into multiple compilations for one job that isn’t so easy to begin with lol
Very nicely narrarated, very good camera work, and a great mental disposition considering the challenge. I salute you..
thank you so much. im attempting this finally. i admit im scared to do it. but your video is extremely informative. i really really appreciate this
If you have a 1997 LT1 It just has a Pin on the Camshaft that slides right in. I've replaced my Opti-Spark 5 Times before I got the 24x kit from TorqHead(LS2 Coils and LS Computer using the stock wiring harness) I also take out my Radiator when I take my Opti out. 25:49 Every LT1 Owner when the Opti goes out. Lmao...This is by Far The Best LT1 Opti install video on RUclips!!
I just bought a 1997 lt1 for my daily(72k miles), should I be prepared for my optispark to go out often?
@@woooose If it's a good one than it should be fine but, once it goes out just buy a MSD-Opti (comes w/timing adjuster) for $500 because all the cheaper last about a year at the most. Or you can be like me an spend $1,000 on a TorqHead Kit so you can run a (Tunable) LS computer with Coils and never had to worry about the Opti ever again.
@@woooose I'm at 140K miles on the original opti on my 1997. Still fires up first crank and runs smooth. I did do plugs as wires when I installed my headers a few years ago, but just to give you an idea.
Best video ever especially working on a f body there is no room even the v6 spark plugs are hard to change Great Job and thank you so much.
What a good video my friend, it was an epic fight, it brought back memories. Thank you very much for sharing
You did a great job of explaining what you were doing, and well done!
This is one of the best tune up tutorial for camaros and lt1 engines, thanks for share and explain, hello from mexico michoacan i have one z28 94 i purschased in atlanta and travel to michoacan with this one
Good job Dee struggles i tell you the 💪struggle💪 is real in the field!!!
Awesome video man!! Very informative and awesome tricks and tips with the screw and highlighter. 👍
Really good work, and excellent at explaining it. I'm a retired teacher just getting into car stuff; just bought a '95, and love it. This video is helpful in ways that are not relevant to the repair being done. Wish you lived in my town, bravo, I'll be watching more.
Dee: Awesome vid, I learned a ton from you. My Firehawk has factory exhaust manifolds so changing out the plugs my be slightly less time consuming. Thanks for making this informative vid, we do appreciate it .
I have a 95 Camaro LT1 and I'm due to change out the plugs. This video is definitely going to be my go to for advice.
Just from doing this myself I would have changed the water pump also. Those wipe opti sparks like crazy.
What it is is the vac dead ends the two facing rings cut them off the caps were not updated
take a set of wire cutters and cut a quarter inch knotch matching at 6;00 on bottom it will suck any water right out
and rust gasses etc and wont flex the cap till it loosens and lets water in .
Even submerging it in flood has no effect and its 12 degrees at idle touch the peddle and lightning strikes to 36 degrees
Thats faster than any distributor in stead of springs and mechanical advance lightning strikes lol
optispark fixed my way 50 years before its time I love my opti
Great job I just got a 1994 Chevy Camero when I seen this engine I was just blown away by the design of it.
So yes I'm ready to learn some new tricks.
Hell of a job, you're a patient man. Good stuff.
U have me Rollin watching ur videos. Some of the things u say crack me up. U have some done some really great work. Specially being at home on your back I am a haveyline tech for a car lot. I have a 98 camaro 3800 that I am working on while using as a daily. Lol the struggle real! Lmao
Nicely done. The only thing that's confusing is how you got the harmonic balancer bracket off. There has to be a proper tool set that makes that part much easier than the custom craziness you had to do.
You explained everything 100 percent, brother, thank you.
Nice video lots of information for people who haven't done this before I've replaced so many of these things lol haven't given up on the lt1 yet though
Awesome video, lots of good tips. I got a 97 z28
Man what a great video. I have to to this probably soon as I’m still on my original unit but this makes it look quite doable and all your tricks for the gaskets are great thanks!
my boy has 1995 z28 will be tackling on same job, thanks ur video helps a lot.
I just changed out the spark plugs in my 1994 Z28, it took me 2 days. The front 3 sparks plugs on that passingers side I could get to from the top, that infamous back spark plug has to be taken out from underneath, you have to jack the car up and remove the starter to get to it. The front 3 spark plugs on the drivers side I could remove from the top and the back spark plug you have to jack the car up and remove from underneath. Ive replaced the optispark 2 times in 5 years.
I like this video… thoroughly!
Hell of a job!
Thank you, for sharing!
Great job, good explanations for a difficult job
Awesome informative video btw, found your channel today and actually considered doing a turbo 3800 myself. Hope your doing well in your endeavors and thank you for the quality content !
You did alright... i have a 94 done the opti many many times... the plugs are the worst .. finally went 24x ... totally different creature
Watched this just now because my Opti is on its way from Summit Racing.. about to tackle the same job on my 94 lt1 TA wish me luck LOL !
good very informative..Did you use a pulley puller
Great job on the video. Keep up the good work
Very informative. Having just purchased a ‘95 Z28 with only 54K I was interested in the opti-spark maintenance. The oops with the harmonic balancer bracket could happen to anyone. I generally don’t like hammering on anything like that and the “dummy” bolt into the crank was a best practice so you did not harm the crank or its threads. I hate pulling harmonic balancer or pulleys off. Ever try a water pump drive pulley on a Northstar? The “pressed on a shaft” removal/replacement of pulleys gives me the willies...
Man I got horrible flashbacks reading you say northstar water pump pulley 😶
Hi , I bought my sons 1995 camaro really In good condition it is the z28 the 5.7 V8 what do you have to to change the spark plugs
GREAT JOB I JUST SOLD MY 1997 CAMARO THAT I BOUGHT 1997 WITH ONLY 200 MILES ON IT NOW 24 YEARS LATER STILL RUNS WELL BUT BODY STRUTTS SHOCKS ECT WERE REALLY FEELING ROUGH I SOLD IT TO MY BROTHER HE HAS IT NOW AND I FOUND A 1995 Z28 AT A CHURCH AND ITS THE SAME COLOR BLACK RACE STRIPES EVERYTHING GOOD JOB THAT CAR SOUNDS UST LIKE MINE AND YES SPARK PLUGS WAY OFF I STARTED LAUGHING SORRY NO WONDER ITS NOT RUNNING RIGHT BRO WHEN I CHANGED MINE OMG VERY TIGHT HAD TO LIFT THE TRANS A BIT MOTOR AND ALL JUST O GET THE BACK PLUG ON GOSHHHHH AND BROKE MY OIL SENSOR IN THE PROSSES LESSON LEARNED [GOOD JOB BRO].....I'M 60 NOW SO PLEASE FORGIVE MY SPELLING TO LAZY TO GO BACK AND CORRECT.
Save yourself headaches, dump the optic spark for Torqhead 24X system. It's a plug and play one coil over every sparkplug system. Not only does it make the system 100% reliable but also a big increase in performace up to 25 hp and 25 tq, plus you get an OB11 computer system from a 2002 F-body.
But what if it goes wrong? And i do not live in USA have a 95 T/A and my car not starting
Nice job. 100 percent right on the aftermarket opti….Crap!!! Always buy the OEM opti spark . AC Delco/ Delphi opti. Unless you like doing the job multiplie times cause you will with
aftermarket opti sparks. Do it right the first time with the right part.
Very good video!!!
I'm buying one. Want to tune it up? Lol Very informational. Thank you
Took me about three hours to finally start the threads and that front passenger side spark plug. Stock exhaust manifolds make it very difficult
Great video. What's the advantage, if any, to locating the distributer on the front of the engine under the water pump which will leak and destroy the opti-spark? I'm 68 and used to work on my own car( 69' Ford Fairlane) basic maintenance and the distributer was on top in plain site of the engine and the water pump was attached by a few bolts. GM makes everything ridiculous to do yourself as all the Auto Corporations do. You did a great job tackling the problems that came up during the install. I'm a subscriber now.
I'm thinking of buying a C4 Corvette but all I hear is don't but the ones with the opti spark. There's a guy named Lyle who owns a Corvette shop in Florida who post videos and what models to buy. He said it cost 1800.00 to do what you just did on the Corvette. After seeing your video that's hard to believe. Unless their is more access problems with the vette.
Excellent video and the " jeez Louise" was priceless. That engine sounds like the old muscle cars from the 60's and early 70's. I miss that sound. Excellent job. I'm now going to get a Camaro or Vette with the LT1 5.7. Best part they are real wheel drive, more fun.
Great vid ! Question -why would you have to set to TDC if the splines are machined to only go on one way ? Is this because the opti would be crooked and not bolt on ? I have not moved (turned) my motor since I pulled the old opti off .
It has to do with the Harmonic balance and bracket there’s no lineup key for it so it has to be at TDC to reinstall it properly
Yeah a LT1 94 Camro Z28 is the first car I ever got. I’m gunna have to also work on it since it’s my first car with a job like this.
Do those ignition wires that's hooked together plugged into the coil do they connect to each other. Or one is from the harness and the other goes to the coil.
Think you did an amzing JOB to be honest i think you took your time and went above and beyond to make sure you didnt just slap her together your friend better be thankful !
Unless he prefers to work alone and/or got paid, his friend should have been there every step of the way in my opinion.
I have a 96 Firebird LT1 and have only had to replace plugs and wires since getting it and even that was the worst struggle I've ever had in 50 years of wrenching. I bought a new OEM Opti when I got the car and was going to replace it at the same time as plugs and wires just because I have it, but nope. It's going to get run until it won't before I tackle that at my age and with a 4 time loser back. 🤣
Yes I got paid and prefer to work alone making these repair videos are challenging enough having someone over your shoulder would be more complicated
@@DeeStruggles I hear you. If I have anyone around they have skills and experience so I don't have to babysit.
Thanks for the video! I just found it but nothing has changed tackling F-body's since you made it. It still sucks. 🤣
Did you ever do more work on this car? Does your friend still have it?
That was the last bit of work I did on that car and he did sell it
Those water pumps do look cool
Perfect Job. Very detailed and creative. I'll be fixing mine tonight. Thanks for the video
Excellent video my brother I like it you did a excellent job and it is greatly appreciated
Great video Bro! 👍🏿 I saw some things that made me cringe. Lol. That thing with the hub removal and install😳😬.
Great video man, very professional. I despise these cars and cant stand working on them and watching u struggle with this car was a fresh reminder why I dont fool with these cars any more. Most mechanics i know will not work on these cars or allow them in their shop, sorry for the rant but anyways great job keep up the good work.
Jesus, they’re not THAT bad. Lol
@@nicotoscani8270 oh yes they are. If it's your own car then it's not too bad. But, It if your working on someone else's lt1 car, then you will understand that everything takes 3 times longer than it should and you cant charge the customer for all the extra hours so you have to eat hours of hard work for no pay and if something breaks which will happen then the customer always gets pissed off and trying to find good parts is very hard and some parts are ridiculously expensive. Not worth the risk for a small repair shop to tie up all their time and effort working on one of these cars for a loss where they can turn it away and get much more productive jobs done and actually stay in business. All the repair shop owners I know in my area refuse to work on these cars because they loose money everytime they touch them. Like I said not the worst if it's your own car but not worth it if it's someone else's car.
@@nicotoscani8270 this car killed the Camaro. Think about that. Yeah, I owned one, and they ARE indeed THAT bad.
@@paulmahon1613 I STILL own one and they’re not that bad. Love my LT1 Camaro.
Nice work Dee!
I have to do this same job on a 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham 5.7L LT1 coming up soon, this video answered a lot of my questions. Thank you for posting this, very helpful!
Man thanks for this video it helped me a lot
Man,you didn't do a good job on dat dare car...you done a GREAT JOB. You are the bomb!!! That was GREAT.
Good job dee. How much would you charge to go through that again??
Did my entire optispark thru this video im not done yet lmao
Good evening, my name is Javier. I have a 1992 corvette and I am going to change optispark soon. I am following your video and see the tool used to put the water pump seal with the sharpie marker. I live in Spain and there are not sharpie here. Can you tell me the dimensions of the outer diameter of the marker to look for something similar here, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much greetings and good video. I will follow him for my change of optispark.
Looking for a good reliable optispark and wires, any advice on a particular brand or part number?
Thanks!
running pretty smooth
Watching this makes me want to sell my 95 z28 lol
how long would you say just the optispark job only would take for a decent first timer?
Maybe four hours unless you have to change the seals
I have a 94 Z28 LT-1 5.7 had to replace the push rods what is the torque spec for the rockers
Hey Dee.. I removed my harmonic balancer with the same puller you rented.. just use your 3 water pump bolts with the upper shock mount nuts and in the puller kit I used the black long threaded bolt to put in the center of crank and a couple turns on the puller threaded rod the Harmonic balancer comes off all in one piece...
i wish you had a video of how to
I’m about to buy a z28 tomorrow and I think that’s the same thing that’s wrong with the one I’m buying, thanks for the video
GENERAL MOTORS AT THERE FINEST !!
I have a 97 Z/28 Camaro with the LT1. The engine was rebuilt just before I bought it. I am having trouble with the engine running really rough at lower ram. When I get the rpm's up to about 2500 the engine smooths right out and has plenty of power. I have engine codes that read crank shaft position sensor and ignition system issues. I am a Ford guy and I must admit that the Chevy is a whole different animal!!! Any suggestions??I do enjoy your content very much. Any ideas would be appreciated!!
The top seal is actually the water pump seal, not the cam seal. Good video for sure but you don't have to have the motor at TDC to install the Opti on any year of the LT1. I have done this job so many times I can do it in a couple of hours lol.
good job on the seal install
Very well detailed, thanks! Working on my dads old z28 LT1
Very methodic and informative, great video.
The pulley just comes off with the bolts out?
Thank you for the translation.
Not bad man good job. Explain very well in the video. I have a 94 Corvette what a pain in the ass to do that. Chevy should’ve just use coil packs👌
What were the size of the 3 bolts you used to pull it and the size of the bolt you had extended on the crank when pulling it off
I'm doing my 97 30th anniversary Z28 going to do rad , waterpump opti , and also gonna do timing chain set while I'm down that far how come he didnt have you do it while you got it down that far still good tips and nice to see someone else do it spark plugs were scaring me with it so far back
I got one this year,..it'll be my project next year come spring...please help....lol!
Great video I was thinking about making one to detail exactly what you did but obviously you beat me to it !
Man it’s crazy how smooth you do this. By the time I was done with my car I was ready to push it out in the motherfucking yard and burn it.
Nice tip @ 13:30. I used this. Thanks!
I'm trying to change my plugs out...it get extremely frustrating...1994 z with same type of headers. Passenger side...is insanely hard.
Still hard as hell on an ls1 car
Solid job. No shortcuts. Took a few days but, better to take your time and do it right once.
The '93-'97 F bodies are great cars but, that Optispark was a complete FUBAR by GM.
Twistidy do da! you did it! Thanks
What's about timing do you line some up with something thanks for info
Good video👍🏼 I just changed my spark plugs on my 94 z28
How long did it take you....I get Frustrated...I have to take brakes..💩
@@jacobcarrillo933 Took me about 2 hrs maybe alittle more I had to take off the alternator from on top to make room to do the spark plugs on passenger side... Driver side is easier to do
@@edwardvieyra4280 thanks....I get Frustrated..is my problem...too.
I have the 94 Z28 t top white/gray stripe and I can do the front 6 plugs/wires from the top and back 2 from the bottom. It’s the passenger side front 2 wires that suck cactus. Awesome car when you get past the plastification.
Very informative
I am not finding oem engine mounts. Aftermarket rubber ones are causing alot of nvh. Any suggestions???
When you put the top seal in the cover it was done wrong. The yellow seal has to be inverted and so you need a tool for that. That will eventually leak again.
Probably all ready is by now. You should have also run rtv under the cap seams to keep any oil or coolant front getting in.
What book was that? And where did you get it
What octane gas do these take?