LT197Chic

Ok, I have a '97 LT1, with the dumbest set up I have ever seen. MY distributor is right up front and right under the water pump. Which means (Im sure already know) that if my water pump leaks, the distributor is gone, if I hit water, its gone.. I have replaced that damn distributor cap twice in SIX MONTHS. Is ther any way I can fabricate a plate to sit up in there somewhere so that I wont have this problem or will it interfere with air flow?
-Mandy

Foxls1

u didnt know this???? befor u bought it?

Javier97Z28

IMO your first problem you are having is replacing the distributor caps and not replacing the whole units. You shouldn't be having to do this every 6 months. My stock opti lasted me almost 90k miles. Many people on this board still report opti issues soon after replacing just the cap/rotor. The best bet is replacing the whole unit, which is about $270 shipped from Jason Cromer.

I'm not sure about the plate thing.. I just replaced mine and have done several others and there really isn't much room down there to do anything.

Give her a break dude, not everyone registers at CZ28 and does a complete rundown on the faults of these cars before buying them..

96capricemgr

Are you stupid enough to be replacing a WET distributor before letting it dry out .
ANY distributor will run bad if it gets wet, most are lopcated so they are less likely to get wet but most are not as well sealed and lack the forced venting the opti has.

It is fairly easy to keep the opti dry inside if you put the smallest amount off effort into it rather than blindly blaming the design.

My original was replaced at 96K because due to the stupidity spread on the internet I thought it could be a problem, IT WAS NOT. Here I am 70K, and a cam, a few dexcool baths and MANY puddles later and NO ISSUES.

kick Z tail out

No way!!! A LT1? Damn that sucks.



Oh wait a minute, mine is like that too. Haha yes it can suck, but it really isn't much of an issue if everything is in good working order. My water pump actually puked all over my opti back in October, and I drove it about 45 miles before getting to my friends house so we could swap in a new water pump. Opti was fine, and I have the same vented opti that you should have on your 97. Still runs like a champ today.

Of course I did change caps to the MSD piece recently, but that was just for kicks since it wasn't acting up at all anyway.

If you want to fab up a plate, more power to ya. I don't see it interfering with air flow, but I also don't see it happening. Really there is NO room for anything down there, so it probably won't be too feasible to play around with.

Nice to see a woman that knows a few things about her car though Mandy. Thats awesome.

LT197Chic

First off, I knew the damn distributor was where it was when I bought the car, and I just replaced the entire set up. The first time it was replaced I didnt do it myself, so I dont know about letting it dry out... so dont start putting down my intelligence. I know more about my car than most girls know about their wardrobes, so dont start that crap with me. Second of all, I know there is not much room down there to do anyting, was just a simple question and wondered if anyone else had thought doing the same thing. The person who had this car before me didnt take care of it at all and I am having to fix all of his STUPID screw ups. Now, for Javier, thank you for the POSITIVE feedback.

Jameslt1TA

I would also do as Javier says and just replace the whole thing if you have any bad luck with it in the future.

Or there is a system that SORT OF replaces the opti which is the delteq or ltcc. It still runs off the optical sensor though so you need to keep the opti.

Im still going strong on my stock opti at 110,000miles.

Good luck and welcome to cz28.com

firetird

welcome to the board, and well, lt1's. the distributor is probably the most complained about component but hopefully the new MSD distributor will be released soon and that might cut down on opti failures. oh yea, if you have a question, do a search. it is very helpful, dont have to wait on a reply, and dont have to worry about people being rude or sarcastic when you post something that has already been discussed. again welcome aboard.

Bobby

SS MPSTR

The nice thing I've read about with the MSD opti is the timing adjustment feature.

SmoothCruizer

Hey Mandy, totally understand about your problem.... do you have that plastic black thingie under the front bumper (not sure how to describe it) looks like a scoop... is yourz missing? or ripped off from hitting a driveway, curb... It is nessessary it there for cooling purposes and yourz might not be there.... thats the only thing i can think your opti distributor is getting soaked via rain or whatever, Scotty

fastchevy

Mandy,

Yes I've thought about constructing some kind of 'spashguard' around the opti, but haven't done it since I haven't had any problems. I have 165K on an original opti (knock on wood). If the cap seals are good, there really shouldn't be any moisture getting in there to screw up the opti. Maybe the seal is getting jacked up while the cap is being replaced...
I've also thought about taping the weep hole with a brass hose filling and running something like a 3/8" hose down so if the water pumps pukes it will flow down the hose, past the opti saving the opti from a bath. But like I said, I haven't done it cuz nothing's broke yet. You could always go with an electric water pump which would eliminate the weep hole thing..

When the opti design/placement was thought of the guy most of been tripping on LSD or something...

OldSStroker

Whew! You do come out swinging.

FWIW, my signature quote has nothing to do with women.

LT197Chic

Scotty, aka smoothcruizer, thank you for the input, and yes I do have the "black thingy". It wasnt there when I bought it so I replaced it imediately. My first car was an '89 IROC Z, and I learned from the whole camaro experiance at a young age that the black "thingy' must be there. Its nice to hear that other people have heard the same thing about the opti as I have and thought about the "splashguard" as I Have.
-Mandy

SmoothCruizer

Kool, I hope you have better luck in the future with it.... im putting my fans in this weekend from my 4 day waterpump replacement... what a pain in the butt changing it i tell you

fattyz28

I don't know if it will work, but I have heard of people putting a bead of silicone around the opti to help seal out water. When my water pump went out the coolant streamed out towards the radiator. I did catch it before it went totally out. That may have had something to do with it.