so my 95-Z28 finally quit on me... coincidentally the same day that my truck blew a head gasket, go figure...

so i've torn into the sucker, with 80K miles it was all factory original, which is nice i guess... must imention that it was a pita to get in there, my wrists have scrapes all over... serpentine belt that is supposed to last forever was about to break in many places... the coil wire just disentegrated from internal corrosion...the entire timing cover was caked with oil and the optispark had oil leaking into it in one spot... it actually cleaned out pretty good and looks nice inside, how do i check if the distributor itself is damaged???

i bought a cheapo $40 cap and rotor on ebay, but now, when the cap is tightened, the rotor hits smth on the inside... it just never gets any easier... so now i am thinking about replacing the whole damn thing with an Accel cross-vented opti, 59125,they are$200-250... ori can try to get a better cap+rotor for around $100-150...I just put the Autolite 106 plugs and Accel 8mm wires in, along with a yellow Accel 140011 coil...

i will look more for that oil leak tomorrow, hoping that its something easy... what is the deal with intake leaks?

i am becoming quite concerned with that opti crap thing... seems like nothing but problems...will i have to always avoid puddles even if i replace it with a new one??? the only thing i could think of was to seal it with some silicone like they do on offroad trucks... or should i just trade the sob for an ls1??? cuz oregon is one wet state...

 

If you're thinking of going with a whole new opti setup(which is generally the best way to approach it so you don't have to get in there in the near future), I'd suggest going with the MSD unit. From what I've read it's pretty nice. You're opti should be fine providing you dont' wash out your engine bay(or at least don't get anywhere near the front of the motor) and your water pump doesn't leak on it.

 

so i ve looked for where the oil is... and its pretty much everywhere - front, back, heads, sway bar, sides, starter, all has oil cacked on... therefore my diagnosis is crappy intake seal... now i guess i might as well pull that off and silicone it back on, while i am waiting for my new opti to get shipped... if i understand it correctly, there is no gasket, just silicone, right?

so what am i gonna need to take off to get the intake off??? at this rate i would prolly have to remove the gas tank to get to it... it seems like it afterdoingthe freakin tune up, anyway [:@]

 

i have a question why remove the gas tank?

 

well... they did make us take the water pump off to get to the distributor cap...
if i dont have to take the gas tank off, i will probablyneed to disconnect the trailer lights or something else...

 

*sniff**siff* is that sarcasm I smell?

In all reality, you'll probably have to end up taking off the water pump, any sort of hoses/cables that attach to the opti and I'm sure you'll have to remove some stuff so you can anctually get your hands in there to work on it...good luck.

 

Plan on all new seals on the timing cover (Water pump - Cam/Distributor - Lower crank Seal) and maybe an intake manifold re-seal.

Dont be stupid and try and put all that stuff on without doing them things or in another 3000 miles you will be doing it agian. Here is a little before and after photo. Take your time, it can be done. Be sure to check all the shafts that ride on the seals for small grooves. If there are any grooves on the lower crank hub or water pump shaft you better order new ones or it will just eat up your new seals.

Good luck

 

from what i ve read, doing the timing cover is a real sob, because the oil pan need to be loosened too... also, somebody told me about some sort of special tool needed to get the gaskets back in.......

at this point i am really hoping that it is just the intake manifold oil leak, as the back and sides of the block are pretty nasty, and from what i;ve heard those intakes leak not only in the back, but also in the front sometimes and get all over the timing cover and stuff... i am just hoping that its only the intake thats leaking...

everything is still off the front part of the engine... how much time and work am i looking at (1) do the intake and (2) do the timing cover gaskets if i decide to???

 

You should not have to pull the timing cover. Usually the timing cover gasket itself is ok. Its the round seals that go bad. P.S. There is no way your intake is making all that mess.. You need seals and a whole lot of cleaner. Best to rent a power sprayer or huff a bunch of Gum-Out to clean all that oil off first.

 

could someone please elaborate on the difference between the timing cover gasket and the "round seals"... how would i go about replacing those???