So i have heard myths about this, on a 97 Camaro, is it safe to hose under the hood?

 

I'd say that about 75% of the people who "hose under the hood" end up with Optispark problems. Fact.... not a myth. If you like the odds, hose it down.

 

I think 75% is a little pessimistic, maybe that number works for non vented
If you run your car immediatly after washing, or let it run while washing you wont generally have any issues with a vented opti. With that sai, try not to hose the opti down anyway.

 

use some simple green and a little bit of elbow grease. It may take awhile, but it will surely take you longer to replace your opti (and cost more) then if you just spend a little time and do everything by hand. Once you do it really good 1 time, then all you have to do is spend maybe 15 minutes here and there to keep it looking real nice.

 

What is this opti? What does it do? Seems like those things are quite the pain.. Everyone is replacing them and think that it is their problem.. Seems like a terrible part..

 

Opti is the distributor, it is mounted on the front of the engine behind the water pump. Opti's are a PITA, but i was lucky, mine lasted 160,000 miles, and i only replaced it because i was doing heads and cam anyway. They seem to fail the most when they are first installed, or if they sit for a long period of time without running.

 

I know nothing of these new engines.. Wouldn't a real distributor work better? How much is an opti? is there no boss in the rear of your intake or block for a real distributor?

 

There is noplace for a conventional distributor at the back of the block.

The opti is actually a very good design. It is the placement that stinks. It is located in a place prone to dirt and moisture. It is nothing more than an enhanced standard distributor and it routinely lasts over 100,000 miles without even a new cap and rotor. Not bad, IMO.

 

the opti really gets f***** when you do a cam swap! you have to pull off the water pump= gallons of antifreeze on your moisture hating distributor. i was lucky and never had to replace an unvented opti through 120000 miles and two cam swaps

 

Is steam-cleaning bad?

Is it OK to hose down your motor if you have it down to s shortblock?

 

Okay, I dont have an optispark. However, I've been washing my engines regularly for over twenty years. The only time I ever had a problem was the time I tried to pressure wash the engine compartment of my nearly-new '97 Saturn SW2. I managed to fill in the spark plug holes with water and goof up the plug wires.

Lesson learned: Never pressure-wash your engine.

I discovered that the easiest way to get the dirt off is to not let it collect in the first place. When I finish washing the car, I dump the remainder of the wash bucket's soapy water onto the engine, then use a brush to wipe down whatever I can reach. A quick rinse-off with the garden hose, and it's clean. I then start it up and get everything up to operating temperature to dry it off. It seems to me that this might be a good technique to keep the optispark alive as well, would it not?

 

I would say not....dumping your leftover water and using the hose is exactly what could kill the opti.

 

What's your suggestion for preserving it, yet allows one to keep the engine compartment clean?

 

 

My car has 74,000 on it... I've replaced now 2 optis... 1st replacement cost $1200 (or so) total... Second was free since GM guarantees parts and service.

So, I'd go with elbow grease.