Okay i have about 95k on my motor. Im wondering if and when I should replace my Cap and Rotor. To my knowledge its never been changed. I know with a typical car it would be changed at least 3 times already.

 

If your car is problem-free, no need to mess with it.

The cap & rotor are part of the complete optical distributor system we all knowingly refer to as the opti.

Whenever you go through the trouble of replacing it, just replace the whole thing, optical portion and all.

 

i have a 95 as well (70k) and i just changed the cap and rotor and the rotor looked pretty $hitty. I would say change it when you can but if it runs ok no rush. You will need either a t8 or t9 torx bit to get the rotor off, which for some reason alot of the stores were out of near me, just a heads up!

 

I agree with Javier. I would just replace the whole unit instead.
I just did a cam swap and put a whole new opti unit on even though i had just replaced the cap and rotor last year. I wish i would have replaced the whole thing to begin with but i thought that the cap and rotor was all i needed to change. There is more to the opti than just the cap and rotor, there is also some optical sensor but i don't know that works off hand, sorry. I wasnt having any problems with it and i might have been okay, but i just wanted peace of mind knowing it was all brand new along with my waterpump and cam .

-Greg

 

While I am usually one to not fix an item that isn't a maintenance item until it breaks, this is one of those "strange" items IMO. You've got a bit more life out of that already than what I'd consider average. I believe most don't get that many miles out of them. The main thing to consider is basically... how much is it worth to you to not be stranded? When these fail they can fail instantly and completely meaning you are STUCK (of course, I suppose anything can fail that way ). I've owned 4th gen F-Bods for the last 12 years and have 5 right now (I have issues, I know) and the only time I've ever been stranded by one is when the opti just DIED on me one night (94Z with 90k and that was the 2nd opti). So, out of all the things that can break on these cars, that is the only thing that has ever left me stuck and broke down on the side of the road

 

Okay Im going to change out the water pump to an electric one, so Ill be there already. Thats why Im asking. I would like to make this as easy as possible, I definitely dont want to be stranded some where. Any thing else I should consider while Im there?

 

I don't want you to think you NEED to change it because it might last several more years for ya or when it starts to fail your car might still be driveable. I just wanted to give you something else to consider and think about

I can tell you that if I were changing the waterpump on a car where the opti had 90k miles on, you can bet I'd be changing that sucker!

 

Ah, if you'll be there already, yes, change her out

And changer her out with a completely new unit.

Check here for where to buy one (don't get a rebuilt unit):

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#Dal_and_Jason