this last weekend i replaced the seal behind the opti and looks like it finally doesnt leak. this is also a brand new opti that was running fine before i changed this seal. despite my best efforts i think i got water in the opti and wrecked it. on start up car barely idles, with engine at WOT it takes FOREVER for rpms to climb and it breaks up at about 3k.

does it sound like i jacked up my opti? i love this car but im getting sick of working on it.

oh and did triple check the firing order and that all the connectors were put back in their correct spots.

 

If it got wet did you let it dry out for a day or so. If you put it back on and the water is still in it then you most likely will have issues. Just like any electronics you need to give it some time to air out.

 

Is the opti vented? This will help if it has water in it. If it is like mine, driving it a little will help just don't get on it yet.

 

non-vented. and it barely had enough power to back it out of the garage.

 

Maybe your opti harness is bad or is loose.

how old is the opti?

 

I believe the opti can be installed wrong on the 94 but not sure what the exact years this happened on.

 

opti harness looked good the last time i checked a week or so ago. the opti was less than week old.

as for installing it wrong, you can, but its hard.

 

okay i tried driving it around the block, it would not accelerate past 1300 rpm, when i got back it was smelling funny so i popped the hood and the manifolds are glowing red hot. im severely at a loss on what to do here. here is a break down of everything i have done and maybe someone can give me some direction.

heater hoses leaked, every seal was leaking, needed cap and rotor and clutch, and would soon need a water pump. pulled engine and trans. resealed the engine with all new GM seals, new stock GM clutch, water pump, cap and rotor, and plugs and new a/c compressor. reinstalled engine and trans with little to no headache. car ran bitchin'. charged new a/c compressor and daily drove the car. it continued to run great. noticed and oil leak behind opti and car began to have a slight stumble. also noticed a broken manifold stud. replaced manifold stud and installed new GM gasket. stumble went away, but returned even worse a few days later. assumed that oil had contaminated opti. changed out opti and check the harness, but in the process found the number 6 wire burned through. changed wire with an old laying around and car ran fine. all oil was cleaned up but found a new leak behind the opti. found out that seal was installed wrong, so once again pulled off opti, changed the seals and did a whole new set of plug wires. finished reassembling car and on start up the above problems started.

im lost and i need this car back on the road. i have another opti ready to swap in again if need be, but dont want to go through the hassle if there is something im missing. shoebox or injuneer, or anyone far more knowledgeable than i please chime in!

 

My LT1 hasn't had an ignition problems... yet, so Im more familiar with Gen I motors distributor than I am with opti's. Although it seems related to the opti(since thats what your problem lately have been surrounding) red exhaust manifolds and low revs could also be a clogged cat. How many miles are on your cat? Is it factory still?

 

Wow that's a lot of crap that went wrong. Whats your mileage again??
It sounds like the cat. I have 153,000 miles and I still have the original cat and opti.

My old 1993 Buick Skylark had the same problem as you with the manifolds glowing red and had no power, I had a glogged cat.

 

cat is less than 2 years old, and less than 10k miles. i pulled the check valves since that was what helped me diagnose the plugged cat problem a couple of years ago and no change other than it got louder.

 

sounds like u might have put the opti in wrong and u got the timming advanced that y the manifold are glowing red

 

its fixed! had a talk with one of the dealer techs and it was his opinion that the opti was indeed fried. most likely from water damage. swapped in another new opti (had the dealer parst warranty the one i bought) and she runs like a champ.