I installed the MSD OptiSpark today. It is a quality piece. The housing in machined billet aluminum which I would expect to be more stable (less flex) than the thin aluminum back plate and plastic housing of the OEM part.

One advantage for us 93 - 94 guys is the venting tubes supplied with the kit. It is a cheaper alternative than converting all the parts needed for the OEM vented design. To me, this is a strong reason for LT1 owners to go with MSD over the OEM design. I also liked the built in shaft that drives the OptiSpark. It is not removable like the OEM design. I believe this will put less stress on the bearing (bushing on the OEM unit) and be less likely to suffer water intrusion.

The cover is secured with stainless stell phillips screws instead of the reverse torx screws on the OEM unit which are prone to rust and are very difficult to find a tool for to open. MSD provides a neat little tool to open the OEM unit so you can verify the position of the rotor before installing the MSD.

The MSD unit slipped into place easily with no issue lining up the key in the drive shaft. The directions were perfect and everything fit well. One issue with the directions is no details are provided on making a timing indicator although MSD recommends installing one to aid in the timing adjustments that are possible with this unit. Since I use the car as a daily driver and do not plan on racing it, I opted to skip the timing indicator and use the factory default settings.

The night before I installed the MSD, I had a sudden problem with the idle. I suspect it is a problem with the IAC and will probably need to be replaced. During the install, I cleaned the IAC as it was caked with soot on the end of the pintle.

The car is running well except it is a little sluggish off idle. I am not sure if this a problem with the IAC or if the default timing adjustment on the MSD was incorrect. I guess I should not have installed the MSD until I made sure the other problem was resolved. I couldn't wait to put it in. I am going to troubleshoot the IAC and see if it clears up the hesitation.

Hope you find this review helpful. Only time will tell if it is a reliable product but IMHO, the design should greatly improve the reliability of the MSD OptiSPark.

One question for anyone who can answer. I am hearing a loud hissing coming from the area of the IAC. Once the car goes into close loop, the hissing stops. When I use FreeScan to increase the idle speed, the RPMs do not increase as much as commanded. Maybe only 25 RPMs. The hissing comes back. When I send a reset command to the IAC, the hissing stops.

Can anyone explain what might be causing the hissing and why it only occurs in open loop mode or when the IAC is set to a high idle mode? Is this normal? I don't recall it being this loud when the car was new. I do have a hyperfoil installed on the front of the throttle body. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

Did ya notice the timing marks on the MSD housing?
Don't know about the hissing as that sound generally indicates a vacuum leak or the boot is not on the TB correctly.

 

I don't think there were any timing marks. Just the adjustment screw. It is not clear where a timing indicator could be installed on the block so that it could be used to measure a mark on the harmonic balancer.

The hissing is definitely related to the IAC but I don't what is causing it.

Jeff

 

I used a TCI and modded it to fit.My balancer is marked 360*

 

What is a TCI?

 

They sell balancers,do modified tranny's and such.

 

The MSD Optispark is GARBAGE!! I put it on my 97 Trans Am WS6 a month ago and it has been nothing but trouble. 1st of all the set timing was way off, I had to almost back the screw all the way out to get it to run decent. 2nd, when this disty gets too hot it starts makes you lose low end power and backfire. The billet back piece absorbs way too much heat causing the internals to get way too hot and partially fail. Don't waste you money. I put my stock opti back on and it resolved all problems.

 

 

I just installed it so I can't speak for longevity. Did you send it back to MSD for analysis? What did they say? I understand your frustration but I don't know if it is fair to write off the entire product without feedback from the manufacturer. I would be curious to see what failed.

I think different model year F-bods will see different benefits with the MSD and not everyone will believe there is enough benefit to justify the cost. For those of us with 93 - 94 LT1's, I believe the venting that comes with this unit is a huge improvement, even if nothing else is improved over the OEM unit. For those of you who already have venting, this is one less benefit of the product so the product might not be as appealing.

As I said, I am having a problem with hesitation from idle but the night before I installed the MSD, the car suddenly wouldn't idle. Then just as suddenly, it started to work again. I suspect the IAC valve and I plan to replace it tonight. I did clean the IAC during the MSD install. It could turn out to be the new MSD but I don't know yet. In a few days, I could feel the same way about it as you do . I did trust the factory MSD timing setting which might have been a mistake.

This is my forth OptiSpark and I confirmed that in each case, the OptiSpark was bad. Of course I do have 310,000 miles. I have to laugh when I see people defend the OptiSpark and then I find out they only have 68,000 miles (amateurs! ) Maybe I am getting old, but I remember when you would just change the rotor and cap. Now the whole distributor is an expensive throw-away. Seems like a step backward in product reliability.

I would like to get some persepctive on the IAC problem. While the car would not idle, the IAC count was 160 (DataMaster) but the commanded value was much lower (if I remember, something like 40 or 50). Does this indicate that the IAC was not responding, possibly hanging up?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

The value you get for the IAC "counts" when you scan it is the "commanded value"..... that's how many steps the PCM has told it to open. There is no feedback to tell the PCM the actual position of the IAC motor. The other IAC data you get when you scan is the "learned (or 'target') idle counts". That's the position the IAC motor is moved to when you go to start the (warm) engine.

Sounds like the PCM is telling the IAC to open, but either its not opening, or the air passages are plugged. Shoebox has a procedure for checking the IAC motor using an ohm meter.

 

is the msd piece proven to last longer than the oem optis's? or will it still go out a lot?

 

How could it be proven to last longer, when no one has been running one for more than two months?

 

Injuneer,

Thanks for the clarification on how this works. I wasn't sure what the target value meant. I did find a lot of crud on the end of the pintle which I cleaned but I did not go inside the throttle body casting to clean in there. I think you might be right that it is clogged inside. I have also been getting a hissing sound for quite a while now and when I change the idle speed using Freescan, I can make the hissing sound come and go. I am starting to think the hiss is from a partially blocked IAC port. I may be solving two problems at once! I bought a new IAC and gaskets today and will be cleaning it out tonight. I already got Shoebox's procedure and I am going to use that also.

I'll let you know how it works. Thanks for the help!


Blackztpi - I think everyone is still debating how long the MSD will last because it hasn't been on the market long enough. There is also much debate over the MSD versus other after market OptiSparks. I could only comment on my observations of the construction of the MSD versus the OEM because that is what I bought. I thought people would be interested. I put about 28,000 miles per year on my car so I believe I will be a good test platform for the longevity. Keep in mind that this is a daily driver and I am not beating or racing it.

Hope this help.

Jeff

 

I have just rebuilt a stock Opti that was corroded & bearing collapsed.
Replaced the stock bearing with a slightly wider bearing.
Unfortunately on reinstall timing is to advanced & picking up a knock just off
idle. Looking to replace stock Opti with MSD - looks good on the outside
judging from pics posted on the board . Manual advance/retard is a must if
you cannot go online to PCM .

Plse keep us informed on the results you achieve with the MSD.

 

I sure will. I couldn't work on it last night due to a water main break behind my wife's business. Up all night with the plumbers and backhoes

I plan to fix the IAC tonight and I'll let you know how the car runs when done.

Jeff