okay so i had my 97 z28 checked out because it was throwing a p300 code and the mechanic says its the omni spark, now my first ? is, is that the same thing as the opti spark?? also, the part from the dealer is $540 butmy cousin works there so i can get it for cheaper, or should i get a performance optispark (if yes then any recomendations on where i should go to get one)?? and is the procedure pretty easy?? cuz hes gonna charge me $400 to put it in.. or should ijust do it myself?? thanks in advance!!

 

You should be able to get one for ~$300.

Whether to do it yourself depends on how much money vs. time you have.
$400 buys a lot of tools and beer...

 

Its the optispark, not an omnispark. A stock GM replacement will do just fine. If you go with an aftermarket one from MSD or Dynaspark, you will spend more money and the results in the end are all the same. As for putting it in yourself, its not the hardest job in the world, but it can be difficult. The procedure has been covered before on here, it wouldn't hurt to do a search, read up, and see if you are up for it or not. Just curious, has your car undergone any other maintenance. A misfire can be a result of a few other things, some simple stuff like a plug or wire.

 

here is the deal.. i bought an eng/ tranny out of a 97 trans am with 60k miles on it.. the guy says he changed the opti and water pump while it was out of the car, and it seems as though he did.. the mechanic just told me that there is no "seal" behind the harmonic balancer (what is that seal called so i can buy it?) which is allowing oil to leak into or onto the opti spark and cylinder 8 is being shorted because of this.. so i just got a price from my cousin for 280 on the opti spark and im going to do someresearch on it and "do it up" on mon/tuesday.. any suggestions or tips would greatly be appreciated thanks!!

im actually really excited cuz the car is running like a champ with just 8 cylinders..i cant wait to get all 8 flowing

 

if you "professionals" could give me an idea of all of the items im going to need to buy, i need to relay this info to my cousin so he can get them to me on monday..
so far i have

optispark
water pump gasket
rent/buy harmonic balancer puller
(what is the "seal" that the mechanic is talking about called?? behind the harmonic balancer??)
also i read that im going to need a cap and rotor also.. do i buy that seperately??

by the way its a 97 z28, and the motor is out of a 97 trans am (if that matters)
as i always say.. thanks in advance!

 

i believe he is referring to the waterpump drive seal and $280 isnt that bad. have seen them in the $170-200 range on ebay

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/95-97...spagenameZWD1V

maybe this is the seal

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/95-96...spagenameZWDVW

and here is an opti for $230 plu $8 for shipping

 

i would go with the one off ebay but man i cant wait that long.. the xtra loot is worth getting it done ASAP.. is there any other seal that it may be??

 

most ebay sellers will ship overnight if your willing to pay, but then again it could end up costing about the same. the only seal i know of behind the balancer is the front main. if thats not there oil should be pouring out.

cap and rotor should come with the new opti

 

just got off the phone with the mechanic and he said its called a cover crank seal.. so when i call my cousin and ask him to order these parts what else should i include?? front main? water pump drive seal?? and thanks for your help??

 

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductD...pe=818&ptset=A
wonder if this is what he is talking about

 

man .. i dunno!! how many dam gaskets/seals are there?? haha this is going to be fun..

 

Could not help but to jump in here. On the front of your engine behind the opti and the water pump and balancer is a cover that covers the timing chain. On yours (OBDII since 96) it has 4 holes in it. 3 infront and one at the bottom side for the CKP to screw into. The CKP need not be removed thus it requires no mention here.

The 3 on the front have seals and are for the
1) End of the cam to seal the optispark distributor drive.
2) Water pump drive.
3) End of the crank shaft (behind where the harmonic balancer connects.)

Since you are moving the water pump to get the opti off, it's a good time to replace the water pump drive seal. It is also a good idea to replace the opti drive seal as well. HOWEVER there is no need to remove the hub for the balancer. You need only unbolt the pulley from the crank hub on the crank. You can leave the hub in place with just the pulley removed to get the opti off. So unless the crank seal is actually leaking, don't remove or replace the seal or the hub.

The cover has a gasket behind it that seals it to the front of the block and they can leak from time to time. This would require the balancer hub be removed to replace.

Further, I would be interested to find out how he came to the conclusion that the OPTI was the cause of the misfire code. If in deed the misfires are spread out among many/all of the plugs, sure it can be the opti. Could be something else also. But if the misfires are concentrated to one plug, I would highly doubt the diagnosis.

 

man!! great post.. well im not sure if you read the rest of the post, but basically i just swapped out my motor and tranny and the plugs and wires are newer and in good shape.. ive been running it for about two weeks now, and my ses sign comes on here and there, and i noticed its rough at idle, soi had it scanned and it threw a p300 (random misfire), so i took it to my mechanic and he said thats the code he got too but after "tracing" it (sp?) he came to the conclusion that there is a minor oil leak from in that area, i think from the crank cover seal, and he said its shorted out the opti.. and its missing at cylinder 8 and thats what i was told!!! what do you think?? 2nd opinion??