Fury.

On the port. Eliminate it and just drill a hole for the wires to pass through then seal them. This is one of the areas where water comes in

 

The problem started as hesitation and then got worse to the point it became undrivable.

I was getting an intermittent code for a missing hi-res signal.

The instructions do not specify that you reuse your original cap. I believe the part you are referring to is instructing you to remove the old cap before you remove the old Opti so you can mark the position of the rotor before you remove it, not to reuse it. You can then make sure the timing is correct when you install the new Opti.

Jeff

 

Sorry don't even remember you let alone "insulting" you. I'll try to be more sensitive in the future.

But when I said original, I meant the cap that came with the MSD not the "old" one. My mis-wording. Sorry again. The instructions clearly show putting on the new one without the cap in place and then put the oring on and then the cap. Page 3 figure 10 and description 19. My question was, your instructions different then the ones posted?

 

I had to delete your post in the other thread. Same issue... attacking him for replacing what in your mind was a perfectly good Opti, and then telling him to stop hijacking the thread, when he was making a very appropriate response to the orignal post.

Hopefully this will stop.

 

Speedy, No problem. My directions are the same as the link you provided. I am not sure I understand your concern though. Let me try to clarify and if I missed your point, please let me know.

The directions indicate to remove the old cap before removing the old Opti using the tool provided. They want you to do this so you can mark the position of the rotor prior to removal of the Opti. I think the intent is to give you a way to verify the new Opti is indexed properly.

Then they want you to install the new Opti and verify the position of the rotor is the same as the one you removed before installing the O-ring and the new cover.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

I received the first feedback from MSD today. I spoke to a gentleman named "JD" who I understand is the responsible technical person for the Pro-Billet Opti product line.

JD told me he personally has installed about 30 of the MSD units and has not had a problem with them. He tried various ways to recreate what happened to my unit and could only come up with one possible explanation. He believes the O-ring folded over during the installation causing uneven pressure on the unit. This caused the black backing plate under the rotor to bow up and rub the back of the rotor. He said my plate was bowed about 30 thousands in the center. As mentioned in my analysis, there are signs the O-ring was pinched.

I am not sure how the billet back plate could flex enough to cause the bowing he described. Especially when I only used a screwdriver to secure the cap. I was also very careful to make sure the O-ring was properly seated before installing the cap.

I should receive the unit back in time to reinstall on Sunday. JD said he will install all new guts before returning. Before I do, I will take a closer look at how the O-ring could have caused the bowing and update this post.

Jeff

 

i just bought a new MSD opti and am going to put it on today. i dont really need it, with 100k my stocker still seems fine..although i just bought the car 3k ago so i dont really know what it felt like new. on reason i bought a new one is i was able to get in on a group purchase and wanted to do my waterpump anyways. im just hoping i have a better experience with this new opti than you did. a tip someone had told me is to put some loctite on the threads of the nuts that hold the cap and rotor on because they tend to come loose sometimes causing the opti to destroy itself, also checking hte cam dowl pin length making sure its not stickin out too far as it could also destroy the opti.

 

I'm pretty sure the first tip is for a stock opti and the second one is only if you are installing a new camshaft also.

 

This issue doesn't apply to 94 models as the pin is not driving the Opti. I think it applies to 95 and newer.

Locktite is probably always a good idea. Good luck with yours!

Jeff

 

great post! I think im going to hold off on my trip to summit.... let us know what happens!

 

well I bought an MSD unit today. Will put it on next week. Lets hope....

 

Translation: "we're not 100% certain that our diagnosis of the problem is correct, so we'll just throw all new parts at it and hope for the best."

 

Alternate translation: "We're 100% certain the failure was caused by installer error, but we're going to rebuild the unit for free to maintain good customer relations."

 

A sheet of paper is 40 thousandths of an inch thick.
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:...s&ct=clnk&cd=1

Now, while I could understand how MSD would allow variances in their CNC machining tolerances in that range, what I cannot fathom is how they could expect people to believe that the clearances inside of one of their Opti cases are SO tight that anything less than the thickness of a sheet of paper is out of spec. According to how the failure was described, does anybody find it odd that between the two halves of the Optispark, the plastic cap and the 6061 billet aluminum base, that when the clamping force of the screws was applied, the aluminum half decided to bend?

A monkey could install an O-ring. If they truely have designed this unit in such a way that installing the O-ring is such a precision operation that gauging whether it was installed correctly required the use of a micrometer, this product's gonna have problems...

 

I agree with you on this. If you install everything according to the directions using common sense and there is no visible indication of a problem (i.e. the part went on tight or sits crooked or cracked, etc.) then this is a design issue. If the O-ring "folding over" was in fact the cause of the issue, there was no way for me to know it occurred so it can't be considered an installer error.

I was positive the O-ring was seated properly and the cap went on nice and easy and straight so I am not convinced the O-ring was the cause. I even took the time to tighten the cap screws in several passes so as to tighten it down evenly. I hope to get the rebuilt unit back today or tomorrow. I'll update with what I find and how the unit works after install.

Jeff