I have a late production 10/93 Z28 camero. In december i had new cap, rotor distributer, waterpump and cat converter installed. in mid january i had plugs and wires installed its now april 1st and the car is running like crap worse than ever before. It started again 2 weeks ago thoght it was the fuel pump but the shop says its the distributer again. All the repairs done so far have used factory GM parts and they wont warranty the distributer so im gonna be out another thousand if i have it done again. What would cause repeated dist. failure in a LT1. Also its running very hot witch is usualy a side effect of a lean condition right? But the vehicle is running so rich im getting about 3 miles to the gallon and im at the end of my rope. Also for a side note the ECU was replaced last summer because it wasnt triggering the fans and that is also a GM unit Thanks for looking and any help you might lend. And the vehicle is 100% stock with an automatic trans.

 

gm has a one year warranty on the optisparks. Do you still have the receipt? You may be out the labor but the distributor should still be under warranty.

 

I know GM will warranty it but the shop where i was taking it wont and they wont give me a copy of the recipt so i can get another one. So in all reality its not the car thats screwing me its the shop. I think i might sell it if anyone is interested or maybe ill just fix it. i just dont want to spend the money if its only going to fix the problem for three months

 

What year is your "camero"..... I see it was built 10/93, but is it a 93 or 94 model year?

You say you had a cap and rotor installed? Was it actually a GM cap and rotor? If you only got a cap and rotor, there's a good chance you have a problem with the "back 1/2" of the Opti.... the bearing, bearing reatainer, slotted wheel and optical sensor. Generally, when replacing the Opti, its best to use genuine GM parts, and to replace the ENTIRE Opti, not just the cap and rotor. Did the shop scan it for codes (93 you can scan yourself)? Did it have any codes for the Opti optical sensor output?

You can get a complete GM Opti (not just cap and rotor) replacement for about $300 (unvented) from one of the online GM parts dealers. Labor is not that hard.... do not pay a shop $1,000 for it.

 

its licensed as a 93. i had a cap rotor and new opti installed and this will probably make you laugh i paid 49 for the rotor, 315.00 for the cap and 634.00 for the opti. I know i can do it my self but i am at a point where i dont have the time and i am going to run out of money so i will probably do it myself. But i still have a concern about how long the repair will last. Is there something that could be shorting the opti out? what should i look for as far as something that could cause premature failure of the unit. oh and sorry i misspelled CAMARO. Thanks for your help. And whats a vented or unvented opti?

 

i think your getting confused. The opti, (optispark) is the complete distributor =cap rotor and optical disk. You cant buy the cap and rotor and opti. The opti is the entire unit. If the shop is not giving you a copy of the receipt, its most likely that they didnt change the unit. The only thing I am aware of that kills optis is over reving, which is surely not the case, unless you are trying to rev this thing to the moon, but I am sure your not being that its totally stock. As for vented or non vented, there is two different optis. In the early production 93-94, they used non vented optis. In 95-97 vented optis were used. In 93 94 moisture was building up inside the optical disk portion causing it to rust and fail early. Starting in 95, they ran a vacuum hose from the bellow to the opti, making air circulate, eliminating the moisture build up. What symptoms is the car giving you?

plus, I just noticed you lived in Fresno. Im in San Francisco, and I am willing to lend a helping hand with anything I can. If we determine its the opti, hey bring her down with a 12 pack, and lets get it done!

 

Why would you pay a shop so much and NOT get a receipt? It must have not been a dealer. As mentioned above the "opti" already includes the cap and rotor. If you understood the repair correctly, why would you believe the people that wripped you off for a cap, rotor and an opti when they say it needs another opti??????

It's real easy to get some attention to your vehicle by those wonderful repair people. Just go to the local civil court house and place a "warrant-in-debt" against them for the original repair. Here it costs $30.00. They give you a copy of the warrant and they deliver a copy to the shop via sheriff. At that point, if you get that far, they will have to come up with a copy of the receipt for the judge. Now you have your copy. Even if they don't make good on the part, your local dealer will and if not, people like me have enough connections with GM dealers to get you the parts you need. That is, if they used GM parts.

BTW, this is a good time to review good customer practice at any shop. First ask them how much for a diagnosis. Let them know you are only paying for a diagnosis. Also while your at the desk, ask what the warranty is for both labor and parts. Ask them if different manufacturers of parts have different warranties. If you do approve the repair, let them know you will only do so provided you get the original parts back. Period. No parts back, no money will exchange hands. Of course this does not include belts, hoses, fluids, gaskets and other disposable items. Do not fall for the "we have to return the items to _____ for analysis" BS. The exception is those items that have a core charge. Like alternators which you can easily peek under the hood and see if it's been replaced. In some cases the core charge is small enough to just pay yourself for the peace of mind.

Last, don't fall for the "you had a abc part bad and an xyz part bad". This one is a little tougher to see through. What can and does happen is the mechanic mis-diagnosis the problem and orders a part only to find out it will not cure the problem. In many cases, the shop is now stuck with the part. Then they order another part that fixes the problem. Easy fix for them, just tell the customer both were defective. If you indeed get the original part back, you can possibly tell if it was bad or not. The tell tale sign of this type of game is when they tell you a sensor was bad and the wires going to it were bad. They charge for the part and like 3 hours labor to find the bad wire which was probably the problem the whole time.

 

I had two opti rotors fail last year. They are not built for high energy spark. The plastic rotor weld securing the copper conductor has a history of repeat failure. When they break, they rotate on the inside point, and timing/ spark is changed. The best is to build one yourself. Use a 1/8 rivet in place of the outboard secure point. Now I build and machine my own rotors, and, next the bearing shall be replaced by a quality piece. I use the old castings. Most of my car has no gm parts.

 

Sounds like the shop may have just changed the cap and rotor and not the optical portion of the opti, which would explain why they don't want to provide a receipt. If you have a receipt in hand and can get another shop to verify the complete opti wasn't changed then they wouldn't look too good...especially in court. Might try another shop.