Opti question

[95z28]

So i took the car in to get checked out today, cylinders 2 and 4 are just sorta chillen there not doin any thing. i guess the cap to the opti is cracked. so is it worth it to just buy a good replacement (ie MSD) or should i just replace the whole unit and save myself the time of having to do it again ??

They wanted 1100 to do it for me, so i chose to make myself an official lt1 owner and do it myself.

[Blazer]

I think I payed $ 134.00 from GM for Cap an roter MSD wants $225.00 for just
that. You can A hole new opti for a few bucks more. Your in there do the hole 9 yards an be done with it. Just my 2 cents Blazer

[soCalTA]

Ditto ... get all new GM stuff and do it right once ... no need to be turnin wrenches more than you need to...

[droptop z]

if i were you i would just replace the whole assembly because you dont know exactly what is wrong with your opti. i got lucky and only changed my cap and rotor and turned out, that was the problem, but i would say to change the whole unit and eliminate all other problems.

[Cerwin Vega Fan]

IMO see if you can upgrade to a Dynaspark.

[Timbers]

Ya

I bought one from the local parts house "Advance Auto" it has all the exact same parts as the stock GM one, it looks just as good of quality too.

Don't be scared of the opti, I think everyone makes this up to be some highly complicated and scarey part. I just put one in and it was no big deal at all, just a little time consuming. The opti is nothing more than a big fat distributer cap and rotor, with a simple little optical wheel and light sensor in it, BIG DEAL.

Mine came in pieces, the optical part, cap and rotor were all seperate. I put the opti together, using a little locktite on the screws to be safe. You will next some torx bits and a E4 bit for the screws, but you will know what I'm talking about when you see it.

Make sure to replace the distributer timing cover seal, and the water pump drive shaft timing cover seal when you do this. You will need new water pump gaskets also, since you will wreck the ones that are on there by taking the water pump out. Make sure you put teflon tape on the threads of the water pump bolts before reinstalling them.

$1100 for them to do it? Thats CRAZY!! Save yourself $800 and do it yourself.

[Injuneer]

You can get a complete, new GM vented (95-97) Opti for about $220 from Jason Cromer or Dal Slabaugh. The MSD C&R is $151 at Summit, but they have not received any yet, and keep pushing the "available by" date later by a week or two every few days.

For parts source contacts, look up "Where to buy your GM parts" on Shoebox's Tech Pages.

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech1.html

[95z28]

Thanks guys, and wish me luck! I am going to start taking my car apart saturday because the weather is suposed to be rainy all weekend. While im at it i am going to do the header install as well so i guess its a little bit of a plus

[Timbers]

Cool

Lemme know if you have any questions while it is still fresh in my mind.

...Tim