I just changed my optispark cap and rotor the works and now after putting everthing back on the car. i started it up and it idled really low and then after awhile died. and know will not start back up. any ideas?

 

does anyone know if there is something that you have to do before you put the optispark on to make sure that it is in time. if any has any info i would really appreciate it.

 

"cap and rotor the works" ? Was it really just cap and rotor or did you replace the whole thing and with what brand of parts?
Also, what year car are we talking about?
It is possible to put the opti on wrong. People seem to do it all the time.

 

yes i replaced the whole thing. the cap and rotor came from advance auto parts which i believe is gp soreson. and the actual opti came from oreilly's. how do you put it on the right way.

 

the car is a 97 trans am

 

You should already know that the special slot on the opti drive mechanism goes over the cam dowel. Nothing more to do than to get that on right and slide the opti fully onto the block mounting bosses by hand. Secondly, I hope you have good luck with the non GM replacement. Some people have not. I have to admit, though, that there have been folks that got new GM optis that were DOA. I don't know what you spent for your parts, but you can get a GM opti for ~$190 for your car.

Be sure you got all your other connections on like they are supposed to be.

 

Someone needs to explain 2 things to me . 1 how do you put an opti on the wring way unless you have a dow pin problem on the front of the cam and 2 who the heck thinks they can find an opti distributor for $190.00 from GM. these 2 things don't exist or tell me how. As for the gentleman with the opti problem, if you did not change the dowel pin and did not knock it in, there is no way you could install the distributor the wrong way. You couldn't install the rotor the wrong way either and still have the car start. Sounds like you need a code scanner.

 

1. I don't know either, but people seem to do it. They end up with the dowel stuck in one of the other holes in the drive, I guess.

2. Call up Jason Cromer or Dal Slabaugh and you will have your vented opti for ~$190. It is as simple as that. Their contact info is posted nearly every day in this forum (mostly by me). I assume by your post count that you are new, here.

 

I have a 93 trans am and think I might need a new opti how do I make sure I put that one on right. Right now I dont wanna change the cam and get a vented so since I dont need to make sure to get the dowel pin right how do I make sure its right?

 

Yours does not use the dowel pin drive. You have a splined drive instead. Look closely at the splines and you will see that they are made to go together only one way. People have forced them on wrong, so watch what you are doing. The opti should fit flush to the block mounting bosses by hand.

 

Yeah, i put mine on the wrong way when i replaced it a year ago. The timing was so off my car would try to turn but wouldnt even start. So i had to pull it off and put it on correctly. Now when people ask about opti's i tell them in advance so they will not make the same mistake i did.


Chris

 

Its actually not that hard to put on wrong, but a paint mark on the timing cover and dowel helped me get it on straight. From there make sure that it slides in and out FREELY and you know its on right, if its sticky then you missed somehow.

 

hey,

I'm having the same problem with the dowel pin hitting the driver on the opti spark. I'm going to check this weekend when I tear it down AGAIN to make sure that the dowel pin is seated all the way down in the cam. I'm also going to check and make sure that the center hole in the cam is the right size (got this info off of another thread). I have the comp cam XE503, and comp cam rep. said that all the cams for 1994 through 1997 LT1's are the same, no difference in the size of the center hole. I've also been told that I need the long dowel pin for my car, which I have, so I should be ok. The only thing that I can think that it would be is that the machine shop or comp cams didn't sink the dowel pin all the way down in the cam.

The last opti that I put on (2 months ago) did't seat all the way up against the block. It stopped about 1/8 to 1/4 inch away, and I put the bolts in and pulled it all the way up on the motor, but there was no binding.

Any info would be great.

Thanks yall.

 

Measure the length the dowel pin is sticking out of the cam. If you still have the old cam, measure it, too and compare.

I have a new Comp cam sitting in the garage and the dowel pin is sticking out ~3/4" from the front. I am going to carefully check it against the stock one when I put it in. I have seen posts saying it should be .620" or .685". I don't know which one is right, but I will adjust mine to the length of the old one.

 

I bought an after market opti-spark from the same chain of stores and it lasted about three weeks. I took it to the shop, turns out the install was right the part was nfg.