Help! Water Pump

[chuckhinva]

Just replaced the water pump, distributor, etc. on my '96 LT-4. When I was taking the water pump off, there were two vacuum lines running down the left (drivers) side of the pump. One goes to the distributor and the other goes down below the pump. It came off when I was removing the bolts. Now I can't figure out where it hooks to. Does anyone know? It looks like it slips straight on to a pipe somewhere.

Also, now the engine starts but barely runs - do you think the loose line may be causing that? Everything else looks good (wiring, timing, etc.)

Thanks in advance

 

[WhalePirot]

I don';t have that engine but is there a hose routing diagram under the hood?

If the engine is getting unmetered air, via that hose, I'd say the running would suck!

 

[ecss]

Just replaced the water pump, distributor, etc. on my '96 LT-4. When I was taking the water pump off, there were two vacuum lines running down the left (drivers) side of the pump. One goes to the distributor and the other goes down below the pump. It came off when I was removing the bolts. Now I can't figure out where it hooks to. Does anyone know? It looks like it slips straight on to a pipe somewhere.

Also, now the engine starts but barely runs - do you think the loose line may be causing that? Everything else looks good (wiring, timing, etc.)

Thanks in advance

There are two hoses to the optispark for the ventilation. Item 1 in the diagram.
One is the fresh air intake and is the hose that goes to the intake duct.
The output vacuum hose from the optispark goes to a hose with a filter and an orifice valve then to the intake manifold. Item 3 and 7 and 2 in the diagram.

As for it running rough verify the spark plug wires are installed in the correct order and plugged in tight.

The photo at the bottom shows where the vacuum and air intake hose goes.

 

[chuckhinva]

When I replaced the optispark, it bolted right up. But the engine still barely runs. Checked all wires, conections, etc. and everything looks good. I read that crank position doesn't matter, you can only install it one way but the FSM says No. 1 cylinder should be at TDC and cam sprocket pin at 9 o'clock. I did this. So the question is - is it 9 o'clock when you are facing the engine or 9 o'clock sitting in the driver's seat? Common sense would suggest it is when you are facing the front of the engine (pin is pointing toward passenger side) but the illustration in the FSM suggests the pin is pointing toward the driver's side of the car. Any thoughts?

 

[ecss]

When I replaced the optispark, it bolted right up. But the engine still barely runs. Checked all wires, conections, etc. and everything looks good. I read that crank position doesn't matter, you can only install it one way but the FSM says No. 1 cylinder should be at TDC and cam sprocket pin at 9 o'clock. I did this. So the question is - is it 9 o'clock when you are facing the engine or 9 o'clock sitting in the driver's seat? Common sense would suggest it is when you are facing the front of the engine (pin is pointing toward passenger side) but the illustration in the FSM suggests the pin is pointing toward the driver's side of the car. Any thoughts?

The 9 o'clock position of the camshaft pin that drives the optispark is when you install a new timing gear set.
You don't have to be concerned about that.

Just install the camshaft drive pin into the proper hole in the optispark. It supposedly can't be installed wrong but people have said they didn't force it on and they still installed the drive pin in the wrong hole.

Did you reinstall the electrical two pin plug for the engine coolant temperature sensor that is screwed into the water pump?

Was the original optispark bad?

Rebuilt optisparks are known to be of low quality and defective.

Here's a picture of where the camshaft drive pin goes into the optispark.

http://shbox.com/1/opti_back.jpg

 

[chuckhinva]

Thanks for the help. Original opti was not bad but the water pump had been leaking for a while and the plug wires were spongy. Engine was missing at idle and running hot. So I just decided to replace it all (Accel Opyi). So far my preventive maintenance has taken about 3 weeks. This will be the 3rd time I have taken it down.

The 9 o'clock position of the camshaft pin that drives the optispark is when you install a new timing gear set.
You don't have to be concerned about that.

Just install the camshaft drive pin into the proper hole in the optispark. It supposedly can't be installed wrong but people have said they didn't force it on and they still installed the drive pin in the wrong hole.

Did you reinstall the electrical two pin plug for the engine coolant temperature sensor that is screwed into the water pump?

Was the original optispark bad?

Rebuilt optisparks are known to be of low quality and defective.

Here's a picture of where the camshaft drive pin goes into the optispark.

http://shbox.com/1/opti_back.jpg

 

[ecss]

That's a tough one to figure out. You would need a scope to look at the hi and lo optispark signals.
You could remove the new optispark, verify the cam pin is in the proper hole. If it is install your old optispark. Leave the water pump off but kieep the ECT sensor plugged in. If it runs good the Accel must be bad.

Did you reinstall the optispark intake and vacuum exhaust lines?

 

[ecss]

Thanks for the help. Original opti was not bad but the water pump had been leaking for a while and the plug wires were spongy. Engine was missing at idle and running hot. So I just decided to replace it all (Accel Opyi). So far my preventive maintenance has taken about 3 weeks. This will be the 3rd time I have taken it down.

Appears Accel Optisparks are low quality. This guys went bad after 5k miles.

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