Just a question, why does the balancer have the arrow on it? theres no teeth, key, or anything that goes on it except a belt.

And is the opti supposed to have oil in it?

 

have you been reading my posts. weather you take the hub that the balancer is bolted to off with the balancer or not you need to keep track of were that arrow is pointing. if you lose track then you will need to bring the number one piston to top dead center. when that is done the arrow on the balancer needs to point straight up. there is no key on the balancer and that arrow tells you where it needs to be set. if you have oil on the opti either the intake manifold or the water pump shaft seal is leaking. oil on the opti is not supposed to be a good thing for it either at least i have been reading that. the intakes on these seem to develope leaks in back and front. both of the camaros i have had leaked at the back of the intake. the one i own now leaked at the front to.

 

Not ON the opti IN the opti. i tipped it and i had oil run, not drip, out of the coil in and the vacuum line right above it.

 

well i think you found the problem. finally. hopfully.

 

the oil must be getting in though the vacume somehow. go to summit and on the page for the msd opti there should be directions on how to hook it up. see if the vacume hoses are done right. on mine one splices into a little hose on the drivers side intake and the other goes to the air cleaner hose/tube by the throttle body.

 

I hope thats it, I thought it might have been the front seal tho? I was told that was bad alsoBut its either getting in thru the vacuum or where it goes in at.

 

the bad news is the msd is most likely toast. if you want me to ship that used one off to ya let me know and ill check and see what it would cost so youll have an idea.

 

the front seal is below the opti. the only things above are the water pump shaft seal and the intake manifold. i find i hard to belive that much oil is coming from the water pump shaft seal but it could be. my money would be on the intake manifold.

ps if you are going to change the front seal now is the time. if you do that you may want to change the timing chain and gears. the bummer on the seals is the water pump seal, it is a bi--h. i got mine in but i dont think it got in there right. i leaks just a tiny bit.

 

add on after reading last post. its not putting the seals in thats the hard part. its getting the timing chain/gear cover back on without screwing up the seal on the water pump shaft. you can pop the front seal and the water pump seal out without taking the cover off but you have to by the cover set (comes with all the seals and gaskets)to get the water pump shaft seal. im still thinking its the intake. is there a trail of any kind from the seal down or can you tell were the oil was coming from by looking. dont change the water pump seal without taking the timing cover off. its even harder to get the water pump shaft seal on that way.

 

so is my opti totally screwed? I dont know if i can get it replaced or not because it shouldn't be more than a few months old, plus its MSD so its $500 for a new one.