My waterpump was leakin on my opti and it started to act up. So my question is, will a cap and rotor rebuild fix the problem, or is it the sensors that get screwed when they get wet?

 

If your lucky nothing happened and when it dries it'll run normally. If you not lucky then you'll have to replace the cap/rotor and it'll be fine. If your day really sucks then you gotta replace the whole thing (cap/rotor/optical sensor).

 

Same thing happened to mine when the pump went. I removed the cap and cleaned it out. No gaurentee, but it worked for me.

 

RE and cheryl,

What did it take to just remove the cover? Did you have to remove the balancer?

 

Cap & rotor- hesitation, stumbling, knocking, backfiring

Opti- No start, rpm fluctuations

It's probably the cap & rotor, if the opti gets wet like that the computer loses it's only timing signal so it can't fire the injectors or the plugs. Some people have had luck with a hairdryer and others with alcohol to dry it, I've never tried it out though, my cap & rotor died from old age and got replaced.

 

I think i will just go with a new opti. You can get them for like $200 off ebay new. Thanks for your help guys

 

How bad will it knock? I've got a knock and I've got oil leaking out of the timing cover. Could this possibly be the culprit? It's a pretty good ticking noise I've got and I can't tell exactly where it's coming from. I originally thought it was lifters since it's losing power too, but maybe it's the opti? I'm just hoping for the best I guess!

 

For that matter, what would I need to replace the whole Opti system? I was thinking that MSD is usually a good bet, but what parts would I need - the control and spark module, what else? I'd do it myself, if I could, so is installation pretty easy to handle?

My Opti got a thorough Virginia Beach soaking, and stumbled and missed pretty bad for a couple of days - I'd just as soon not have to worry about that again...