Cam swap/ water pump replacement

**mattgw86** · 02-19-2016, 07:46 PM

Well I started today on my cam swap. Got the radiator and condenser out, water pump removed, crank hub and opti pulled. I managed to completely destroy one of the three opti mounting bolts and I broke the plug on the opti. Anyone got an extra bolt or harness? Can I replace the harness with everything assembled?

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Also, I noticed some serious corrosion on the connection from the coil to the opti. I'm surprised the car even ran, much less ran as well as it did. See...

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I've got a lot of cleaning to do tomorrow, then off comes the intake and valve covers and out comes the old cam and in goes the hot cam.

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**Injuneer** · 02-19-2016, 08:42 PM

EFIConnection sells replacement Opti harnesses. Should be able to replace it with the Opti installed.

**sleepy_z** · 02-20-2016, 03:08 PM

Google optispark harness and you'll see different places to buy them. Swapping it is really easy.

**mattgw86** · 02-20-2016, 03:27 PM

Thanks guys, I found that opti harnesses can be purchased just about anywhere, and the bolt is pretty much an off the shelf part.

Unfortunately, I believe I've run into more trouble...

I just got finished pulling the old valvetrain and cam. I'm not sure what to look for, but to me, the cam looks terrible.

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Also the bearing surface on the front cam bearing looks pretty bad.

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How bad is this? Is it even worth putting this engine back together? I'm planning on eventually putting together a fresh heads/cam engine for it, but not for a few years.

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**zoomo** · 02-20-2016, 07:55 PM

I dont really see anything wrong with the cam.
The bearing surface showing some bronze color like that is kind of concerning.

How does everything feel? thats the best way to tell if its damaged.
feel the bears and the cam surfaces for anything rough. the lobes and bearings should be smooth. if anything is questionable, run your finger nail across it and see if you can feel it.

***popo8*** · 02-20-2016, 08:40 PM

Gail @American-Powerhouse sells harnesses.

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***popo8*** · 02-20-2016, 08:41 PM

What kind of oil pressure were u seeing?

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**mattgw86** · 02-21-2016, 03:50 AM

The bearing surface had a slight roughness to it, but the cam felt smooth. Couldn't feel anything with my fingernails. Oil pressure seems fine to me. Between 1/2 and 3/4 on the gauge at startup, and about 1/4 at hot idle and roughly 1/2 at cruise.

I went ahead and put the cam in, should have the engine sealed back up by tonight. Then I'll have to flush and refill the cooling system and the ac. hoping to have it back on the road by next weekend.

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**Badazz 97 TA** · 02-21-2016, 11:16 AM

My cam bearing had a similar look when I did my first cam swap. It looked like that with 50,000 miles and looked about the same when I did another cam at 106,000 miles.

The cam driven water pump puts more stress on that front bearing.

**mattgw86** · 02-21-2016, 08:36 PM

Well that makes me feel a little better. I've got a good bit of the engine back together. I ran out of daylight with four valve springs left to swap. I got the whole front of the engine together less the water pump.

Hopefully gonna be able to finish the car and have it driving by next weekend.

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