Should one buy an Opti from Auto Zone?

[94Form]

The price is great but is it as good as AC Delco? With a Core return it's just over $150.

[Joe 1320]

This is a new offering, I doubt anyone is going to have any feedback on this particular piece. I would say, if there is any warranty, try it. $150 is considerably less than even $190 for a discount GM vender. BTW, how much is the core charge? $190 from GM is outright with no core.

[94Form]

It's $152.99 after $90.00 core return but if it is a piece of crap I would pay a bit more. The cheapest I could find was a GM dealer in Fl. selling on E-bay right now for $299 AC Delco. I can't find $190 for non vented.

[Joe 1320]

Yup, you are right about the price for the non vented. I would try the autozone... keep us posted how it works out.

Did you try : Jason Cromer at Sam Taylor Buick/Cadillac
staylorservice@cybertron.com
877-726-8295

[OrigZ]

Don't......

....do not EVER use anything but GM for the opti.

My son replaced 4...yes FOUR aftermarket optis on the same car in less than a week. We found out that Cardone is the ONLY rebuilder that does these and they admitted that if the electrical parts tested OK they left them in and just put new hard parts in.........WTF did they get taken off the car for in the first place?!?

They are junk plain and simple.........buy only genuine GM for this part......

[Injuneer]

I've seen several threads on the auto store brand Optis, and almost always, they are not complete units. I've seen people claim they are, verify it with the store, and when they get the part, it is not a complete unit, which would include cap, rotor, body and optical sensor module.

I would stay away from them, unless you absolutely can't afford the real GM part ($290 sounds right for a discount price on a non-vented unit), and only if you can verify with absolute certainty that it is a complete replacement unit, with all parts.

[Formulaboy95]

Call Jason Cromer....

Got mine for $190 and like $18 for 2 day s/h. I am very satisfied! GM list is like $430! Also get the waterpump gasket(s) - there are 2, and I think there is a rebuild kit for the waterpump (since it has to come out anyway).

[Injuneer]

Re: Call Jason Cromer....

Originally posted by Formulaboy95
Got mine for $190 and like $18 for 2 day s/h. I am very satisfied! GM list is like $430! Also get the waterpump gasket(s) - there are 2, and I think there is a rebuild kit for the waterpump (since it has to come out anyway).

Your 1995 uses a vented Opti. They are $190 from Jason Cromer.

"94form's" 1994 uses a non-vented Opti. They are more like $290.

[Joe 1320]

The autozone opti is a new part..... a complete plug and play, not just the optical portion or just the cap and rotor. It may be a good idea to see who the manufacturer is. I've seen the optical portion of the usual discount auto parts unit and it is crap. the cap and rotor portion wasn't bad. I've also seen new GM optis fail within 50 miles....... a little research on the new part is a good idea.

On the subject of the water pump, since the opti, water pump, air pump and damper must be removed, I would seriously consider replacing all the seals in the front cover. Too many times people skip this only a short while later find an oil leak and everything has to come out again. There is a seal for the opti drive, the water pump drive and the front crank. Here are the parts:

10317886 water pump drive seal $3.98
12552428 opti drive seal $3.88
12553792 o ring for water pump shaft (need 2) .70
12554314 front crank seal $14.50

I don't have the part number for the water pump gaskets, you'll have to check that.

If you don't do the seals at the same time, you'll be sorry later.

[94Form]

I am making a list of what else to get right now. I went with the GM Dealer in Fl. for AC Delco. Not willing to replace crap with crap. If you could explain where these seals go that would be great. The book only explains the O rings. and do I need the ones for the drive and crank if I am replacing the leaking water pump that started this whole mess?

Thanks

[Joe 1320]

Need is such a relative term. Since all the seals runs less than $30, I would say you would want to do them while everything is already apart. When I did my opti, I made the mistake of not doing the seals. About 15K miles later I developed a leak. I had to pull everything apart again. So, my advice is at least do the water pump drive and the opti drive seals. At least the crank seal can be done at a later date without having to remove anything except the damper and hub.

When you remove the water pump, you'll see the drive shaft sticking right out of the front cover. The seal will be obvious. The same goes for the optispark. Once you pull it, the seal in the front cover will be obvious.

http://csce.uark.edu/~jgbertr/rb/ci/opti_mounting.jpg

http://csce.uark.edu/~jgbertr/rb/ci/front_cover.jpg

On the second link, you can clearly see the lower crank seal, the middle seal for the optispark, and the top seal for the water pump and it's drive shaft. Hope this helps.

[94Form]

OK just an update and sorry I was not convinced to be the one to test this one. I did the best search possible and Jason was the best. $299 plus shipping and 6 hours later it is done.

I hope those who are willing have good luck with the aftermarket.

Thanks to all for your advice....

[ZMAN_DIEHL!!!]

I have a decent knowledge of the GM parts, and i have seen an aftermarket one for 600$. Do you think this aftermarket one is better ? Look at the link provided
http://www.dynotech-eng.com/dynaspark.htm

[94Form]

I did see that one while I was searching. I chose not to go with it because I got 155k miles off my original ACDelco Opti so for the price jason offers you could buy 2 at the same price of the aftermarket one. If they could warrantee their opti for over 300K miles it may be worth it. The reality is if your car has over 150K and you think you will still be driving it for a total of over 450,000 miles then give it a try. Who knows what could happen in 20 more years.

[ZMAN_DIEHL!!!]

cool thanks for the advice i only have 86 thou on mine but i an thinking anout replacing it just for gee wiz kinda like a power tune up so to say
plus it will give me a good foundation for some of the upgrades im considering