How hard is it to change the cap and roter in a 93 Z28 ? Does it even have one ? and what brand is best?

 

You should change out the whole distributer, not just the cap and rotor. It is pretty hard, but mostly time consuming. if you wanted to do cap and roter only, The only company I know is msd for nonvented optis

 

heh, if you only knew...

yes, a z28 LT1 does have a cap and rotor. They are inside the Optispark.

To replace them, you have to do alot of work...

Remove water pump
Remove front crank pully (if your good you can get around the crank, its hard to do.. but i've done it)

your talking... 2-3 hrs with a pro thats worked on LT1s before...
set aside close to 4-5 if you do it yourself.

Jegs carrys MSD cap & rotor Optisparks
www.jegs.com

 

It's probably easier to change the whole distributor, than just the cap and rotor. A GM opti comes complete and ready to bolt on and cheaper than an MSD unit.

 

MSD cap and rotor is cheaper than a GM opti.....esp. if u have hookups on parts

 

Well, yeah, if you are comparing apples to oranges...but who wants to change only the cap and rotor on one as old as a 1993?

 

the opti on it is maybe two years old so I dont think I need to change it

 

It helps people help you if you include all pertinent info in the beginning. If you're set on cap and rotor, GM or MSD would probably be my choices. The MSD cap does give you advantage of being able to run a vent on your non-vented opti.

 

If the opti is only two years old, I wouldnt bother with it, wait until you have
a problem with it (usually shows itself as an off idle stumble). If you want to
get an idea of whats involved, you can look at my link I posted for changing
the WP and opti seals (something I recommend when pulling the opti). I did a
write up on the Impala SS forum a few years ago. Hopefully this forum will
make it a sticky so its easier to find (anyone know who to suggest that too?).

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=493471

The procedure is for a 1995 vented opti, so the only difference will be the size
of the opti seal, the same issues exist for the WP seal.

You can get the opti from Dal for about 250 bucks, its a NEW GM unit. Most
of the guys on the Impala forum that have done the cap and rotor find out
that shortly after they disturb things, the opti fails and they need to buy a
new opti anyway. I hate doing things twice.

For the record, my 1993 Camaro opti lasted over 150k when I replaced it on a
hope it was causing a problem, ended up not being it. My 1995 Impala made
it to 172,000 miles before the opti started to fail - still drove it home 55 miles.

Tom

 

Its not a fun job, removing the crank pulley can be a royal pain, but other then that, its pretty straightforward.

 

It's too risky changing out the cap and rotor. You're only repairing half the problem. If indeed is the cap and rotor. The Optical side is still a liability. Change the entire unit. It'll be a learning experience too. I was scared to death to change mine. Now that I'de changed it. It wouldn't bother me all that bad to do it again.

 

only change what you need, a few gaskets and a gallon of anti-freeze doesnt cost that much, yes your time will be free but if you do it once, the next time will be easy if you have too.

 

this is where my money is,,, literally,,, I have a spare GM OPTI on the shelf waiting for the day. > 110K miles curently

Noting all of the work to rip it down might as well replace a complete unit in removing most doubt instead of going back together and realizing the module was also a/the problem. I actually bought an Autozone module thinking it was a complete Opti (Ignorance ) when I realized my ignorance I got Jason to send me a full unit.

Noting the information from this excellant site I am building up a stock of parts, got the Optis, new water pump and a new fuel pump. The three achilles tendons especially on my 93 and the miles