xsk5

i'm replacing timing cover seals and i have a new water pump going in as well. the opti is off the car and worked fine when removed.

the opti looks like it may have been replaced at one point because the water pump bolts show signs of removal as well as the harmonic balancer bolts.

would ī be ok just doing a cap and rotor? i don't want to buy a new one ($300) if i don't have to at this point. i want to do a coil conversion down the line but i don't have the cash for it right now.

i need the car to run for at least another year before the conversion.

suggestions?

thanks

shoebox

If it needs it, a gentle cleaning and a quality cap/rotor kit won't hurt anything.

xsk5

thanks for the reply,

i can't find the site i read this on, but is it true the optis only had o-rings on the shaft on 96 and up fbodies? mine is a 95 and has the o-rings so if its true then i feel better about reusing the opti because its not the original.

thanks again

Injuneer

How many miles on the engine?

If you are going to replace the cap and rotor, when you have the unit open, try and wiggle the rotor side-to-side to see if the bearing has any slop in it. Rotate the rotor, and listen/feel for any noise or roughness in the bearing. Look at the optical module for signs of rust buildup. When installing the new rotor, use loc-tite on the screws. Look into the opening that the harness plugs into, for signs of damage to the rubber seal. Reseal with a silicon sealer. Check the harness contacts (both on the harness and in the Opti) for corrosion or damage to the contacts.

Look at the last photo on this page. Indicates it is a 95 unit, and appears to have two o-rings on the shaft.

Optispark Swap Page

Also states:

Always good to use a "Signature".... this is an example of needing to know the year of the car to know which style Opti it uses. Using a "Signature" would eliminate the need to type that info into relevant posts as you did above.

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/lt1...nature-879835/

timnfxr

Last year I needed to replace my leaky timing cover seals, and figured as long as I had the opti out I'd replace the cap and rotor. After seeing the price of the AC Delco cap/rotor price ($155), I decided it was more cost effective to buy a brand new Deplhi unit for $272 (at Rockauto.com), since I didn't know what to expect to find after opening up the original.

Well, sure glad I followed my gut, the original cap/rotor were indeed wore, but the bearing was really bad - it had approx. 1/4" to 1/2" of play and was somewhat crunchy when spun.

So now a have a spare optical sensor and disc. The rest is junk.

Chimera96

OP

the Opti is just like any regular SBC distributor in terms of the cap & rotor, they are wear items. As Fred noted if the bearing has no slop and the opti otherwise looks good inside (no oil or coolant contamination) you can buy a cap/rotor kit. Many prefer the MSD cap & rotor kit. Use blue loc tite on the rotor screws

Use dialectic grease on opti & plug boot ends and also on the 4 pin connector that goes into the opti to help minimize/prevent moisture from entering from those areas.

The FelPro TC gasket/seal kit comes with new "O" rings for the WP drive splines. if your o rings on opti shaft are hard/flat/cracked replace those also

the WP drive seal can be tricky to install without folding the back lip over so use a "tool" to install. There are specific tool to do but a socket or appropriate Sharpie pen cap also work. A search will show the 411 on that. WP & Opti seals install "dry", no grease.

xsk5

***update***


a low mileage oem opti became available in the classifieds section cheaper than a cap and rotor so i picked it up. i'll keep the original as a backup.

thanks for the replies

Kevin Blown 95 TA

I'd still check it out thoroughly, if I were you, after going through all that trouble.